Staff Profiles
Esther Charlesworth
Professor Esther Charlesworth has published widely on the themes of social justice, conflict and architecture, including the books 'Humanitarian Architecture' (2014) and 'Sustainable Housing Reconstruction' (2015). She is also the Founding Director of Architects without Frontiers (AWF), which has designed and delivered over 40 health and education projects to vulnerable communities globally since 2005.
John Fien
John Fien has been closely involved in the MoDDD program, developing its core courses as well as electives such as Humanitarian Architecture and Climate Change, Design and Disaster. His role now focuses on developing national and global partnerships and providing mentorship to MoDDD's student. John has previously led development projects for agencies such as the World Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNEP, AusAID, OECD, and WWF-International.
Leila Irajifar
Leila is an interdisciplinary academic working at the intersection of urban planning, design and disaster management. She was involved in UN-Habitat’s City Resilience Profiling Program and worked as a research fellow at the Institute for Great Lakes Research in Michigan, United States. Prior to academia, she worked as an architect/planner in public and private practice.
Visiting Professors
Brett Moore
Brett is UNHCR's Head of Shelter. His work has been largely dedicated to recovery and reconstruction in post-disaster and post-conflict areas. Brett has been involved in MoDDD since its inception and has delivered workshops and public lectures, provided academic and career advice to students and most recently has been involved in the establishment of a research network with universities across Europe in partnership with RMIT Europe.
Leeanne Marshall
Leeanne is a qualified architect with diverse professional architectural experience, having worked in the UK, Ireland and Canada. She has worked in both development and emergency situations and is a member of the Strategic Advisory Group for the Global Shelter Cluster where she supports the delivery of high quality and inclusive shelter assistance to people affected by disaster and crises in the Asia Pacific region.
Ed Blakely
Ed previously served as Executive Director of the US Office of Recovery and Development, and was dubbed the “Recovery Czar” for New Orleans following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. He has held professional appointments at the University of California Berkeley and the University of Sydney and was recognised by UN Habitat for his contributions to social justice and sustainable planning in disaster recovery in 2012.
Kirsten McDonald
Kirsten leads ARUP’s International Development team based in the Australasian region. She has designed and managed programs and projects funded by organisations such as World Bank, Rockefeller Foundation, Mercy Corps, and Habitat for Humanity. Kirsten has worked throughout Asia and the Pacific in the areas of disaster risk reduction and urban resilience, on initiatives such as the Rockefeller Foundation’s Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network.
Tom Bamforth
Tom is the current Global Focal Point for Shelter Coordination with the Shelter Cluster, a global humanitarian coordination platform established by the UN to ensure more predictable international emergency response. Tom has coordinated humanitarian shelter responses in Pakistan, the Philippines, Fiji, Vanuatu, Haiti, and Nepal. He has published widely on humanitarian issues, including the book 'Deep Field: Dispatches from the Frontlines of Aid Relief'.
Ian Davis
Ian Davis, originally an architect, has worked in disaster risk and recovery management since 1972. He has worked as an author, academic teacher and researcher, NGO director and international consultant. He has also advised on governmental emergency and risk reduction planning, NGO policies and community based disaster risk reduction. In 1996, he was awarded the UN Sasakawa Award for his contributions to disaster prevention.
David Sanderson
David has over 25 years of experience working in development and emergency contexts, holding senior posts in NGOs and academia. He was co-editor of the 2016 IFRC World Disasters Report and has published articles and papers concerning chronic poverty, urban livelihoods and resilience. David was a full time Visiting Professor at Harvard University, where he taught the course ‘Design for Urban Disaster’ from 2013 to 2014.
MoDDD Affiliates
”“MoDDD is the only degree in the world that I know of that is transformative. It doesn’t just give you the skills of how to build a building or work with people who have trauma, it gives you all of those skills so that you can ...bring to bear the kinds of skills necessary to run the entire operation.”
Professor Ed BlakelyChair, Future Cities Collaborative and Former Director of Recovery, New Orleans