Results of IAIA's 2021 election
IAIA is pleased to share the results of the recent Board of Directors election. Join us in welcoming President-Elect/Director Gaby Factor and Directors Victoria Márquez-Mees and Bryony Walmsley. Learn more about these three new Board members below.
Gaby, Victoria, and Bryony join an active, dedicated, international group of existing Board members. We look forward to working with them in forwarding IAIA’s mission and vision.
We also extend our sincere appreciation to Alan Bond, Peter Moore, and Paul Sage who dedicated their time, energy, and enthusiasm in standing for election. They were indeed worthy candidates, and we look forward to their continued engagement with IAIA in the future. Lastly, we want to thank all the members who took time to cast their votes.
Gaby Factor is an environmental, social, and human rights impact and risk specialist with 20 years of experience on projects worldwide. She trained as an Environmental Engineer, but social risk management, indigenous peoples, and gender equality have always been part of her professional life and personal interest.
Gaby is a long-time IAIA Member and served several terms on the Training and Professional Development Committee. She believes IAIA is the best-placed organization to provide and promote standards and guidance for IA processes that consider the lessons learned during COVID19 to build back better. Her goals during this term include: developing a process to reflect on the role of IA in the post-pandemic world; increasing the economic independence, visibility, and influence of IAIA; supporting the work of the sections; and exploring and implementing innovative models to make IAIA membership and events more flexible and accessible.
Victoria Márquez-Mees is a Mexican economist working in the environmental and social accountability sector for the last 10 years. She currently serves as EBRD’s first Chief Accountability Officer.
As a member of IAIA for the last six years, she sees the next three years as a turning point for the organization with the following opportunity areas: increasing its virtual footprint by developing virtual assets to promote robust impact assessment; widening its Latin American network via engagement with academic institutions, professional associations, environmental/human rights and development-focused governmental bodies to fill the regional void with real expertise; developing marketable products to diversify income and extend its boundaries of influence; and promoting the elimination of silo cultures by collaborating with other networks and institutions for mutual gain.
With four decades of experience, Bryony Walmsley is still as enthusiastic about impact assessment as when she began. She started the first independent environmental consultancy in South Africa, and, since 2004, has served as the Director of the South African office of the Southern African Institute for Environmental Assessment.
Bryony has been an active member of IAIA since the early 1990s, has attended many of the annual conferences since then, and has served on the Training and Professional Development Committee and Awards Committee. During her time on the Board, she hopes to continue to expand and strengthen the training opportunities for IAIA members across the world, working with the TPDC to develop innovative ways to provide online courses, training of trainers, webinars, etc., to continue to develop human capacity and empower practitioners with skills and knowledge about various aspects of EIA.
