Board Members
Isber Sabrine
President and Co-Founder (He/Him)
Isber is a Syrian archaeologist, specializing in cultural heritage management, as well as a certified National Tourist Guide in Syria. He is the Chair and Co-Founder of Heritage for Peace. He has been a member of the Syrian Spanish team of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) since 2005. Since 2011, Isber has been a researcher at the Institución Milá y Fontanals of the Spanish National Research Council and has been involved in projects and studies on the protection of cultural heritage during conflicts. Since 2015, he has been involved in cultural initiatives for refugees and immigrants in Europe. He is leading the Abuab Initiative, which is a social project that works on using cultural heritage as a tool for intercultural dialogue with refugees and immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa.
René Teijgeler
Honor Member
René Teijgeler is a social scientist and a conservator. He started his academic career in 1970 with his studies in Sociology (BA) and Social Psychology (MA). As he developed a taste for books, he started studying book and paper conservation (BA). A year later, he was appointed Conservator at the National Library of the Netherlands. As his interests took him to preservation cultures outside Europe, he continued his academic training in Anthropology (MA cum laude).
Working for Fair Trade NL, he became acquainted with the ins and outs of humanitarian aid. After serving as cultural advisor in Iraq (2004-2005) and in Afghanistan (2009), he knows what it means to preserve heritage in times of conflict. Since then, he advised many governments, international heritage organizations, lectured in many capitals and published many articles. In February 2013, René was co-founder of the NGO Heritage for Peace, which assists Syrian heritage colleagues during the conflict to save their heritage, and which he still advises.
Annis Turner
Vocal
Annis Turner is an independent expert working in Islamic and Indian heritage protection with a specific focus on combatting illicit trade in antiquities. Since 2016, she has advised Heritage for Peace on its projects in Syria, and supported its fundraising and project coordination. Annis has a Masters in Cultural Heritage Studies from the University of London and a Bachelors in Arabic and Islamic Art History from the School of Oriental and African Studies, during which, she lived and worked in Damascus. Prior to obtaining her Masters degree, Annis worked in the Indian and Islamic art department at Christies in London and as a logistics manager for art and antiquities at Edet International in Paris. After her degree she worked at the Art Loss Register in London before moving to Paris and becoming a freelance consultant.
Marcela Jaramillo
Vocal
She has over 15 years of experience in managing cultural heritage projects, especially in conflict areas with vulnerable populations (mainly internally displaced persons, refugees, ex-combatants, farmers, and children). She also has extensive experience in Intangible Cultural Heritage, Disaster Risk Management, World Heritage and heritage capacity building. Her experience is not limited to Colombia, but also to Somalia, Albania and Korea. She has a master's degree in World Heritage and Cultural Projects, another in Social Policy and is a PhD candidate in Anthropology - Marie Curie Fellowship.
Elisabeth Korinth
Vocal
Elisabeth Korinth a curator of the Interactive Heritage Map of Syria, a virtual community project affiliated to the Museum for Islamic Art in Berlin focusing on the documentation and presentation of intangible heritage under threat and its linkages to tangible heritage. Her interest lies in the implementation of people-centered approaches to heritage protection. Elisabeth Korinth studied Near and Middle Eastern Studies with a focus on Assyriology and Arabic Studies (BA) and holds a Master's degree in UNESCO World Heritage Studies. She has previously worked in the World Heritage division of the German Commission for UNESCO, the Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies of the University of Marburg and the Heidelberg Academy of Science. Currently, she serves as the Vice President of the German National Committee of the Blue Shield
Ginevra Rollo
Director of Strategy and Operations (She/Her)
Ginevra Rollo is the Group Director of Strategy and Operations. She joined the organization in 2023 and has responsibility for the development and implementation of the organization’s strategy and ensures the alignment of organizational objectives. She oversees all departments and coordinates Heritage for Peace’s activities. Ginevra is passionate about the interconnection between politics, arts, and visual culture and is the founder of the online art publication La Miccia as well as an educational content creator across social media platforms. She holds an MPhil in Heritage Studies from the University of Cambridge and an MA in Politics and International Relations. Her research interests include gender studies and traditional craft practices.
Gaia Bedini
Director of Research and Capacity Development (She/Her)
Gaia Bedini is the Group Director for our research and capacity development programs. She oversees all functions under research and documentation, fundraising coordination and co-manages the volunteers team and the organization’s social media platforms. She holds a BSc in International Politics at LUISS University of Rome and a MPhil in Heritage Studies at the University of Cambridge.
Her research interests are focused on the holistic and combinational processes that enable the development of sustainable practices for safeguarding heritage.
Jose Antonio González Zarandona
Vice president
Dr José Antonio González Zarandona studied Communication, Literature, Film, Art History and Heritage Studies in Puebla, Salamanca and Melbourne. Based in Melbourne, he has worked in different heritage environments as a museum professional and curator in Australia. He has also been a visiting fellow at the University of Birmingham, Goldsmiths University and Columbia University. He has received awards and funds from the Australian Academy of the Humanities and the British Academy to conduct research on heritage destruction, and he has collaborated with Forensic Architecture in two projects on heritage destruction. He has widely published on the topic, and his book Murujuga – Rock Art, Heritage and Landscape Iconoclasm has been recently published by the University of Pennsylvania Press. He is currently working as an Associate Research Fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, and since 2018, he is the Vice-president of Heritage for Peace.
Francisco José Rufián Fernández
Treasurer
Degree in History and Archaeologist, founder of Pequeños Arqueólogos (Didactic Workshops) and Arqueovuelos (www.arqueovuelos.com). Specialist in cultural management, sustainable development and Heritage protection. Currently, working in a Law Enforcement Agency, and developing his PhD in “Law, Government and Public Policies” about the legal protection of Heritage in the Autonoma University of Madrid.
Maria Nolla Colomer
Secretary
Maria has a background in Arts History and Multimedia, complementing it with a master’s degree in Economics and Management of Arts and Cultural Activities. She studied and worked in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany, being usually involve in communication roles within different sectors, from International Organizations to NGOs and the private sector. Her interests lie in the fields of heritage protection and reasons of destruction, digitization of cultural heritage and promotion of cultural diversity.
Dacia Viejo-Rose
Vocal
Dacia Viejo-Rose is a Lecturer in Heritage and the Politics of the Past at the Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge where she coordinates the Heritage MPhil program and is a Fellow at Selwyn College. She also directs the Cambridge Heritage Research Centre
(https://www.heritage.arch.cam.ac.uk/). Her work focuses on cultural violence, how notions of risk inform heritage values, and reparations for the destruction of cultural heritage.
Marcela Jaramillo
Vocal
She has over 15 years of experience in managing cultural heritage projects, especially in conflict areas with vulnerable populations (mainly internally displaced persons, refugees, ex-combatants, farmers, and children). She also has extensive experience in Intangible Cultural Heritage, Disaster Risk Management, World Heritage and heritage capacity building. Her experience is not limited to Colombia, but also to Somalia, Albania and Korea. She has a master’s degree in World Heritage and Cultural Projects, another in Social Policy and is a PhD candidate in Anthropology – Marie Curie Fellowship.
Annis Turner
Vocal
Annis Turner is an independent expert working in Islamic and Indian heritage protection with a specific focus on combatting illicit trade in antiquities. Since 2016, she has advised Heritage for Peace on its projects in Syria, and supported its fundraising and project coordination. Annis has a Masters in Cultural Heritage Studies from the University of London and a Bachelors in Arabic and Islamic Art History from the School of Oriental and African Studies, during which, she lived and worked in Damascus. Prior to obtaining her Masters degree, Annis worked in the Indian and Islamic art department at Christies in London and as a logistics manager for art and antiquities at Edet International in Paris. After her degree she worked at the Art Loss Register in London before moving to Paris and becoming a freelance consultant.
Elisabeth Korinth
Vocal
Elisabeth Korinth a curator of the Interactive Heritage Map of Syria, a virtual community project affiliated to the Museum for Islamic Art in Berlin focusing on the documentation and presentation of intangible heritage under threat and its linkages to tangible heritage. Her interest lies in the implementation of people-centered approaches to heritage protection. Elisabeth Korinth studied Near and Middle Eastern Studies with a focus on Assyriology and Arabic Studies (BA) and holds a Master’s degree in UNESCO World Heritage Studies. She has previously worked in the World Heritage division of the German Commission for UNESCO, the Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies of the University of Marburg and the Heidelberg Academy of Science. Currently, she serves as the Vice President of the German National Committee of the Blue Shield