CHUKWUEMEKA B. EZE is the Executive Director of West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP). Prior to this position, he served variously as the Program Director, National Network Coordinator and Program Manager for WANEP - Nigeria. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, and Master’s and Doctorate Degrees in Peace and Strategic Studies with specialization in Conflict Early Warning Systems.

Dr. Eze has been a peacebuilding practitioner for 21 years and holds significant experience in the Africa peace and security sector. He manages the strategic partnership between African Union, ECOWAS and WANEP through which WANEP provides early warning data, analyses, assessments and recommendations for action to AU, ECOWAS and its member states. He also leads semi-annual high-level dialogues between ECOWAS leadership and WANEP to examine conflict situations in West Africa and agree on remedial actions. In addition, he supports political transitions, as well as citizens’ and government dialogues in West Africa and beyond.

Eze is a life member of the Governing Council; pioneer Deputy Registrar and Fellow of Institute for Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC); Fellow and member of the Board of Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP); and Fellow of the Danish Fellowship program in Copenhagen, Denmark. Between 2016 and 2017, he served as Senior Adviser on Mediation and Political Dialogue to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Guinea Bissau.  In 2009, he led the development of an Early Warning System for the Government of South Sudan. He contributed to the development of AU mediation manual, and supports the AU and ECOWAS track I mediation especially in electoral disputes.

He is a faculty member of WANEP’s flagship capacity building program, West Africa Peacebuilding Institute (WAPI) which provides training in dialogue, mediation, early warning and peacebuilding program design and other peacebuilding thematic areas for officials of AU, ECOWAS, CSO actors, Academia and private sector. He equally teaches peacebuilding practice at the Institute for Peace, Conflict and Development Studies of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg Germany, University of Utah in USA and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC). Dr. Eze has serval journals, articles and books to his credit.

LEVINIA ADDAE-MENSAH is the Programme Director and Deputy Executive Director of WANEP. She is a peace and security practitioner with close to twenty years’ experience in Conflict Prevention, Conflict Management and Peace Support Operations. Her passion in peacebuilding has driven her to work in extremely dynamic and volatile contexts such as in Rwanda, Burundi, Liberia, and Cote d’Ivoire. In addition, she has also worked in different capacities on projects across the globe. Her professional career began with International Alert in the UK where she worked in different capacities on projects and programmes in Europe and in the Great Lakes of Africa. She then joined the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) for 5 years initially as the Special Projects Coordinator and then as the West Africa Regional Coordinator of WANEP’s Active Non-violence and Peace Education Programme, a programme she pioneered in 8 countries in West Africa. Levinia worked as an independent consultant in Botswana for 3 years from where she joined the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in May 2008 and served severally as the Programme Coordinator of the Small Arms and Light Weapons Control Programme within the Research Department, Course Manager with the Training Department, Head of Programmes and finally as the Director of Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation.

Levinia re-joins WANEP after having broken the glass ceiling as the first and only female member of the Executive Management Committee of KAIPTC and with diverse competencies including developing and managing projects, monitoring and evaluation, designing, developing and delivering training, strategic planning and organisational development. She is fully bilingual in French and English.

Mrs. Esther Gordon-Mensah is presently the HR / Administrative Manager of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) responsible for ensuring the smooth, efficient and effective operation of the regional secretariat of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding. She has worked with WANEP since its inception in 1998. Esther Gordon-Mensah holds a first degree in Economics with Geography;  has a certificate in Comparative Development Studies from Trent University, Canada (a joint programme with the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Ghana; Certificate in Peacebuilding from summer peacebuilding course at the Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia USA. She also holds a Professional Certificate in Human Resource Management Practice and is a Member of the Institute of Human Resource Management Practitioners, Ghana (IHRMP, Ghana).

She possesses excellent Interpersonal, Verbal and Written Communication and Analytical skills. She has remarkable experience in procurement, planning and developing Human resource policies. She is hardworking, reliable, a good team player and has exceptional skills in events management. She has lectured at different fora on Events Management, Administrative and Human Resource issues.

RAYMOND DARKO is a Ghanaian and currently serves as the Finance Manager. He joined WANEP in 2012 as an Accountant. He has over 20 years of experience in the Accounting and Finance field. As Head of Finance, he oversees the proper management of the finances of the organisation by ensuring that proper accounting and internal control systems are maintained and donor and statutory requirements are strictly complied with. Raymond has extensive knowledge and experience in Accounting, Auditing, Finance, Taxation, Financial Modelling and Administration and has provided Financial Management trainings to Network Finance Managers and Sub-grantees in countries such as Senegal, Togo, Guinea and Benin. Raymond has successfully managed funds from donors such as USAID, EU Delegation, UNWOMEN, SIDA, ADA, DANIDA and GIZ.

Prior to joining WANEP, he worked with International Marine & Dredging Consultants (Consultants for the Korle Lagoon Project) as an Accountant for 8 years. Raymond holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce (B.COM) from the University of Cape Coast and is in the process of completing the final level of ACCA. Raymond possesses great communication and interpersonal skills and has a drive for creative, analytical and constructive thinking in carrying out his tasks.