Paulo Caruso de Lima, a Brazilian/Italian journalist with a Masters degree in Global Journalism at the Uninettuno University of Italy, worked for Brazilian media outlets until 2008 before leading succesful campaigns for Brazilian candidacies to major UN bodies at Brazil's Permanent Mission in New York. In 2014, he joined FAO's Office for Corporate Communication, before becoming Personal Assistant to FAO's Director-General. In this role, he handled the Director-General's personal communication and focused on themes such as the UN System, inter-regional organizations, peace, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and food systems. In 2019, he moved to FAO Brussels, where he acts as Liaison Officer to the Council of the EU, to the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), and other EU institutions (such as the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions) and also oversees partnerships with EU-based non-state actors. Paulo is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese (mother tongue) and Italian.

Balázs joined the FAO Liaison Office in Brussels in 2022, where he is covering the Brussels Strategic Dialogue, and is the main focal point for DG INTPA, DG AGRI, DG CLIMA and DG NEAR. He has 20 years of experience in agriculture, food and international cooperation related issues. He served for five years as the permanent representative of Hungary to the Rome Based UN agencies (FAO, WFP, IFAD) and for five years as the coordinator for the Hungarian member organizations in COPA/COGECA. He studied at the Corvinus University in Budapest, as a DAAD scholarship holder at the Humboldt University in Berlin and had an internship at the Ohio State University. He holds a PhD in horticultural sciences. Balázs is fluent in English, German, Hungarian (mother tongue) and Italian, speaks French and has some knowledge of Russian.

Paola, an Italian national, joined FAO in May 2021. She covers private sector partnerships as well as the relations with European Parliament Delegations and the Committee on Development. She is an experienced development cooperation professional with past experience with the European Commission’s DG INTPA Unit in charge of Sustainable Agri-Food Systems and Fisheries as well as the geographic unit covering economic cooperation with Asia. She has also worked with the EU External Action Service within the EU Delegation to Thailand covering regional investment and has experience with private consultancies on EU economic cooperation projects. Paola holds a university degree in Political Science- from the University of Rome “La Sapienza” and a Master degree in Foreign Trade awarded by the Istituto per il Commercio Estero, I.C.E. In Italy. Paola is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Italian (mother tongue).

Charis joined the FAO Liaison Office in Brussels in November 2022 as liaison specialist with the European Parliament, with a focus on strengthening the key role of the European Parliamentary Alliance against Hunger and Malnutrition, of which FAO Brussels is the Secretariat. Charis has worked at the European Parliament in various positions. First, as parliamentary assistant, where she followed the Committees on Foreign affairs, Security and defence, Environment, Health and Food safety. Following that, she became policy advisor working on the Committee on Development and the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, gaining experience in development cooperation and humanitarian aid. Before joining the FAO Liaison Office in Brussels, Charis worked with the Committees on Civil liberties, Justice and Home affairs and Employment and Social rights. Charis holds a Master’s degree in Comparative politics with a specialization in conflict studies from The London School of Economics and Political Science and has obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Political science from the University of Cyprus. She is fluent in English and Greek (mother tongue), speaks French and has some knowledge of Spanish and Italian.

Giulia, an Italian/Mauritian National, joined FAO in October 2021 to support the work of the Liaison Office with the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) as well as strengthening engagement and partnerships with non-state actors with a focus on Brussels-based youth-related stakeholders. Prior to joining FAO, she worked with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) Unit in charge of Sustainable Agri-Food Systems and Fisheries, covering the UN Food Systems Summit portfolio and with a non-governmental organization based in Cambodia, specialized in human rights issues. Giulia holds a Master’s Degree in International Law and Human rights from Sussex University. She speaks English, French and Italian (mother tongue).

Capucine Le Bot joined the FAO liaison office in Brussels in May 2022 and works as a Junior Liaison Specialist. She is supporting the liaison work of the FAO Brussels with the European Commission. She graduated with a Master's Degree in European Public Affairs from Maastricht University. She speaks French (mother tongue), English and has some knowledge of German.

Myrto is responsible for public advocacy, communications and visibility of the Liaison office. Prior to joining FAO in Rome in 2011, she had worked in managerial positions in the financial, consulting and publishing industry among others in Paris, Nuremberg and Amsterdam. She has an MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management,-Erasmus University, with a specialization in branding and strategic marketing, and a certificate in Strategic Marketing from INSEAD, as well as an MA in Communications from the University of Athens. She has also given seminars about cultural differences at the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg . Her passion for the impact traditional marketing practices can have on non-profit Organizations led her to step out of the corporate world and into the United Nations. Myrto is fluent in English, French, Spanish, Greek (mother tongue) and German, and has some knowledge of Dutch and Italian.

Nils joined the FAO in September 2017. In his role as Communications Specialist, he actively participates in communication efforts to raise awareness of FAO’s work through the Liaison Office’s outreach activities including the newsletter Brussels-in-Brief, manages the office website and works on social media management, large campaigns and events. He also facilitates the dialogue with the Government of Flanders. Prior to joining FAO, he worked with Flanders Investment and Trade in the Belgian Embassy in Thailand. Nils, a Belgian national, holds a Bachelor’s degree in international business management and a Master’s degree in public administration from Ghent University and is fluent in English, French and Dutch (mother tongue) with some knowledge of Mandarin Chinese.

Cecilia Casalini joined FAO in July 2018. In her role, she focuses on raising awareness on FAO’s mandate both on a Belgian and International level as well as organizing and setting up creative content for large campaigns and events. Prior to that, she worked for the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macao doing many volunteering experiences around the world. Cecilia holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Management from Bocconi University in Milan. She speaks English, French, Spanish and Italian (mother tongue).

Richard, a U.S. national, joined FAO Liaison Office in Brussels in December 2021. He has over 15 years of relevant experience with FAO in the areas of budgeting, accounting, finance, human resources, procurement and operations with sound knowledge of administrative processes and controls. During his years of work at FAO, he trained a multitude of administrative/operations employees and implemented a series of administrative processes in various country offices (Bangladesh, Togo, Cape Verde, Uganda, Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Niger, South Sudan). He is also the responsible person for all of the administrative processes and controls of FAO Liaison Office in Geneva. Mr Nichols holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration (Business University of Costa Rica - UNEM) and a Bachelor’s Degree (BA) in International Affairs (John Cabot University – Rome). He is fluent in English (mother tongue) with a good knowledge of French and Italian.

Valentina joined FAO in April 2022. In her role as Team Administrative Assistant, she provides direct support to the Director and handles several organisational and administrative tasks linked to the office management. Prior to joining FAO, she managed communication projects for the European Commission (ig. DG INTPA, DG DEVCO, Secretariat-General, etc.) and held administrative and/or communication roles both in private and institutional environments such as the Council of Europe in Strasbourg; World Bank; the Italian Ministry of Health and Amnesty International. Valentina holds a bachelor's degree in International Relations and two master’s degrees, a first in International Relations and a second in Communication for International Relations. She speaks English, French, and Italian (mother tongue).

An Italian National, Pierpaolo is an agronomist with a PhD in Sustainable Rural Development. His professional career developed mostly across EU institutions, in particular the European Commission, and FAO. In both, he contributed to the formulation of policies, strategies, programmes and projects in the areas of food and nutrition security, agriculture, territorial development and other food related issues. He also provided technical assistance to partner countries’ national policies and investment programmes formulation. He is familiar with development and humanitarian/emergency programmes mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Currently, he supports the Global Network against Food Crises (GNaFC), which implements the Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus at global level and in the food crisis prone countries. Pierpaolo speaks English, French, Spanish and Italian (mother tongue).

Bruno joined FAO in 2018 after previously having worked for the organization from 2005 to 2008. He is responsible for the RESSOURCE project of the Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme and coordinates the SWM Programme in the Sahelian Wetlands (Senegal, Mali, Chad, Sudan and Egypt). Bruno is a Belgian national and holds degrees in agriculture and forestry engineering from the University of Gembloux. He has 20 years of professional experience as technical advisor, facilitator, project manager, researcher and consultant in the fields of forestry, forest governance (FLEGT), biodiversity, wildlife, ornithology, management of protected areas, agriculture, rural development and climate change. Bruno is fluent in French (mother tongue) and English with some knowledge of Spanish, German, Dutch and Italian.