Unity Foundation is governed by a board of directors that meet regularly to consult on the strategic direction of the organization. The day-to-day work is being carried out by the office team. Our external consultancy body, the Baha’i International Development Organization (BIDO), based in Haifa, Israel connects us to local development agencies which have the capacity to work with an external funding organization. BIDO and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs act as two filters ensuring the quality and integrity of our projects.
Our core values
United in Service • Learning in action • Striving for excellence • Honoring your trust • Contributing with joy
Meet the board of directors
Fernand Schaber
President
Fernand has been an ethic-driven professional in Private Banking since 1986. He has combined this role with his philanthropic mandates and strongly believes that both worlds can be potentially, against some prejudices, a perfect match. Fully supported by his family Fernand joined the board of Unity Foundation in 2002, humbly and gratefully making a little contribution to the betterment of the world.
Abbas Rafii
Vice president
An engineer by training, Abbas founded his own company, Ireco, in Luxembourg in 1971 and was voted into the “Entrepreneur of the Year” hall of fame in 2006. The following year he was awarded by His Royal Highness Grand-Duke Henri as “Commandeur de l’Ordre du Mérite du Grand-Duché du Luxembourg”. He is a founding member of Unity Foundation and served as its president for many years. As vice-president of the board of directors he is still actively involved in the foundation, always driven by his greatest aspiration: service to humanity.
Paola Dumet-Fusco
Treasurer
Paola is a sociologist by training and works in a social research institute. After having worked for some years in the development field in Latin America, Paola arrived in Luxembourg to continue her studies and joined Unity Foundation in 2007. She has always believed in the power of people to bring about change in society, and she feels honored to serve with Unity Foundation.
Paul Arbab
Born in the US, Paul grew up in Colombia. He holds an MBA and joined the board of Unity Foundation in January 2007. Since then he has been able to provide valuable input to the strategic direction of the Foundation. He is a proud father of two children and strongly believes in the power of education.
Meet the office team
Our office team deals with all the day-to-day aspects of our organization, from project management to development education activities, fundraising, PR, communications, administration and everything in between. A diverse and multicultural team comprising members working full and part-time, including our external collaborators, makes up an office team with 4.5 full-time positions.
Angela Roldán
Coordination, Communications & Project manager
Angela served on the board of directors between 2012 and 2018. Fully convinced that education empowers women to contribute to the betterment of a world which continues to struggle for gender equality, Angela is grateful to be a part of the Unity Foundation team.
Development Education & Public Discourse Officer
Wishing to bear witness of the oneness of humankind by contributing to the just and sustainable development of all societies, Anne is delighted to start her professional life with Unity Foundation, which is committed to participate in the development and education of young people through the values of unity and humility in service. She has just graduated with a Master’s degree in Political Science specializing in International Public Management and has already served as an intern in several structures dedicated to development and international cooperation.
Sarah Guez
Administrative and Financial Officer
Inspired by Unity Foundation’s educational mission, Sarah recently joined our team. Convinced that there is a synergy between development, social progress, well-being and education, she wishes to contribute to the growth of Unity Foundation. With her professional background and training, she will provide valuable support to our organization by coordinating, structuring, and overseeing various administrative and financial aspects of our work, while also being open to exploring other areas as needed.
Claudine Winkel
Administrative Assistant
Having worked for Unity Foundation for 12 years, after her retirement Claudine, at a time when our foundation needed administrative support, was delighted to rejoin the team on a part-time basis and support the various administrative tasks that remain to be done.
External collaborators
Luna Congo
Project Management & Communication Aid
Luna holds a master’s degree in International Development, has experiences in development organizations in India and Brazil and was an intern at Unity Foundation in 2019. She believes that true prosperity can only be achieved if communities everywhere become protagonists of their own material and moral development, and is therefore very excited to work with Unity Foundation, whose principles and values she shares, as an external collaborator.
Stephen Agahi-Murphy
Project Management Aid
Stephen holds a PhD in Migration, Education and Development. In recent years, his work has focused on the role of participatory research methods to explore the diverse ways in which local communities are charting their own paths of development. More broadly, his work is driven by an interest in how individual livelihoods, institutional practices and community dynamics interact and evolve in an increasingly interconnected world. His experiences and interests align with the principles, values and approaches of Unity Foundation, and he is delighted to collaborate with the organisation in advancing these shared aims.
Pascal Jossi
Ambassador, fundraising Aid
Pascal Jossi is a corporate culture consultant with a background in education and labour sciences. He joins the Unity Foundation team with several years of experience in project management, facilitation and material development specifically in long term capacity development in community building projects. He also accompanies professionals in their endeavour to transform their organisation into a meaningful community. What drives Pascal is the belief that the 21st century requires a new way of working and collaborating as we are shifting towards a world in which “Purpose” will play a pivotal role. Fully aligned with Unity Foundation’s values principles and methodology, he is thrilled to support the ongoing research for new corporate partner organisations.
