Our team

Elisa Peter - Fund Director
Elisa joined NEF as Civitates' Fund Director in 2023. Elisa brings more than two decades of experience in fostering open, just and resilient societies through her work in multilateral organisations and civil society. She led the United Nations’ Non-Governmental Liaison Service to strengthen public participation in the UN’s deliberations to advance its international development agenda. She also spearheaded international civil society networks and multi-stakeholder coalitions in the pursuit of sustainable, inclusive and equitable development. Most recently, she was the Executive Director of Publish What You Pay, a global movement of grassroots civil society organisations tackling corruption and promoting transparency and accountability. She holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School. She has lived in 8 countries and is fluent in English and French. She understands Spanish, Italian, Swedish and Russian.

Roy Virah-Sawmy - Programme Manager
Roy joined NEF in March 2017 as a trainee. Since January 2018, Roy has been working for the collaborative fund - Civitates. He holds a LLB, in English and French Law from the University of Kent, Canterbury and a LLM in Human Rights Law and International Law from the Brussels School of International Studies (University of Kent). Roy previously worked in the legal field in his home country, Mauritius and also has experience in journalism. He had the opportunity to live in Mauritius, England and France. His personal and professional life led him to Brussels.

Ekaterina Mandova - Programme Manager
Ekaterina joined NEF as a Programme Officer for Civitates in April 2020. She holds a master degree in Journalism, Media and Globalisation and one of her passions is radio production. Throughout the years, she has been involved in different journalistic projects and initiatives around Europe. As a journalist, she has worked for private and community media outlets in Bulgaria and Austria. Before joining Civitates, Ekaterina worked for different organisations on topics related to social and environmental issues.