Sarah Charles is the Assistant to the Administrator of USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), the U.S. Government lead for international disaster response. With a mandate to save lives, alleviate human suffering, and reduce the impact of disasters, BHA monitors, mitigates, and responds to global hazards and humanitarian needs. The Bureau also promotes resilience by preparing communities for disasters before they strike, and by helping people recover and move beyond crises.

Joanne Smyth is the Sanctions Co-ordinator for the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ireland,  responsible for monitoring and contributing to Ireland’s policy on EU and UN Sanctions. She served on the Department’s UN Task Team during Ireland’s term on the UN Security Council from 2021 to 2022.  Previously she was based in Ethiopia as Ireland’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the African Union. Joanne also has extensive humanitarian experience having worked for a number of years in the Great Lakes Region and as a protection advisor to humanitarian programmes in South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Lebanon among others.