Elisabeta has joined IAWD in the role of an Association Development Manager on a part-time basis at the end of 2022. 

In addition, she is the Executive Director of the Water Supply and Sewerage Association of Albania (SHUKALB) since 2013. She has been working with SHUKALB for over fifteen years, playing a significant role in building up the professional image of SHUKALB among the stakeholders in the water sector in Albania and the region, as well as in the growth of SHUKALB as a sustainable organization. Ms. Poci holds a Bachelor Degree in Environmental Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Tirana and a Master of Science Degree in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, USA, under a Fulbright Scholarship

Prior to his retirement in March 2023, Walter has worked for Vienna Water, where he was appointed as Deputy Managing Director in 2011.

He serves as IAWD Secretary General since 1993 and currently also as IAWD president since 2017. Walter Kling joined the work of the Austrian Water Association and in 1993, when he was delegated to represent Vienna within IWSA. Since the launch of IWA in 2000, Walter Kling supported the development of the new association in the region of Eastern Europe by organizing a number of events. Maintaining an excellent network of contacts, he successfully applied to organize the IWA – World Water Congress 2008 in Vienna. In September 2010 he was elected IWA – Vice-President, re-elected in Busan 2012 and served in this position until 2014.

In 2010 he initiated the development of the Danube Water Program, which was launched jointly by the World Bank and IAWD in 2013.

Katerina joined IAWD in 2016 in the role of the Knowledge Management and Capacity Building Coordinator. Since then she has worked in several positions in the association and was strongly involved in the implementation of D-LeaP as well as the Knowledge Sharing and Outreach activities. Since December 2022 Katerina is the Head of the IAWD Secretariat.

Prior to her engagement with IAWD she has earned a master’s degree in Biology with a specialization in freshwater ecology from the University of Vienna. In 2004, Katerina joined the Vienna University of Technology, Institute for Water Quality, Resources and Waste Management as a Research Assistant. Her work focused on projects dealing with water quality and included lecturing in basic and advanced courses for operators of wastewater treatment plants. She obtained her PhD within the framework of “The Vienna Doctoral Programme on Water Resource Systems” at the TU Wien.

Since 2006 she has also been actively involved in the national and international activities of the International Water Association (IWA) and is a member of the Austrian IWA Governing Member in which she founded the Austrian Young Water Professionals and chaired their activities until December 2014.

Her involvement in the YWP agenda of the IWA World Water Congress in 2008 in Vienna led to her becoming chair of the global IWA YWP Steering Committee and the representative of the YWP on the IWA Board of Directors (BoD). She has become an IWA Fellow in 2016 and is currently Vice Chair of the IWA Fellows Steering Committee.

Emilija joined the IAWD team in April 2020 as Program Assistant supporting capacity building activties for water supply and sanitation utilities in the Danube Region. Since September 2021 Emilija has been involved in IAWD's capacity building initiatives in in the frame of the Regional Capacity Development Network (RCDN) project as well as D-LeaP.  

Prior to joining IAWD, Ms. Milunovic interned with GIZ, supporting two projects on rural development in the Western Balkans, based in Skopje and Belgrade (2016 – 2017). She also worked with Kommunalkredit Public Consulting in Vienna, providing technical assistance to the development of grants for environmental projects in Austria (2012-2015). Originally from Belgrade, Serbia, Emilija is based in Vienna and holds a BSc in Environment and Bio-Resources Management, from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna. 

Antonia started working for IAWD in April 2022 as an assistant in charge of administrative and financial association business and communication. Before joining IAWD, Antonia spent several years at home with her four kids. During that time she obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Geography from the University of Vienna specializing in the field of urban planning and regional development.

Raimund Mair has more than ten years of experience in integrated water resource management. Before joining the World Bank he worked for the European Commission. His professional responsibilities covered the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), including questions related to sustainable infrastructure development, structural changes of surface waters and the WFD environmental objectives. During his previous occupations at the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River and at the Austrian Federal Ministry of Environment, Raimund has been actively involved in promoting transboundary water cooperation and inter-sectorial cooperation.

Raimund studied Environmental Engineering and Water Management at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna and holds a Diploma in engineering and a Diploma in Water Policy from Cranfield University, United Kingdom

Kathia Havens brings seven years of experience supporting projects and programs in international development and water resources management. Kathia has been working with the World Bank since fall of 2015, when she joined the Global Water Practice as a Short Term Consultant. Since then, she has provided both technical and programmatic support to numerous initiatives including support for ASA activities/publications, the CIWA program, and the Global Solutions Group for Water Security and Water Resources Management.

For the past year, Kathia has also worked with the Global Water Partnership supporting their transboundary water program: working on regional capacity building workshops on international water law and governance; a Massive Open Online Course on Governance for Transboundary Water Security; and developing the organizations’ programmatic approach to transboundary water management.

Mr. Stjepan Gabric MsC SE (Delft, the Netherlands) is a Senior Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist with 24 years of experience in the water and sanitation sector, including construction, design supervision and project management of water and sanitation projects. He works for the World Bank since 2003, and during this period has been involved in a large number of Bank financed water projects in countries of eastern Europe and central Asia.

Patricia Lopez holds a five year degree in Economics and Business Sciences with a two-year specialization in Financing from Colegio Universitario de Estudios Financieros (C.U.N.E.F), Madrid, Spain. She joined the World Bank Group as a Financial Specialist in 2003. She has worked mostly in the water and sanitation and urban sectors in the Latin America and the Caribbean region, focusing on providing high-level policy advice in financial and institutional issues to a wide range of clients (national, regional and local governments, utilities and sector institutions) and preparing, negotiating and managing lending operations in the sector.

Before joining the Bank, Patricia worked for different investment banks and consultancy firms advising governments, utilities and private companies in project and corporate finance operations. She has hands-on experience in the design of solutions for the provision of water and sanitation services and the financing of infrastructure, particularly with participation of the private sector. She brings solid technical and analytic skills and broad-ranging experience working with utilities and public administrations, specifically in the financial, institutional and regulatory areas. Her experience cover Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and Eastern Europe (Croatia and Slovakia).