3rd UIA Associations Round Table Asia-Pacific 2015

Laura Lopez

Director of Strategic Publications, Communications and Advocacy
UN-ESCAP – the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

Laura Lopez is currently the director of Strategic Publications, Communications and Advocacy of the Economic and Social Commission of Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), based in Bangkok. She began her career as a journalist based in various parts of Latin America, as a foreign correspondent for TIME Magazine, reporting on economic, social and cultural stories. In 1997 she joined the United Nations and first worked at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), based in Santiago, Chile, as Information Services Chief, then Director of the Documents and Publications Division, and eventually as Secretary of the Commission. Ms. Lopez moved to ESCAP in 2011 as Chief of Staff, before taking on her role as head of strategic communications.

John Peacock

General Manager, Associations Forum

John Peacock, General Manager of Associations Forum Pty Ltd, is one of Australia’s most experienced advisors to associations and charities and is a thought leader for the not-for-profit sector. John, with a BCom (University of NSW), has senior management and Directorship experience in a variety of not-for-profit organisations.

John commenced his career as a professional association manager in 1989 at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia and became CEO of a medium sized legal association within 10 years.

Since 2000, John has trained and consulted to hundreds of associations and charities, large and small, on strategic, governance, board effectiveness, operations, restructuring and financial issues. As well as engagement on specific projects, John’s business undertakes whole-of-organisation reviews of associations and charities.

John’s operational specialisation is developing plans that can be translated into actions, budgets and job descriptions. His change specialisation is in the field of mergers of associations.

In 2008, John responded to the Australian Senate Inquiry into NFP Regulation, in 2009 he wrote submissions to the Productivity Commission regarding their Inquiry into the Not-for-Profit sector and in 2012 he wrote submissions to Australian Treasury on the proposed Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission. In 2014, he drafted a submission in the Royal Commission on Trade Unions.

John has led the expansion of Associations Forum beyond Australia with conferences, training and consulting. Since 2009, he has spoken at association training events in New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, The Philippines, India, USA and South Africa.

John Peacock strongly believes that the freedom to associate is a core foundation of democracy. Strong and well-governed associations and charities support their members or their cause, are independent of government and bureaucracy, plus generate jobs for employees and income for suppliers. John welcomes the opportunity to discuss how associations & charities are improving the world – and how to run your organisation to meet its potential.

Esther Chong

Assistant Executive Director, Corporate Services of Singapore Business Federation (SBF)

Ms Esther Chong, Assistant Executive Director, Corporate Services of Singapore Business Federation (SBF). Concurrently, she is also the General Manager of SBF Foundation. She was instrumental in the formation of the SBF Foundation, a registered charity and an Institution of Public Character.

Prior to joining SBF in 2011, Ms Chong served 13 years in the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises where she held several positions and led the Food Services Business Unit, Employment Assistance Unit and Finance.

Ms Chong graduated from the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore with a Bachelor in Business Studies. She received her Master in Business Administration (with distinction) from the University at Buffalo, State University of New York (UB) in 2012. She was the recipient of the 2012 Singapore Institute of Management-UB Award for Academic Excellence.

Ryan Brubaker

Web developer and database programmer, UIA

Ryan has worked with the Union of International Associations since 2011. He is responsible for the user interface of UIA's databases, the ongoing development of its website and the visual identity of the organization. He also provides regular training sessions on the use of UIA's Yearbook of International Organizations and International Congress Calendar digital publications.

Before joining UIA, Ryan ran a communications design studio crafting online identities for associations and small businesses. Its principle designers were most often collaborating between Belgium and Alaska, 10 time-zones apart. He now works from both Brussels, Belgium and a small mountain town in the United States.

Clara Fernández López

External Relations Manager of UIA

Clara is a skilled mediator with a training in understanding-based approach to conflict. As an independent consultor, she supports academic and professional publishing houses, organizations and academic institutions in diverse areas of company strategy, publishing, marketing and in international relations development.

Clara joined the Union of International Associations as External Relations Manager in 2011. In her role as Publisher, Managing Director and Member of the Management Board with various international publishing and media companies such as K. G. Saur in Germany, Gale in the U.S., Thomson Learning in U.K. and De Gruyter in Germany, from 1988 to 2011 she was the Publisher of UIA’s "Yearbook of International Organizations".

Since 1998,Clara is a Lecturer in Media Sciences at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, Germany.