Ensuring Every Individual in Ukraine Has Access to Safe, Secure, and Affordable Housing

Petr Kostohryz

Board Chair

Petr Kostohryz is a development and humanitarian-aid practitioner with over 25 years of hands-on experience in the sector, having worked in the Middle East (Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan), East Africa (South Sudan), South Asia (Afghanistan, Pakistan) and former USSR (Azerbaijan, Chechnya/North Caucasus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine).

Prior to his current engagement as Director of Strategy and Organisational Development in a social enterprise Yellow Thread Labs, his career included multiple senior managerial positions in the Czech NGO People in Need and in the Norwegian Refugee Council, as well as work as protection officer at UNHCR and as senior advisor with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DANIDA).

Since late-1990s, he has assumed multiple non-profit board roles. Apart from HI, he is currently on the board of two NGO in his native Czechia, where he also lectures at two universities in Humanitarian Protection and Applied International Refugee Law. Petr holds a Master’s Degree from the Charles University in Prague.

He speaks fluent English, Russian and Danish and has working knowledge of several other languages.

Lisbeth Pilegaard

Board Member

Lisbeth Pilegaard is a seasoned foreign affairs expert and senior leader with more than 25 years of professional experience from international organisations.   

Ms. Pilegaard is strategic facilitator, speaker, mentor, senior adviser and board member to various international initiatives such a new global UN reform initiative, an Irish democracy initiative CaraDem, a Ukrainian Think Tank and a Baltic Women Mediator Network among other initiatives. 

Ms. Pilegaard has been a member of the European Endowment for Democracy (EED) Board of Governors since its establishment in 2013 and has served as the chair of the Executive Committee since 2018 elected by all EU member states plus Norway, UK and Iceland. She has undertaken several missions with EED to Ukraine, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Turkey/Syria, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Moldova.  

From 2019 to 2023, Ms. Pilegaard was the Executive Director of the Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy, which works with Danish political parties to support the development of well-functioning democratic political parties, multiparty systems and other institutions globally. She was previously the Executive Director of the Danish Fund Outside, working for the rights of socially marginalized population groups in Denmark. From 2012-17, she founded and managed a Foreign Policy consultancy firm, serving and advising the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Civil Society, think tanks and several UN organisations and global initiatives.

Ms. Pilegaard has been seconded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an Expert Adviser to support the UN High Level Panel for Humanitarian Financing set up by the former Secretary-General of the United Nations to address global humanitarian financial crises by developing the ‘Grand Bargain’ launched at the Global Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul. 

Previously, Ms. Pilegaard headed the Department for Middle East & North Africa at KVINFO – a leading Danish institution on Gender, Equality and Diversity – and led the development of strategic partnerships between Denmark and the MENA region, working with over 90 partners within the public, private and civil society sectors, and the academic world. Prior to that, she headed the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Global Technical Support department while establishing civil-military liaison policies with the Nordic Defence institutions and undertook missions to Somalia, Syria, Colombia, Georgia, DR Congo, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan. Ms. Pilegaard established and led the organisation's efforts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran as Regional Representative for three years.  

As a senior manager and consultant, Ms. Pilegaard has worked in more than 40 conflict-affected countries on all continents with long-term deployments in Iraq, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Kenya, Bosnia & Hercegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.  

Ms. Pilegaard has served in various NGO/UN/EU/NATO committees and working groups on development, humanitarian aid and democracy support, security, civil-military coordination, coherence, and transparency. She has been a member of the Danish Delegation to the UN Commission of the Status of Women (CSW) and held a seat in the governing Council of Action Aid, Denmark. She has also been a board member of Transparency International – DK Chapter and was appointed Adviser to the UN Compact Cities Programme in Australia. 

Ms. Pilegaard is a Steering Group Member of the Nordic Women Mediators Network working for the inclusion of more women in peace processes globally and is a Leadership Fellow at the St. George’s House, Windsor Castle, UK. She also serves on the approval committee of the Danish New Democracy Fund. She has held board positions in the LIVIA 

Foundation, the Anna Lindh Foundation and has been the chairperson of the Danish Council for International Conflict 

Resolution (RIKO). In addition, she has been a guest lecturer at different institutions, including the University of Aalborg and the NATO School in Oberammergau, Germany. Ms. Pilegaard has a degree in Rhetorics focussing of peace negotiations from the University of Copenhagen.

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Noosheen Mogadam

Board Member

Noosheen Mogadam is a senior lawyer currently working in the legal and regulatory team at the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.  She also manages risk and governance issues, as company secretary of Solar Citizens an Austrailan not-for-profit organisation.

Noosheen has a Master in Laws (Workplace and Employment Law) and over two decades of experence, previously practicing in commercial firms, as well as, not-for-profits in Australia. She has also worked in international emergency humanitarian response operations across the Middle East, in program management, protection and advocacy roles.

Tomás Valente Lloves,

Board Member

Tomás is an architect and academic with over two decades of experience. He is a Professor of Architecture at CESUGA in A Coruña since 2006. In 2004, he founded the studio ERBA with his wife, also an architect. Much of his work is integrated into the landscape, interpreting the history and culture of the place, the topography and climate, the tangible and intangible. The forms they create respect existing horizons so that the structures sit within the land rather than dominating it. His buildings nod to heritage while employing contemporary systems, creating a dialogue between past and present.  

Tomás continued his education with specialised studies in urban and spatial planning at the University of Porto, a Master's degree in Wood Design and Construction from CESUGA, and a Diploma of Advanced Studies in Restoration and Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings, among others. He is currently writing his PhD thesis at the UDC.

Alina is a leading housing policy expert with extensive experience in designing and implementing
comprehensive legislative frameworks for affordable housing solutions in Ukraine. Alina has successfully
led numerous high-impact housing initiatives through strategic collaborations with renowned international
institutions, as well as key Ukrainian government bodies and civil society organisations. She has been
actively involved in shaping housing management reforms aligned with European standards and led the
development of groundbreaking analytical research on municipal housing stock, mortgage mechanisms

for IDPs, and social housing reform, which have informed national policy development. With exceptional
skill in facilitating complex multi-stakeholder working groups, she consistently delivers effective project
implementation even in challenging environments. Holding a PhD in Law and recognised as a foremost
authority in housing policy reform, Alina combines sophisticated technical knowledge with proven
practical implementation experience.

Roberto is a humanitarian professional with over two decades of experience and a proven track record in
managing large-scale programmes in complex geopolitical contexts. He has held leadership roles across
the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. Notably, he spent nine years as a Country Director at the
Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, and most recently, Ukraine—where
he led NRC’s largest programme and scale-up in its history following the escalation of the war in 2022.

He was also the Director of NRC’s Syria Response during the height of the conflict across five different
programmatic country locations. Roberto holds an LL.M. in International and Comparative Law, a
Master’s Degree in International Law and Law of the European Union, and a Master’s Degree in
International Humanitarian Action.

Nataliia is a distinguished housing policy expert with extensive experience in developing critical
legislative frameworks for affordable housing and IDP accommodation in Ukraine. Nataliia has made
significant contributions to major housing legislation, including the Draft Law "On the Fundamental
Principles of Housing Policy" approved in first reading in January 2025, and has been actively involved in shaping housing management reforms aligned with European standards.

Her international experience includes collaboration with prestigious organisations such as UNECE, the Council of Europe, and the World Bank, where she has developed analytical reports and policy papers on housing solutions for IDPs, housing cooperatives, and strategic housing management approaches.

This combination of national legislative expertise and international best practice knowledge makes her exceptionally qualified to contribute to this project. Natalia holds a Master’s Degree in Law.

Andrii has over two decades of experience in the private and public sectors. He is an accomplished housing policy expert and legal scholar. He has worked at the National Academy of State Tax Service, the Ministry of Justice, the Department of State Protocol of the President and the Housing and Communal Services Department of the Solomyanska District Administration in Kyiv. He is a finance expert with extensive experience on social schemes and lending mechanisms.

Andrii holds a PhD in Law and is currently a professor at Kyiv’s National Economics University.

Diana is a strategic communications expert with specialised experience in housing policy, IDP rights, and social reform initiatives. As Senior Communications Associate at the Housing Institute, she has successfully developed and executed national communication strategies focused on housing rights and social housing reform, with particular emphasis on protecting internally displaced persons. Diana has worked at the National Agency on Corruption Prevention where she developed communication strategies on transparency in Ukraine’s recovery sectors, with a focus on housing integrity.

Her work at the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights further enhanced her expertise in communicating housing rights issues affecting vulnerable populations. She has a background in journalism and humanitarian communication. Diana holds a Master’s Degree in Law.

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Kostia has over a decade of experience in financial oversight for large-scale initiatives in the private and non-profit sectors. His main areas of expertise include finance planning and reporting, budget management and accounting, contract management and procurement and supply chain coordination. Kostia holds an M.A. in International Economics.