CLGF staff

Lucy is Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum, having worked for the organisation since 1999. She is responsible for policy, which contributes to the strategic direction of the organisation, and takes a leading role in the development and management of CLGF’s capacity building projects. Her specific areas of expertise are decentralisation, intergovernmental frameworks, local economic development, local government finance and inclusive local government. She is responsible for managing the work of CLGF’s programme and relationship-building and advocacy work with members and partners across the Commonwealth. She directs the work of CLGF’s regional offices in Fiji, South Africa, Ghana, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Trinidad and Tobago. She has also been pivotal in the design and management of CLGF’s biennial Commonwealth Local Government conferences.
 
Before CLGF, Lucy worked for the Local Government International Bureau (the international section of the Local Government Association for England and Wales) where she was responsible for the day-to-day management of a UK, government-funded programme of support to local authorities in Central and Eastern Europe. She also worked for a number of years in the planning and economic development department of a local authority, before which she was living and working overseas. She has a BA in German and Politics from the University of Bradford.

Claire leads the CLGF Programmes Team developing funding proposals, interfacing with donors and partners and supporting CLGF projects at the regional and country level including design, development and delivery with an emphasis on monitoring and evaluation. She currently coordinates CLGF’s DFID funded programme Reducing poverty through local economic development (LED) in the Commonwealth working in Southern Africa, West Africa and South Asia at the regional, country and local level; and the EU funded project Empowering Local Authorities in partner countries for enhanced governance and more effective development outcomes working in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific on localising the SDGs; and CLGF EU funded project Strengthening the Associations of Local Governments and their Members for Enhanced Governance and Effective Development Outcomes in Pakistan. She is also a member of the team managing the Commonwealth Women in Local Government Network (ComWLG) working to support work in local politics and decision making, as well as supporting CLGF’s Strategic Partnership with the European Union, Cities Alliance and PLATFORMA among other partners. She has been CLGF's technical representative on the EU Policy Forum for Development (PFD) since 2017.

Prior to joining CLGF she worked as a Programme Officer with United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) in Barcelona on the GOLD project (Global Observatory of Local Democracy and Decentralisation) and during her time with the team produced multi-region reports on local government finance and local government service provision. She has a Masters degree in urban planning and a BA in communications.

Susan is responsible for CLGF’s strategic communications: branding, website, social media, publications. She specialises in communications and media linked to local government and international policy development. Her years of experience in the public sector include working for UK local authorities (London borough of Southwark and Central Bedfordshire); the Local Government Association for England and Wales; and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 

For ten years, she advised councils on international partnerships and strategies; representing the LGA on national, European and international bodies. She researched, wrote and edited several publications, including a handbook on international links; designed and managed capacity-building projects in various countries after securing external funding; and presented at events/delivered bespoke training on local government partnerships. She established and managed the UK's International Cooperation Officer Network and the Forum for UK-China Local Government Partnerships. She has a BA in German and Business Studies; studied for an MA in Contemporary History and Politics and is qualified to teach English as a foreign language.

Chaminda oversees the accounting and book-keeping at CLGF, including supporting the registration and payment for the CLGF conferences and events. 

Chaminda has extensive practical experience, as well as academic and professional qualifications in the UK and Sri Lanka. Chaminda is currently pursuing the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants ACCA course, building on his accounting experience in Sri Lanka and the UK. Chaminda has worked for Friends of The Elderly, Regis Mutual Management as well as the Heritage Group before joining CLGF.

Dzifa joined CLGF in 1995 and is responsible for the organisation's HR and membership engagement, and is also Deputy Finance Manager. Her indepth and eclectic mix of skills qualifies her to work across all three areas.

Sam joined CLGF in 2001. He is responsible for managing the organisation's finances and budgeting. He provides strategic leadership and also works closely with regional offices and on the management of individual programme funding.

Karibaiti first joined CLGF in November 2006 as a Senior Project Officer based at the Pacific office in Suva, Fiji. She became Regional Director in 2009 and has overall responsibility for CLGF Pacific in achieving its strategic vision and outcomes including planning, resourcing and staffing.

Before joining CLGF, Karibaiti worked for the Government of Kiribati for 18 years at middle and senior positions. She served as Permanent Secretary for three ministries in Kiribati which included the President's Office (1996-1998), the Ministry of Environment and Social Development (1998 - 2003) and the Ministry of Internal and Social Development (2003 - 2006). As Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Internal and Social Affairs, Karibaiti had oversight for the overall implementation of policies and administration in local government, support services to 22 island councils and 3 urban councils, decentralisation and rural development for all island councils in Kiribati. Karibaiti was in charge of the Electoral Commission and the national and local government elections in Kiribati from 2003 to 2006.

Karibaiti holds a BA in Administration and Politics from the University of the South Pacific and an MSc (Human Resource Development) from Victoria University, Manchester, UK. 

Sandra has extensive experience in the Local Government sector with an aggregate of 16 years in managing regional and national Local Government Associations. Sandra pioneered the establishment of the Caribbean Association - CALGA and served as its Senior Technical Officer in the EU funded ARIAL Programme, which was designed to strengthen Local Government Associations in the ACP bloc of countries. Her experience in the Local Government sector includes conceiving, developing, and managing projects aimed at developmental Local Government. 

Janine is responsible for managing CLGF's Networks:

• Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Network; and

• Commonwealth Women in Local Government Network.

A development practitioner, Janine holds a BSc. Biological Sciences from King’s College (KCL), University of London and a MSc. Spatial Planning from University College London (UCL), University of London. Much of her work has seen her managing programmes of work geared toward reducing societal disparities and promoting progressive, sustainable development and economic growth across the country.  

Janine operates out of the CLGF Caribbean Office in Trinidad and Tobago and brings to CLGF, expertise and experience in Urban and Regional Planning; Research; Policy Development; Programme and Project Design, Monitoring, Evaluation, Implementation and Management; Poverty Reduction; Strategic Planning and supporting collaborative planning and community engagement.