Team

Bas de Leeuw is Managing Director of the World Resources Forum (WRF), based in Switzerland. WRF is known for its annual flagship conferences, as well as for multistakeholder dialogue projects such as the EC Horizon2020 FORAM project (Advancing the idea of a World Forum on Raw Materials) and the ISO IWA program SRI (Sustainable Recycling...

Dr. Mathias Schluep has studied Environmental Engineering and received his PhD in Natural Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (Switzerland) in 2000. Mathias Schluep has worked in the academic and private sector in the fields of development cooperation, environmental research and general business consultancy at national and international levels for several...

Nicole Nussbaumer has graduated at the Business School of Basel (Switzerland) in 1998. She has worked as a secretary in various Swiss companies since then. Nicole joined the World Resources Forum in 2013 as an executive assistant where she is responsible for accounting, human resources and administration.

Dr. Shahrzad Manoochehri has studied Geology and received her PhD in field of Geochemistry and Petrology from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (Switzerland), where she continued working as a research associate at the Department of Earth Sciences. During this time, she was doing experimental and analytical investigations on the world’s largest chromium ore...

Originally from Canada, Thad Mermer has worked in various capacities for over 20 years with the United Nations and other international organizations in the environmental protection and sustainable development sectors. His work profile has transitioned over the years from hands-on Industrial Ecology and Cleaner Production projects to online communications, research, publication editing, and graphic design. The transition included several geographical locations along...

After having successfully completed a five months internship, Fabian now works for the World Resources Forum and the Sustainable Recycling Industries project. He holds a master in geography and a master in history, both obtained at the University of Bern. Before working for the WRF, Fabian worked for the Institute of Geography as well as...

Sonia Valdivia is a Program Manager at the World Resources Forum since mid August 2014 on the areas of ‘sustainable recycling industries’ and ‘life cycle management’. Before she was Programme Officer at the UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics, and has been coordinating the Secretariat of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative. She has a PhD...

Manuel Holzer is excited about the question how environmental conservation, prosperity, and sustainable resources use can be combined. He dreams of a world in which human well-being and ecosystem health are given the highest priority. He has studied environmental sciences and engineering at ETH Zurich and he earned his master’s degree in 2020 in the...