The Rev. Dr Karin Achtelstetter
General Secretary

Karin was installed General Secretary of WACC, October 5, 2010. She is former Director and Editor-in-Chief of the Lutheran World Federation, and  former Coordinator of the Public Information Team & Media Relations Officer of the World Council of Churches, both based in Geneva.  She has also served on both the WACC Europe Executive Committee and WACC Board of Directors.

Born in Schwabach, Germany, Karin holds a Masters in Theology and Bachelor of Arts from the Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen, Germany as well as a Master of Arts in Women’s Studies from the University of Kent at Canterbury, England. She also has a diploma in International leadership, with a focus on organizational development, from the Craighead Institute, Glasgow and The Grubb Institute, London. She was ordained to the ministry of word and sacrament of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria in January 2010 and has served as an occasional lecturer in the Department for Practical Theology, Christian Communication Unit, Faculty of Theology, Friedrich-Alexander University. In November 2011, she was conferred Doctor of Divinity (Honoris Causa) by the Academy of Ecumenical Indian Theology and Church Administration in Chennai, India.

Karin is also the Staff Liaison for WACC-Asia Region.

She speaks multiple languages including German, English, French and Spanish.

Lavinia is the Deputy General Secretary and the Director of Programmes. A Canadian national, she joined WACC in 2003. Lavinia holds a Masters Degree in Communication and has worked in international cooperation for many years, much of it in the field of communication including community radio and audiovisual communication for democratic development.

Lavinia is also the Staff Liaison for WACC Middle-East Region.

She speaks English, French and Spanish.

Philip, a British national, joined WACC in 1975 and is currently Deputy Director of Programmes. He is also the editor of the international journal Media Development and is responsible for the programmes Communication for Peace and Communication for Ecumenism. Recent publications include Requiem: Here’s Another Fine Mass You’ve Gotten Me Into (2001); Many Voices, One Vision: The Right to Communicate in Practice (ed.) (2004); and Communicating Peace: Entertaining Angels Unawares (ed.) (2008).

Philip is also the Staff Liaison for WACC-North America Region.

He speaks English, French and Spanish.

María Teresa Aveggio (Tita)
Programme Manager for Recognising and Building Communication Rights as well as Communication and Poverty

María Teresa's interest in communication goes back to her secondary school days when she actively contributed to the publication of her school magazine, both in her native city of Valparaíso, Chile and in Pomona, California, where she lived and studied for a year. Maria Teresa first studied journalism at the Journalism School of the University of Chile in Valparaiso. After moving to the UK she graduated with honours from the School of Communications at the University of Westminster in London. Before joining WACC ‘Tita’ worked for the research departments of two large British Trade Unions. She also worked in community development for the London Borough of Hounslow and The Deptford Fund in Lewisham. She joined WACC as a Project Assistant for the Latin America and Caribbean regions. She is now a Programme Manager for Recognising and Building Communication Rights Programme and Communication and Poverty Programme.

Tita is also the Staff Liaison for WACC-Europe and WACC-Latin America regions.

She speaks English, Spanish and Italian.

Sarah joined WACC in April 2007. Of Kenyan origin, she is a feminist political economist, with a Ph.D. in Political Science from York University, Toronto, Canada. She has extensive work experience in the field of gender and human development having worked with various African civil society and international development organisations. She is also currently a contributing researcher at the International Secretariat for Human Development housed at the York University.

Sarah is also the Staff Liaison for WACC-Africa region.

In addition to two East African languages, she speaks English and French.

Sara Speicher
Project Manager for HIV and AIDS, Communication and Stigma (consultant, WACC-UK)

Sara is originally from the United States, and joined the World Council of Churches in 1997 as a programme assistant in the WCC Programme to Overcome Violence. In 1999, she became a WCC communication officer and then coordinator of WCC Public Information. At the end of 2003 she married and moved to the UK where she set up an independent media and communications consultancy, working with organizations such as the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, World AIDS Campaign, Cordaid and World YWCA.

 

As Manager of Administration, Tim is responsible for a broad range of activities which support the work of the Association, including: facilities management, purchasing, human resources, insurance, and project management. Although born in England, he spent much of his life in Canada and has both UK and Canadian citizenship. Prior to joining WACC, he held a number of senior positions both in industry and working with charities. He has an MSc in nuclear physics, is a Life Member of the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering, and is an Officer of the Order of St John.

 Originally from Uganda, Jitu moved to Canada in 1975. He joined WACC in September 2006.

He is an experienced accountant, with a long history of serving the faith-based community both as an employee and a volunteer. He worked for the United Church of Canada (UCC) as Director of Retail and Distribution for 22 years.   He also started his own Accounting and Consulting Services Company in 1999.

Gisèle is a graduate of Latin American Studies from the University of Essex in the UK. Born in Belgium, she joined WACC in 1999.

Gisèle is also the Staff Liaison for WACC-Caribbean Region.

She speaks French, English and Spanish.

Edgar joined WACC in 2007 as the Administrative Assistant. He is responsible for many of the day-to-day administration procedures, such as maintaining membership records and subscriptions into the WACC database, providing support for the General Secretary, the Manager of Administration and the Finance Manager as well as coordinating flow of information and resources as they relate to staff and visitors, among other duties.

Edgar, originally from Colombia, is a Canadian citizen. He speaks English and Spanish.