Partners & Staff
Roland Ziss
German, urban economist, partner and President of SUM Consult, expert in housing policy and finance, institutional development and urban management with over 30 years of consulting experience. He has worked as an adviser to local and national governments in 30 countries. As an institutional, policy and financial expert he participated in feasibility studies and the implementation of urban upgrading projects in Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Namibia, Senegal and Southn Africa. He advised on low-cost housing loan schemes in Ecuador, South Africa, Eritrea, Uruguay and Paraguay. roland.ziss@sumconsult.de
Joanna Kotowski-Ziss
German, partner and Managing Director of SUM Consult, a social and urban development expert with more than 20 years of experience in 24 different countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe, specialised in slum and squatter settlement upgrading, violence prevention, community development, youth promotion, and monitoring and evaluation systems. In Namibia, Eritrea, India, Mexico, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Colombia and Kosovo, she led interdisciplinary groups of local experts and conducted large socio-economic surveys. Currently she is adviser in Monitoring and Evaluation issues to the CONVIVIR Programme in Honduras. joanna.kotowski@sumconsult.de
Nina Giegerich
German, assistant to the management of SUM Consult and junior expert. Formation in international and area studies (Latin America) with work experience in Nicaragua, Cuba, Mexico, Bolivia, India, Namibia, South Africa and Spain. nina.giegerich@sumconsult.de
Experts
Jan Hendrik (Erik) Buiten
South-African, Town and Regional Planer & Development Consultant, with extensive public and private sector experience in land use planning, urban development, land reform and rural development, mainly in South Africa but also in other counties in Africa. He has worked with all levels of government, non-government organisations, donor agencies, the private sector and communities. Since 2010 he is resident adviser for the SA Sport for Change Programme (formerly YDVS) in South Africa. erik.buiten@sumconsult.de↑
Juan Alberto Crispo Capurro
Swiss-Uruguayan, partner of SUM Consult from 1993 to 2008, an architect and urban planner with over 30 years of professional experience in the preparation and implementation of low-cost housing, settlement upgrading and urban development projects in 15 different countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. He guided the SUM consulting teams in various feasibility studies to prepare German financial cooperation projects, including the large-scale informal settlement upgrading projects in Colombia and El Salvador. He worked as a resident adviser in the implementation of the UNDP and World Bank settlement upgrading projects in Haiti and Pakistan. panchi.crispo@sumconsult.de ↑
Jacqui Cuyler
is the co-founder and co-director of 1to1 – Agency of Engagement; a design-based social enterprise that has been developed to address structural spatial inequality in South African cities. She has over 10 years of experience working across Southern and Central Africa as an architect, project manager and director of 1to1 with a focus on urban upgrading, community engagement and participatory development processes through socio-technical grass-roots work. Since 2019 she is working as a SUMConsult short term consultant for a violence prevention project in Kinshasa, DR Congo (PVJ, KfW funded), being responsible for the design, monitoring and technical evaluation of the implementation of the Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) approach. jacqui.cuyler@sumconsult.de ↑
Dustin Dale
South African, Mechanical Engineer and Project Manager. Specialising in planning, contract management, and development. Over 10 years’ experience with engineering projects and managing professional teams in South Africa. Since 2017 has been involved in low income housing development as well as sustainable business development in the inner city of Johannesburg working across several disciplines. In 2020 joined SUM Consult to work on the social development and infrastructure projects in Mamelodi East, Pretoria.
dustin.dale@sumconsult.de ↑
Glenda Díaz de Mejía
Guatemalan, Economist, Political Scientist, and International Relations. Expert for development programs, children and youth rights promotion, with nearly 20 years of Director, Adviser, and consultancy experience in the areas of development of innovative models of education, administrative and financial processes, development of political publics, elaboration studies, evaluations and manuals. From 2009 to 2012 she has worked on behalf of SUM as national liaison person of PREVENIR in Guatemala, a GIZ-funded Youth Violence Prevention Project. glenda.diaz@sumconsult.de ↑
Francisco Ergueta Acebey
Bolivian, engineer in Information Systems and civil construction, expert on territorial planning and regional development. 15 years of working experience in information systems design and geographic information systems applied to project management and productive infraestructure for regional development, including watershed management. Part-time professor at the university in Applied Hydrology and Hydrometry teaching climate and land use planning. For 10 years, he has formed teams in territorial management and implementation planning of infrastructure and public-private partnerships; in the last 5 years he has specialized in works of accompaniment and supervision related with roads, potable water and basic sanitation in Bolivia. francisco.ergueta@sumconsult.de ↑
E. Benjamin Guerra Sousa
Mexican, Civil Engineer with more than 35 years of experience in urban planning in Mexico, El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica and Peru. On behalf of SUM Consult, he was involved in the urban upgrading project Los Manantiales in El Salvador. He is specialised in GIS planning, green technologies, sustainable urban development and the adaptation of technologies to local conditions in low-income areas. benjamin.sousa@sumconsult.de ↑
Juan Pedro Gutierrez Palza
Bolivian, civil engineer, with over twenty years of experience as an expert in community infrastructure development. Director of the magazine „Presupuesto & Construcción“ specialized in the analysis of unit costs, budgets and price index of construction materials for housing and infrastructure. He has an extensive experience in execution, analysis, supervision and evaluation of community infrastructure works and projects. He worked for SUM Consult as Local Specialist Coordinator for monitoring and to develop and implement a system of operation and maintenance. juan.gutierrez@sumconsult.de ↑
Alma Irene Hernández Luna
Guatemalan, architect, planner for regional development and specialist in disaster management with more than 20 years of professional experience in management, design, implementation and evaluation of projects for public, private and nongovernmental organizations in the context of international cooperation. She was responsible for tracking and monitoring of public social policies, strengthening the Public Investment System and programs of poverty reduction, territorial planning, public housing and management for disaster risk reduction. She is co-founder and current president of the Association for Housing Improvement of Guatemala (MEJORHA), local partner of SUM-INBAS-SANIPLAN consortium for the project: Safe Spaces for Youth in Central America – CONVIVIR. alma.hernandez@sumconsult.de ↑
Grâce Impion Ntsa,Congolese from the DRC, Engineer in Agricultural Economics with more than 7 years of professional experience in project monitoring and evaluation, including impact evaluation of development projects, feasibility studies and market research. Experience in the preparation of terms of reference, development of methodologies, preparation of field plans, coordination of data collection activities including training of data collectors, analysis of collected data and report writing. He has experience as consultant for several bilateral cooperation projects between the DRC and other countries. Since August 2021 he is working as national expert in monitoring and evaluation on behalf of SUM Consult for a violence prevention project in Kinshasa, DR Congo (PVJ, KfW funded).
grace.impion@sumconsult.de ↑
Victor Kalomba
Congolese from the DRC, Civil Engineer with 22 years of professional experience in preparation and supervision of construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure projects financed by bi- and multilateral donors, including management of labour-intensive public works. Experience in the elaboration of tender documents, the awarding of construction contracts, the supervision, management and organisation of all kind of construction sites on the technical, financial, human and administrative levels. Trainer of NGO and CBO leaders in management, maintenance and sustainability of projects. Since 2019 he is working as a SUM Consult long term consultant for a violence prevention project in Kinshasa, DR Congo (PVJ, KfW funded). vicky.kalomba@sumconsult.de ↑
Kedibone Kekana
South-African, social worker with degree in social sciences, has extensive public and non-governmental sector experience in working with formal and informal leaders within communities in South Africa. She supported SUM as a social development consultant and community facilitator in the Safety Promotion through Urban Upgrading Programme in Pretoria, South Africa. kedibone.kekana@sumconsult.de ↑
Dr. Ing. Umut Kienast-Duyar
City and regional planner. Expert in spatial and participatory planning, community action research, urban regeneration, livelihoods support and local economic development. 15 years of working experience in international development and local government in Mozambique, South Africa, Germany and Turkey. She worked with a wide range of stakeholders including local and provincial government, national and international donors and civil society organisations in developing inclusive and equitable urban regeneration strategies. From 2016 to 2020 she was the resident advisor in the Safety Promotion through Urban Upgrading Programme in Pretoria, South Africa. umut.duyar@sumconsult.de ↑
Michael Kleinekathöfer German, urban geographer and sociologist with over 30 years of experience as an expert in violence prevention through integrated urban upgrading, community development, recruitment of vocational training activities for the youth, organisational development, and monitoring and evaluation. Since 2016 he is the SUM Consult Principal Advisor in the violence prevention programme “Safe Spaces for Youth in Central America – CONVIVIR Guatemala”. From 2000 to 2014 he has worked as the SUM Consult resident advisor in Colombia, responsible for the implementation of the urban upgrading programmes “SUR de Convivencia” (2009 to 2014) and “SUR con Bogotá” (2000 to 2006) in Bogotá. Previously he worked as resident advisor to various urban and municipal development projects in the north-east of Brazil (1992 to 2000) and to an urban upgrading programme in the Dominican Republic (1985 to 1992). michael.kleinekathoefer@sumconsult.de ↑
Julia Liebermann
German, Political Scientist, Legum Magistra in International Law, with a focus on Latin America, human rights and development policies. Julia has experience in human rights advocacy work with international NGOs and extensive research experience on judicial reforms, development work and transitional justice. She has worked and conducted research in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, UK, and the USA. In her consultancy she focused on youth promotion and violence prevention in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras and consulted with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. julia.liebermann@sumconsult.de ↑
Wendy Elizabeth Martínez Flores
Guatemalan, Business Administrator with an MBA in Finance, and experience of over 12 years as financial accountant, specifically in tax and legal legislation, budgets, management of records, internal control, accounting firms and ONG’s, teaching experience in the field of administration since 2011. She supports SUM in consultancy and monitoring of the program „CONVIVIR -Safe Spaces of living for young people in the city of Guatemala” in all management tasks, financial control and logistics. wendy.martinez@sumconsult.de ↑
Alexia Mejía de Paz
Honduran, business economist, expert for market research and market analysis. More than 10 years experience as a consultant for different national and international organisations in diverse areas such as social compliance, project management, knowledge development and others. From 2009 to 2012 she has worked on behalf of SUM as the national liaison person of PREVENIR in Honduras, the GIZ-funded Youth Violence Prevention Project. alexia.mejia@sumconsult.de ↑
Stephen Muthua
Kenyan, civil engineer and development consultant. Expert in planning and implementation of infrastructure, housing and urban management projects. Over 20 years of experience in Kenya, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Since 2006 as regional engineer and from 2009 to 2010 as chief technical adviser, he was responsible for the implementation of infrastructure projects and maintenance systems within the Pro-Poor Growth for Peace Consolidation Programme in Sierra Leone. Since 2014, he is resident adviser in the Support to Safety and Peace through Urban Upgrading Programme in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. stephen.muthua@sumconsult.de ↑
Marguerite Nzuzi Kenge, Congolese from the DRC, sociologist and expert in development and social inclusion with more than 30 years of experience in development projects for different international organisations in social and democratic development, political and forest governance, biodiversity conservation and climate change areas. Madame Nzuzi Kenge has been involved in the formulation of sectoral policies and development strategies in the context of gender mainstreaming. She participated in socio-economic studies, feasibility studies, gender analysis, social structuring and development of economic activities in favour of various marginalised groups (women, young, indigenous peoples), and socio-economic integration of demobilised youth from military conflicts.
Since January 2020 she is working as national expert on behalf of SUM Consult for a violence prevention project in Kinshasa, DR Congo (PVJ, KfW funded). maguy.nzuzi@sumconsult.de ↑
Carlos Ramírez Castro
Mexican, architect and urban planner, expert on infrastructure and low-cost housing, with more than 25 years of professional experience in infrastructure development, settlement upgrading and urban project management. He has extensively participated in the preparation, implementation and evaluation of urban development projects of different types, with components of self-help construction, basic services and building material loans. carlos.ramirez@sumconsult.de ↑
Viola Reinhard
German, economic geographer and communications specialist, working for three decades in the field of international cooperation. She is specialised in organisational development, process planning and M+E including impact monitoring in private sector development and environmental projects. Another focus of her work is conference management and PR. As a senior advisor she had numerous short- and long-term assignments in sub-Sahara Africa as well as in Central and South East Asia. Since 2019 she is working as a SUM Consult short term consultant for a violence prevention project in Kinshasa, DR Congo (PVJ, KfW funded), being responsible for the elaboration and implementation of a participatory impact monitoring system. viola.reinhard@sumconsult.de ↑
Floralba Rodriguez Árdila
Salvadorean, Industrial engineer & Development Consultant, Expert for institutional analysis and development. 20 years of working experience as consultant for different national and international organisations. On behalf of SUM she was the national liaison person of the GIZ-funded Youth Violence Prevention Project PREVENIR in El Salvador from 2009 to 2011. floralba.ardila@sumconsult.de↑
Hugo Salinas del Llano
Bolivian, civil engineer, Manager of Aktiva consultants in La Paz, expert in road infrastructure, concrete and reinforced concrete structures. He worked in various sectors of social programs, mainly water and sewer, empowering community leaders to manage water supply companies and companies for the maintenance of water systems. He worked for 5 years in monitoring and evaluation of social programs together with SUM Aktiva consultants and has formed and coordinated working groups of several consultants. hugo.salinas@sumconsult.de ↑
Oliver Schetter
Multi-lingual Architect, Master in International Development and lecturer with 20+ years of international professional experience in Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Engagements in academia, private sector practice, and development agencies via short-term consultancies and long-term positions. Expertise in infrastructure planning and implementation, urban planning, urban design, operation and maintenance, project management, capacity building. Intermittently collaborating with SUM Consult, e.g. in Honduras 2016 and the DRC 2019-2020. oliver.schetter@sumconsult.de ↑
Sonja Spruit
Architect (MSc Delft) specialized in housing and urban development. After working in the Netherlands for seven years, she has been consulting internationally for more than ten years in urban and regional planning, resettlement, (affordable) housing, school design, social infrastructure projects and energy efficient and climate adapted design. A common trait in her work is considerate pragmatism, with solutions that are resource efficient, culturally sensitive and socially suitable. Her experience has included social safeguarding, gender issues, community-based approaches and participatory design, and was gained in 17 different countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. She is based in Cairo, Egypt. From 2009 to 2011, international expert on behalf of SUM Consult, supporting the Gansu Earthquake Recovery Programme in China. sonja.spruit@sumconsult.de ↑
Dr.-Ing. Florian Steinberg, German, senior urban development specialist with over 40 years of professional experience, and over 25 years of continuous overseas assignments in Asia, Latin America and North Africa. He has worked with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS), German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), German Development Bank (KfW), Interamerican Development Bank (IDB), World Bank, UN-Habitat and the Green Climate Fund (GCF). He has ample project management experience, and has worked on many urban infrastructure (water-sanitation, waste management, transport) and climate change projects. Since retirement from ADB in January 2014, he has been working as a freelance consultant, based in Colombia. With SUM Consult he recently participated in the evaluation of the C40-GIZ Cities Finance Facility (CFF). florian.steinberg@sumconsult.de ↑
Klaus Teschner German, Architect, Urban planner and researcher with 30 years of professional experience in Latin America, Africa and Europe focussing on settlement upgrading, self-managed housing, urban policy development and institutional strengthening of civil society organisations. As a lecturer and researcher at German universities from 1991 to 2000, and as associate of Habitat Forum Berlin from 1998 to 2002 he conceptualised and managed scientific research and cooperation programmes, international events, exhibitions and civil society exchanges with North African, European, Asian and Latin American partners. From 2002 to 2021 he worked as a project manager for urban development issues at the Latin America, Africa and Middle East departments of MISEREOR with numerous assignments in 25+ countries of Africa and Latin America related to settlement upgrading, housing and community development. Since 2021 he joined SUM Consult as an urban expert involved in project development and backstopping.
klaus.teschner@sumconsult.de ↑
Kingori Wathobio
Kenyan, civil engineer, expert for community infrastructure development and management with more than 30 years work experience and over ten years in consultancy in more than 10 countries. Especially in Eastern and Southern Africa he has carried out many consultancy assignments (covering the entire project cycle), but also worked in Asia (e.g. India and China). He is well versed with issues in informal settlements having carried out several assignments, among others facilitating the elaboration of manuals for O+M in Rwanda on behalf of SUM. kingori.wathobio@sumconsult.de ↑
Dr. Timo Weinacht
German, Social and Educational Scientist, expert for good governance, violence prevention, peace promotion, child and youth rights. 18 years of working experience as consultant for different national and international organisations, especially in Central America where he lived five years, in North Africa (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia) and in francophone Africa. On behalf of SUM, he participated in the development of a youth promotion strategy for Guatemala City (in KfW funded programme CONVIVIR) and currently advices a violence prevention project in Kinshasa, DR Congo (PVJ, also KfW funded). timo.weinacht@sumconsult.de ↑
Hugh (Hui) Zhang
Chinese, professional translator, interpreter and English teacher. He worked with SUM Consult as a translator and local coordinator since September 2009 in the context of the KfW co-financed Gansu Earthquake Recovery Project. hugh.zhang@sumconsult.de ↑