Elizabeth "Betsy" Dribben (United States)

Betsy Dribben joined the ICA on July 1, 2011 as the Director of Policy and is based in Washington DC.  Ms. Dribben has extensive political experience both in the US and internationally.  For more than eighteen years she ran the Humane Society of the US European office (which she created) and in that capacity lobbied the European Union and member states on environmental issues. She played a direct role in the EU’s establishment of a comprehensive ban on large scale driftnets in EU waters.  During her tenure as EU director, she also served as the organization’s chief United Nations representative at ECOSOC for more than a decade lobbying throughout the United Nations system and worked on Agenda 21  issues.  Her experience also includes five years on both the US House and Senate sides as a press and legislative aide as well as having served as a federal counsel for the American Bankers Association (ABA) where she worked on consumer regulatory issues and focused on Federal Reserve decisions.  Ms. Dribben is an attorney with a BA degree from Wheaton College in Norton Mass and a Juris Doctor degree from George Mason University in Northern Virginia. She is fluent in French.  
Contact Emai: dribben@ica.coop; Direct phone: +1 703 821 1341
Skype :edribbe1

Nicola Kelly (United Kingdom)
Nicola Kelly was appointed as Director of Communications in September 2011, having joined the ICA in February as a secondee from The Co-operative Group to the post of International Year of Co-operatives Co-ordinator. Based in the UK, Nicola is responsible for developing the ICA's global communications strategy Nicola's remit includes managing the ICA's web presence and overseeing the co-ordination of the International Year of Co-operatives as the opportunity to re-launch the global co-operative brand. Prior to joining the co-operative movement in June 2010, Nicola had been Chief Executive of three UK tourism organisations, leading up to 100 staff with budgets of c . £7 million. Her destination marketing and event management career spans over twenty five years. Nicola has a BA in Economics (Birmingham City University, England) and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Management.
Contact: Email: kelly@ica.coop; Direct phone: +44 20 3286 8212
Skype: ica_kelly1

Gwangseog Hong (Korea)
Gwangseog Hong worked for the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF) in Seoul, Korea since 1996. He was seconded to the ICA in February 2011 for a two-year period as Agricultural Adviser and sectoral Information Manager. Mr. Hong most recently worked with the NACF international co-operative office, but has also held positions at NACF in finance and research. Prior to joining NACF he was a journalist for the Korean Farmers Newspaper and a researcher with the World Agriculture Policy Institute in Korea. He holds a master's degrees in agricultural economics from the Ohio State University (USA) and Seoul National University (Korea).
Contact: Email: hong@ica.coop; Direct phone: +41 22 929 88 12
Skype: nacfhong

Prisca Boxler (Switzerland)
Prisca Boxler, joined the ICA in May 2011 as Special Projects Co-ordinator. Prior to this, she spent a decade working in the NPO field; first as Head of Internal Affairs for the State Secretary of Economic Affairs, a Swiss Federal Government Agency, later as Managing Director of the World Demographic & Ageing Forum, a privately funded Swiss Foundation in the field of population ageing and intergenerational issues. In early 2010, Prisca established her own organisation in Geneva, AgeingMatters, serving the newly created Ageing & Life Course Department of the World Health Organisation in developing its structure, strategy, communication and network. Prisca has a M.A. in international relations (IUHEI, The Graduate Institute Geneva, University of Geneva, Switzerland).
Contact: Email: boxler@ica.coop ; Direct phone: +41 22 929 88 29
Skype: - ica_boxler

Alex Baker(UK)
Alex Baker has worked for The Co-operative Group (UK) since 2009 delivering the retail society’s membership engagement strategy in London. She was seconded to the ICA for a six-month period in September 2011 to support the delivery of communications activity for the International Year of Co-operatives.  Prior to joining the Group, Alex spent three years working for The Co-operative Party in the UK, initially supporting local parties and developing the party’s youth engagement strategy, before moving to the role of Parliamentary Officer. Alex was elected as a national executive committee member of The Co-operative Party in June 2011 and is active as a campaigner and advocate on co-operative solutions. In 2006 Alex graduated with a BA Honours degree in Technology & History of Art from the University of Birmingham.
Contact: Email: baker@ica.coop
Skype: ica_baker