Elisa Tarnaala

Thematic expertise: Peace and transition processes, dialogue and facilitation, human rights, transitional justice, civil society participation 

Regional/country-specific expertise: Latin America, Africa 

Languages: Finnish, Spanish, French, English, Swedish 

Dr. Elisa Tarnaala is Senior Adviser at CMI Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation.  She holds the title of Docent at the University of Helsinki, is vice chairperson of the Finnish 1325 Network, and a former member of the NATO Civil Society Advisory Panel (CSAP) on Women, Peace and Security. She is currently working on Libya, Colombia and Afghanistan, with an emphasis on peace, conflict and transitional processes. She has close to 30 years of experience in engaging in participative projects with peace activists, memory collectives in conflict-affected communities, victims’ organizations, teachers, youth groups, and former armed group members. She has been grant researcher of academic foundations, senior analyst in research centers, and consulted for international organizations (UN, EU, OAS, AU) and ngos (IDEA, ICTJ, IRG) on themes of democracy, conflicts, human rights, women’s participation and gender. She has a PhD in Political Science and History from the New School for Social Research, New York.