Advisory Board on Education and Outreach
Supporting the OPCW’s engagement with external partners

The Advisory Board on Education and Outreach (ABEO) provides specialised advice in areas of education and outreach relevant to the OPCW’s mandate.

Its goal is to ensure that the Organisation’s education and outreach activities, and those of States Parties, are effective, sustainable, cost-effective, and benefit from the latest advances in education and outreach theory or practice. Such advice may be provided to the Director-General, to the policy-making organs and, at their request, to States Parties.

The ABEO provides advice on the development of education and outreach strategies, key messages and partnerships that support the implementation of the Convention. The board also identifies global education and outreach activities relevant to the Convention and those related to disarmament and non-proliferation. The specialised advice that the board provides is with the goal of making education materials accessible to audiences in order to benefit the broadest range of target stakeholders.

A Group of Independent Experts

ABEO members serve in a personal capacity (not as representatives of their respective governments) and  serve no more than two three-year terms, which may be consecutive. The chair and vice-chair are elected by the members of the ABEO.

The Board is made up of 15 independent experts in subjects including education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and other relevant disciplines, science communication, the chemical industry, dual/multiple-use issues related to chemistry and the life sciences, ethics and the Convention, and related international measures.

Members (and observers) of Advisory Board on Education and Outreach

Chairperson 2025: Professor Magda Bauta Solés (Cuba)

Vice-chairperson 2025 : Professor Ying Zhou (China)

Dr Edith Valles (Argentina) holds a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine and a Ph.D. in Toxicology from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. She served as a research associate at the Research and Scientific Institute for Defense, part of the Argentine Ministry of Defense. For nearly 20 years, she has worked extensively in the field of chemical and biological weapons non-proliferation, including the export control of dual use goods.

Dr. Valles contributed to Argentina’s CWC National Authority by supporting outreach campaigns to the industrial sector and participating in “train-the-trainer” initiatives aimed at the academic chemical sector to promote awareness of the dual-use nature of chemistry. Additionally, she played a key role in outreach efforts targeting the life sciences community to increase awareness of laboratory biosecurity and dual-use research challenges.

From 2005 to 2017, she served as a technical expert for Argentina’s delegation to the Australia Group meetings. Dr. Valles also vice-chaired the Advisory Board on Education and Outreach from 2016 to 2017 and was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to be a member of the Group of Experts supporting the UN Security Council Committee established pursuant Resolution 1540 (2004), serving from April 2018 to March 2023 at the UN headquarters in New York.

Since April 2023, Dr. Valles has worked as a project manager for the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE) of the Organization of American States, based in Washington, D.C. She oversees projects supporting the implementation of UNSCR 1540 in OAS Member States, funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Biosecurity Engagement Program and the European Union, focusing on biosecurity, research security, and biorisk management.

Prof Kellie Tuck (Australia) is a teaching and research academic in the School of Chemistry at Monash University Australia. She leads a research group who focus on the synthesis of small molecules for applications in medicinal and supramolecular chemistry. Her recent research includes investigating lanthanide-based complexes for the detection of environmentally and biologically relevant species, synthesising sustainable surfactants, and using coordination cages for their capability to detect and detoxify toxic organophosphorus compounds. She collaborates with academic colleagues from Australia and internationally, as well as with industry and government partners, including Unilever and the Defence Science and Technology Group.

She has published over 100 papers in these areas and is committed to education, having received a number of teaching and mentoring awards. These include being a 2024 Monash Student Association Teaching Award Finalist, the 2021 Team award for Exceptional Service to the Faculty of Science, the 2018 Faculty of Science Excellence in Postgraduate Research Supervision Award, and a 2012 Office of Teaching and Learning (OLT) Australia Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning.

Prof. Kellie Tuck has been a member of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute since 1995 and the Royal Society of Chemistry UK since 2007. She currently serves as Chair of the RACI Supramolecular Division and is the Associate Head – International in the School of Chemistry. She also contributes to Monash University’s governance as a member of its Academic Board.

Dr Andrea Leisewitz (Chile) is currently professor and the Director of Integrity, Safety and Ethics in Research at the Universidad San Sebastián, Chile (USS). Former professor at Universidad Santo Tomás (UST) and at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC). She is a scientific adviser to the Chilean National Authority for the Chemical and Biological Weapons Convention and has participated in the elaboration of the national regulation for the CWC and BTWC implementation in Chile. Additionally, she is an adviser to the Chilean Bioethics Office of the Ministery of Health. Her expertise is in cellular and molecular biology, good practices in research including research ethics, bioethics, biosafety and biosecurity. Dr Leisewitz holds a doctorate in Cellular and Molecular Biology, has postdoctoral training in pharmacology, a Masters in Innovation and a Masters in Bioethics. From May 2013 to September 2019, Dr Leisewitz directed the Research Ethics, Bioethics, Biosafety, Biosecurity Office at PUC. She has been a member of the PUC’s IACUC (2008-2013) and chair of the same committee (2011-2013), chair of the Institutional Biosafety/ Biosecurity Committee at PUC (2014-2016) and at UST (2019-2021) and Chair of the Advisory Board Member of the PUC Animal Care and Use Program. Since 2021, she is the Chair of the USS’s IACUC and the USS’s Biosafety/ Biosecurity Committee. 

Dr. Leisewitz served as OPCW’s Scientific Advisory Board member (2019-2024) and Vice-Chairperson (2021-2023). Finally, she participated in the Temporary Working Group on the Analysis of Biotoxins (2021-2023).

Prof Ying Zhou (China) is a professor of analytical chemistry and environmental science at Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China, for more than 30 years. Her research interests include the development and application of analytical chemistry techniques, environmental fate and health effects of chemical contaminants, molecular mechanisms of toxicity of nanoparticle pollutants and their complex interplay, and quality management and accreditation of analytical laboratories, and she has published more than 60 papers in international peer-reviewed journals. She serves as a member of the OPCW Advisory Board on Education and Outreach for the second term (since January 2022).

Since 2010, she has been a member of the Chinese National Committee of Experts on the Implementation of the CWC. She has actively contributed to the work of education and outreach on the implementation of the CWC, including offering a university course on the OPCW, the Convention, and the Hague Ethical Guidelines, disseminating and tutoring the OPCW’s educational resources, and providing technical assistance to declared facilities. She has participated in more than 10 OPCW on-site inspections of declared facilities in China. 

She is the deputy executive director of the Spectroscopy and Electrochemistry Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial Analysis and Testing Association, China. She also serves in the Consultant of Environmental Emergency in Hangzhou Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau, China. She holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Science, an M.Sc. in Environmental Chemistry from Zhejiang University, China, and a B.Sc. in Analytical Chemistry from Zhejiang University of Technology, China. As a senior research scholar, she successively visited the University of Mississippi, USA (2016) and the Natural Products Utilization Research Unit (NPURU) at Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) (2019) for short periods. She spent one year as a visiting researcher at Warsaw University of Technology, Poland (2004-2005).

Prof Magda Bauta Solés (Cuba) serves on the OPCW Advisory Board on Education and Outreach since January 2022. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Havana. She is a retired Professor at the Higher Institute of International Relations of Havana, Cuba, where she teaches Multilateralism, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation. She has tutored university theses on the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), chemical disarmament and other disarmament topics and has published articles on all of these subject matters.

She worked in the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Republic of Cuba, and represented Cuba in the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva (Switzerland) during the negotiations on the Convention for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (1988-1995). She was Deputy Director of Multilateral Political Affairs of the Cuban Foreign Ministry (1995-1997) until she joined the Preparatory Commission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (The Hague, Netherlands). She worked in the International Cooperation and Assistance Division (ICA) at the OPCW, where she headed the Implementation Support Branch (IPB) from 2000 to 2008. During her tenure, important programmes were developed to promote chemical disarmament and the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, including National Authorities meetings and training courses in all areas relevant to the implementation of the CWC. During her tenure at IPB, the first electronic tools for education on chemical disarmament and the implementation of the CWC were developed; important outreach projects aimed at promoting chemical disarmament among, inter alia, legislators (Inter Parliamentary Union), customs officials (Montreal Protocol, Green Customs Initiative), academia and others were developed. Thanks to her experience in the promotion of chemical disarmament and CWC implementation, Dr Bauta Solés, represented the OPCW in the Second, Third and Fourth working sessions of the United Nations Group of Experts for Education on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation.

Dr Ladislava Navrátilová (Czech Republic) is a scientist and senior lecturer actively involved in international education. She currently serves on the OPCW Advisory Board on Education and Outreach since January 2022. Her main current educational task is to guarantee and lead OPCW courses for first responders and coordinate international cooperation. She contributed to increasing chemical safety via leading projects and trainings mainly in Africa (establishment of the self-sufficient educational infrastructure for the East African Community partner states) and South America (training courses for Paraguayan first responders). Since 2005 she has organized various face-to-face and online OPCW training courses and projects for which she created methodology and specific guidelines. She has been deeply involved in the activities of the Assistance and Protection Branch, OPCW.

Dr Navratilova is a chemical expert and emergency responder in the Population Protection Institute, General Directorate of the Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic. One of her scientific tasks is to develop methodologies for the protection of population in case of chemical incidents. Her main duty is to serve as a member of a Chemical Emergency Response Unit. She is responsible for sampling, on-site identification and laboratory analysis. As a member of the emergency team, she also tests the most suitable equipment and technique and then recommends it to the first responders. She holds a doctorate in civil protection from University of Defence in Brno, Czech Republic.

Dr Sylvain Paile-Calvo (France) is a Senior Researcher in the European Studies Unit of the University of Liege (Belgium), since 2006. He holds a MA in Law and a PhD in Military Science and Political Science.

He is the Technical Director and Team Leader of projects of the European Union Partner-to-Partner Export Control Programme for Dual-Use Goods (EU P2P) since 2021, including the EU P2P project for Southeast Asia.

He is also working for European cooperation projects on CBRN risks management and strategic trade control on arms  and collaborates with international organisations, European Union structures, and European Defence ministries in the fields of dual-use goods’ trade controls, security and defense.

He is the author of more than 90 publications in these areas and teaches in several universities and training institutes.

Prof Christopher Daase (Germany) is Professor of International Relations at Goethe University Frankfurt (Germany), and Deputy Director of the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) where he heads the research department on “International Security”. He currently serves on the OPCW Advisory Board on Education and Outreach since January 2022. His research and teaching focuses on security policy (especially wars and civil wars, terrorism and radicalization, non-proliferation and arms control) as well as international institutions. Dr. Daase studied political science, literature, philosophy and art history in Hamburg, Freiburg and Berlin and conducted doctoral research as a SSRC-MacArthur Fellow in International Peace and Security at Harvard University and the RAND Corporation. He chairs the Research Advisory Board of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin, is co-founder of the Arms Control Negotiation Academy (ACONA), and member of the Executive Board of the EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Consortium, where his responsibilities include e-learning courses. Dr. Daase has published several books and numerous articles in international journals and was editor of the leading German international relations journal for more than ten years.

Dr. Shahriar Khateri (Iran) is a physician and expert in Chemical Emergency Response, with extensive experience in the medical management of long-term health impacts of exposure to chemical warfare (CW) agents. He holds an MD from Tehran and a PhD in Medical Toxicology from the Institute of Cellular Medicine, Newcastle University, UK.

As a medical toxicologist, Dr. Khateri specializes in the clinical and epidemiological study of CW agents, with a focus on the rehabilitation and support of CW survivors.

Since 2003, he has been actively involved in initiatives related to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). In 2007, he co-founded the Tehran Peace Museum, an educational center dedicated to raising public awareness about the devastating consequences of chemical weapons, promoting the principles of the CWC, and supporting the work of the OPCW.

The museum regularly collaborates with academic institutions to organize educational programs on peace, disarmament, and chemical weapons.

From 2014 to 2021, Dr. Khateri served as a Senior Programme Officer at the OPCW Technical Secretariat, within the Assistance and Protection Branch of the International Cooperation and Assistance Division. In this capacity, he designed and implemented global capacity-building programmes and training courses for first responders and medical professionals on the medical management of chemical casualties.

Prior to his tenure at the OPCW, Dr. Khateri worked for over 15 years in the field of War and Public Health, focusing on the long-term health effects of chemical warfare on survivors. As Senior Researcher at Veterans Department’s Research Centre, he led numerous research projects addressing the health impacts of chemical warfare and developed medical guidelines, patient education packages, health monitoring and assistance programs for CW victims.

Currently, Dr. Khateri serves as the Chair of the Board of the Tehran Peace Museum. He remains actively engaged in organizing national and international training courses for medical professionals on chemical emergency response and provides expert advice on Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) emergency preparedness and response to Ministry of Health and other relevant authorities.Dr. Khateri has authored several publications on the health and environmental impacts of war, with a focus on chemical weapons, and continues to contribute to education and outreach efforts related to the CWC and the OPCW.

Dr Nezha Barakate (Morocco), holds a PhD in Electrochemistry and Analytical Chemistry. She currently works at the National Institute of Hygiene in Rabat where she holds the position of chemical safety and security manager in addition to her technical contributions as responsible for the analysis of chemicals. She serves since January 2022 on the Advisory Board on Education and Outreach (ABEO) of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Since 2022, Nezha Barakate has been also nominated as Qualified Expert on the UN Secretary-General Mechanism’s (UNSGM) Roster for Investigations of Alleged Use of Chemical, Biological or Toxin (CBT) Weapons.

She has a profile of a research supervisor and trainer and a member of several national committees: member of the National Commission for the Convention on Chemical Weapons, member of the National RNBC Committee, regional expert and member of the steering group of project 35 relating to waste management, member of the National Committee for the Homologation of pesticides and chemical safety officer at her institute.

Internationally, she contributed to the organization and participation of several workshops, in particular with SNL, BEP, ORNL, CSP and UNICRI. Mostly specific to chemical safety and security, especially those in favour of the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women working in chemistry-related fields to foster greater visibility of their achievements.

Co-author of several reviews, the latest one produced with Sandia National Laboratories and entitled “Law Enforcement Risk Mitigation Guidance for Physical Security of Chemical Facilities”.

Prof Janefrances Ngozi Ihedioha (Nigeria), is a Professor of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) who serves on the OPCW Advisory Board on Education and Outreach since January 2022. Her research interests include the distribution, fate and effect of chemical contaminants and toxicants in biological and environmental matrices; examining bioaccumulation, food-chain transfer, human exposure, risk assessment, and green chemistry approach in environmental remediation. She has published several articles in reputable peer-reviewed journals, attended several conferences and workshops, reviewed articles for many journals and is currently a member of the Editorial Board of Human and Ecological Risk Assessment – an International Journal and an associate editor of Toxicology, Pollution and the Environment- a section within Frontiers in Environmental Science.

Prof. Ihedioha is a member of the Chemical Society of Nigeria (CSN), the Institute of Chartered Chemists of Nigeria (ICCON), the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) and the Organisation of Women in Science for Developing World (OWSD). She was the immediate past Treasurer and the current Financial Secretary, of the Chemical Society of Nigeria, Enugu State Chapter. She was a one-time Chairman of the Faculty Scholarship Board committee, and Secretary of the Faculty Publication Committee of the Faculty of Physical Sciences, UNN. She was the immediate past Chairman of the Faculty of the Physical Sciences Postgraduate Committee and Faculty Representative on the Board of the College of Postgraduate Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Mr Naveed Alam (Pakistan) serves as the Director of the National Authority on the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in the Arms Control and Disarmament Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan. He has actively participated in numerous bilateral and multilateral forums, including international seminars, conferences of states parties and review conferences on the CWC and arms control.

Mr. Naveed brings extensive expertise in legislative measures for chemical trade monitoring and has been integral to Pakistan’s CWC implementation since 2022. His work includes overseeing industrial outreach for OPCW inspections, conducting safety and security audits and contributing to the development and refinement of legislative frameworks.

A passionate advocate for education, Mr. Naveed has developed CWC study modules for importers, industrialists, and academia, while spearheading pioneering outreach programs for chemical engineers at Pakistani universities. He has also organized impactful seminars and workshops on CWC implementation and Chemical Safety and Security in partnership with international stakeholders, including the U.S. State and Energy Departments through CRDF.

In his role, he coordinates routine OPCW industrial inspections in Pakistan and ensures compliance with CWC standards. As the Ministry’s focal person for CWC, he leads training programs on assistance and protection against chemical weapons and contributes to audits of industrial safety and security.

Mr. Naveed holds a Master’s degree in Military Sciences and is dedicated to advancing outreach and education initiatives in his capacity as a member of the ABEO at OPCW.

Prof Vicente Garrido Rebolledo (Spain) is a Professor of Public International Law, International Relations and Security Studies and Director at the Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC), Madrid, since 1999 (https://gestion2.urjc.es/pdi/ver/vicente.garrido). 

Prof Garrido Rebolledo is specialized in international security and defence issues, especially, on arms control and non-proliferation, with more than 200 articles and several books published as main author and/or editor. Researcher codes: ORCID: 0000-0003-0182-6659; SCOPUS Author ID: 57212865178; WoS Researcher ID: ABG-5903-2020.

Since 2023 Prof Garrido Rebolledo is the Vice Dean of Research and International Relations at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences at the Rey Juan Carlos University and is a member of the OPCW Advisory Board on Education and Outreach since January 2022.

Since 2021, Prof Garrido Rebolledo is the Vice-President of the Spanish Association of Public International Law and International Relations Professors (AEPDIRI). (https://www.aepdiri.org) and since 2018 he is the Director of the Chair on Security and Defence Studies “Francisco Villamartín”, Spanish Ministry of Defence-King Juan Carlos University (https://www.catedrafranciscovillamartin.com).

Between 2014 and 2017 he was a member of the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters of the United Nations Secretary General, as well as a member of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR).

Since 2009 he is a senior independent adviser for Non-Proliferation and Disarmament issues at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has participated as an expert-advisor to the Spanish delegation in several international negotiating conferences (NPT Review Conference and PrepCom, since 1995; UNSC 1540 Committee, Wassenaar Arrangement, GICNT); CONOP-CODUN (EU).

As a researcher,  he has participated in more than 50 national and international research projects: DGP, Konrad Adenauer, Peace Research Institute Frankfurt, Volkswagen (Germany); Rockefeller Brothers, Ford and Ploughshares Foundations (USA); CREST, FRN, IFRI (France); Academia Scientiarum et Artium Europea (Austria); Spanish Ministries of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Science, Technology and Education; REPSOL-YPF. PRIF-Rockefeller Brothers Foundation Research Fellowship (1990-1991) and NATO Research Fellow, 1995-1997.

Prof Garrido Rebolledo maintains frequent collaborations with Spanish and international mass media and journals.

Prof Garrido Rebolledo was awarded the following distinctions: the Gold medal of the European Development Association (2018) and the Spanish Naval (2007) and Aeronautical Merit White-Crosses (2019) by the Ministry of Defence

Prof Supawan Tantayanon (Thailand) has been a member of the OPCW Advisory Board on Education and Outreach since January 2022 and was its Vice-Chairperson  in 2023.

Prof Supawan Tantayanon is a Chemistry Professor at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and is an expert in organic and polymer syntheses, green chemistry, and alternative energy. A leader in chemical safety and security, green chemistry and sustainability, she has championed small-scale chemistry since 2000 to reduce chemical risks in laboratories and integrated green chemistry principles into sustainable academic practices.

She has conducted over 130 workshops on chemical safety and security, green chemistry, and small-scale chemistry worldwide and co-authored the influential Chemical Laboratory Safety and Security: A Guide to Developing Standard Operating Procedures.

Professor Tantayanon has held leadership roles in prominent scientific organizations including the President of Federation of Asian Chemical Societies and Pacific Polymer Federation, and chaired major international conferences. Her work has earned her prestigious awards, including the 2018 IUPAC CCE Distinguished Contribution to Chemistry Education and the 2021 IUPAC Distinguished Women in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering.

Dr Richard Guthrie (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) is an international security policy researcher, primarily focused on technology control and innovation issues that relate to materials and technologies that can have hostile as well as peaceful uses. He has served on the OPCW Advisory Board on Education and Outreach since January 2022.  He has side interests in the issues of interactions between governments and societies, in event management for mass gatherings, in emergency planning/response, and in international legal frameworks.  Dr Guthrie currently runs a project called CBW Events (started in 2007) which has the aim of creating a record of events to enable and encourage understanding of how policies on issues relating to chemical and biological warfare (CBW) and its prevention are developed.  He was Project Leader of the CBW Project of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) (2003-06), and with the Harvard Sussex Program (1988-2003), where he was responsible for production of The CBW Conventions Bulletin and for managing key data resources. Starting with the Sixth Review Conference for the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in 2006, Richard has produced daily reports from each of the formal meetings of the Convention, including the annual inter-sessional meetings. This has been extended to include daily reports from the Review Conferences of the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2008, 2013 and 2018. He holds an MSc in science and technology policy. His PhD was on understanding effectiveness of activities within the BWC.

Observers

Prof Marietjie Potgieter (IUPAC) holds a PhD in bio-organic chemistry from the University of Illinois, USA. She is Professor Emerita in the Department of Chemistry and former Deputy Dean: Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences of the University of Pretoria (UP) (2013 – 2020). Her research focussed on effective instruction and student success in tertiary science. She published extensively on student preparedness for first-year chemistry, academic development programmes for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, innovative teaching approaches for first-year science courses and alignment of tertiary chemistry education with sustainability imperatives. She received several national and international awards for teaching and research excellence.

Her international contributions include collaboration on the ISC project, Gender gap in Science (2017 – 2019), editor of the IUPAC journal, Chemistry Teacher International, and co-chair of the IUPAC project on Systems Thinking in Chemistry for Sustainability. She is the current chair of the IUPAC Committee on Chemistry Education (CCE) (2022 – 2025) and serves as IUPAC representative and observer on the Advisory Board on Education and Outreach (ABEO) of the OPCW. 

Mr William Garcia (Cefic) is Executive Director at Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council representation in Brussels. His leadership encompasses Health, Safety, Security, Chemicals Transportation and Environmental preservation Policies. He is the ICCA Deputy-Secretary General and ICCA Delegate to the OPCW, OECD and IMO strategic Committees. He leads the ICCA Responsible Care^® European Chapter across 30 National Federations.

With a longstanding manufacturing background that started some 30 years ago with LyondellBasell (LBY) and its predecessor companies, Mr Garcia is an experienced director with managerial abilities ranging from managing large size manufacturing sites to leading corporate staff organisation. Before joining Cefic he was LBY Staff Director in charge of the Company Global Operational Excellence, leading the Responsible Care Integrated management processes. Mr. Garcia received his Engineering degree from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines d’Alès.