Hege Jacobsen, Chair of the Board

Hege Jacobsen works as a project manager for Norsk Hydro. Prior to this position, she worked in several UN agencies and been stationed in Geneva, Vienna and Western Sahara. She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in Middle Eastern and North African studies from the University of Oslo. Hege has extensive experience in information technology, project management, quality systems and organizational work. She has served as a member of the Board since May 2007.

Farid Ghiami, Deputy Chair of the Board

Farid Ghiami is originally from Afghanistan and a trained journalist from the University of Mazar-e Sharif. He is currently conducting part-time studies in Social Studies with HR Management at the University of Stavanger. He has previously worked as a Deputy Manager at the Stavanger reception center for asylum seekers, run by Hero Norge AS. Currently, Farid Ghiami works as a supervisor for Smi Human AS. He has been a NAC member since 2006 and was elected to the Board in May 2010.

Elisabet Eikås, Project Committee Representative

Elisabet Eikås is a social anthropologist and wrote her thesis on youth and public participation in Kabul.  At her previous position as a Project Coordinator for the Norwegian Peace Center, she worked with young refugees living in Norway, and their contribution to development in their home countries. She has also worked as a Program Advisor for two years at NAC’s Country Office in Kabul (2009-2011). Elisabeth Eikås currently works for Landinfo. She became a member of the Board in 2012, and is also the Head of the Project Committee.

Andrea L. Rivrud, Women Committee Representative

Andrea L. Rivrud holds a Master’s Degree in Middle Eastern studies from the University of Oslo. She has previously worked as the Organization Secretary for NAC in Norway, and she was also the previous secretary of the Board. She currently works for Oslo Municipality as a Project Manager for two projects within the Groruddalen Project. She also does a lot of volunteer work and monitoring for various NGOs.

Farshad Tami, Information Committee Representative

Farshad Tami is originally from Iran but has spent most of his life in Lebanon.  He moved to Norway in 2007 to pursue his studies. He now holds a Master's Degree from the University of Life Sciences in Ås, and wrote his thesis on livelihoods in Northern Afghanistan. He has worked with several NGOs, as well as UN Agencies, with refugees and humanitarian relief programs.  His last stationing was in Pakistan, where he worked as the Provincial Cluster Coordinator for the UN. Farshad Tami was elected to the Board for the first time in 2012, and is the Head of the Information Committee.

Solveig Sandalsnes, Bergen Committee Representative

Solveig Sandalsnes has been employed by Bergen municipality for more than 35 years, now for NAV. She has been a NAC member for approximately 20 years and been on the Board during several periods. Solveig visited the NAC`s projects in Afghanistan in 2004 and 2012. She received Bergen municipality’s Equality Award in 2008.

Anne S. Hertzberg, Board member

Anne Hertzberg is a trained psychologist and physiotherapist. She has worked with aid and project development within health and rehabilitation and the social sector since 1995. She has wide experience from working abroad, and has worked in East and Southern Africa, as well as Eastern and Southern Asia. She has spent two years in Eritrea and been in and out of Afghanistan since 2002, where she has worked mainly for the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan and the Ministry of Public Health. Anne Hertzberg is a member of the Women Committee.

Gry Synnevåg, Board Member

Gry Synnevåg is the Head of Department at Noragric, the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) in Ås. She has broad experience from teaching and researching, as well as development with a special focus on sustainable agriculture, natural resource management, food security and rural development in several countries in Africa and Asia. She has performed several reviews and evaluations of aid projects for Norad, the Foreign Ministry as well as international organizations. From 2004-2008, she worked as a resident representative for the Norwegian Church Aid in Kabul.

Tonje Merete Viken, Board Member

Tonje Merete Viken is a journalist with a background from Dagbladet, NRK and Nettavisen. She has  had several assignments within journalism and information for various NGOs, amongst others for the Norwegian Refugee Council as well as the Norwegian People’s Aid. She has previously worked as the Advisor for Information and Analysis for NAC, where she has also been Deputy leader and Head of the Board. In 2009, she worked for UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Afghanistan. She holds a Master’s Degree in Middle Eastern and North African Studies.

Substitute Members

Mike Fergus, substitute for the Project Committee
Masooda Dustiyar, substitute for the Women’s Committee

Shaima Noor, substitute for the Information Committee

Helge Liland, substitute for the Bergen Committee

Andreas Koestler, substitute Board Member
Terje Skaufjord, substitute Board Member
Marte H. Moe, substitute Board Member