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Craig Williams
Senior Information Officer
Takoma Park, MD

Main Responsiblities

As Senior Information Officer, Craig is the focal point for the development and use of key survey technologies, notably the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA). He is responsible for maintaining and managing the SAC Geographic Information System and supervising publications, including the SAC website. As head of the Information Department, he oversees the country-by-country analysis of LIS results and also carries out training in survey methods and tools for implementers and local nationals working on the surveys.

Background

Craig has worked in humanitarian emergencies and development since 1992, when he joined UNHCR in Cambodia to work on the repatriation and reintegration of refugees. In 1995 he moved to western Myanmar as UNHCR’s Reintegration Specialist, overseeing a $16 million programme to provide development assistance to Rohingya refugees returning from camps in Bangladesh. From these experiences, he became interested in using information management tools, including GIS, to improve the effectiveness of assistance programmes and took time off to study this issue.

After receiving an M.A. in Geographic Information and Development in 1998, Craig rejoined UNHCR in Kosovo where he helped establish the Humanitarian Community Information Centre (HCIC) and an initiative to use information management as a coordination mechanism for humanitarian agencies. Craig continued this work in a number of countries in the Balkans before moving to Eritrea in 2000 with OCHA.

Craig moved to the US in 2003 when his wife was posted to Washington DC with UNHCR. He worked briefly for USAID’s Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), covering Afghanistan, before joining SAC as a full-time staff member in April of 2004.

Education

Craig received an M.A. from the University of Durham in the UK, writing his thesis on the use of GIS and participatory development techniques in mine action.

All the Rest

Craig is a British citizen. His wife, Joung-ah Ghedini, is Senior PI Officer for UNHCR in Washington.