Yana Gevorgyan joined GEO as Secretariat Director in July 2021. Ms. Gevorgyan is an international relations expert whose career spans humanitarian relief and development, international think tanks, and government organizations. Formerly, GEO Program Manager at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA), Ms. Gevorgyan managed the participation of the United States government in GEO and provided thought leadership to shape forward-looking strategies and policies that enable multisectoral partnerships, broad stakeholder engagement and the deserved recognition of GEO’s most valuable asset – its community.

Ms. Gevorgyan is an experienced cross-cultural communicator known for building bridges between diverse communities on a global and regional scale. Her vision for the advancement of GEO is to introduce agile and innovative approaches to promote broader use of Earth observation data, technologies and knowledge for social impact. Accelerating engagement with GEO members at the national level, strategic communication for policy, economic and human impact, and collaboration across sectors and stakeholders will be key vectors in Yana’s strategy to shape the work of the GEO Secretariat and the GEO community.

Ms. Gevorgyan was born and raised in Armenia, where she studied foreign languages and became involved in international development and working with underprivileged communities as a young adult. She credits this time of her life with developing a keen understanding of the power of human interaction; of authenticity, empathy and trust as the basis for enduring relationships; of the importance of commitment to a cause and the long road to get there. “Any outcome worth achieving takes commitment and perseverance. I’m at GEO with my GEO family, for the long haul – to see communities benefit from the enormous public and private investments made into science and technology.”