As City Practice Lead, Helen leads the development and delivery of the Mayors Migration Council’s City Practice portfolio, including the $10M+ Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees (GCF) and managing an active pipeline of projects across 25+ cities. She provides technical assistance to city governments and supports the creation of tools, knowledge products, and city-to-city learning exchanges that foster the socio-economic inclusion of migrant and displaced communities in urban areas.

Helen has advised over 50 cities worldwide implementing programs focused on climate adaptation, nature-based solutions, and inclusive public space planning and design. Prior to joining the MMC, she served as Cameroon Coordinator for UN-Habitat’s Urban Planning and Infrastructure in Migration Contexts (UPIMC) Project, setting up a field office in Douala and coordinating with the city government, displaced communities, and partners to improve basic services, blue-green infrastructure, and socio-economic opportunities for IDPs. Previously, she worked in UN-Habitat’s Nairobi headquarters on sustainable urban planning across the African continent and Asia-Pacific region. She was also seconded to UNHCR’s headquarters in Geneva to boost inter-agency collaboration on settlement planning.

Helen holds a Master of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science in International Agriculture and Natural Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.