Meet Your Trainers
👩🏫Meet your Trainers and Facilitators
The success of this Online Workshop is supported by a team of experienced trainers and facilitators who bring diverse expertise in flood and drought. They will guide participants through 3-days sessions, activities, and discussions, helping to connect theory with practice and foster peer-to-peer learning.
The following proffesionals serve as trainers and facilitators for this Online Workshop on Global Tools for Flood and Drought:
Dr. Amir Givati - The Israel Meteorological Service (IMS)
Dr. Amir Givati is the Director of the Israel Meteorological Service (IMS). He is a hydrologist and climate scientist specializing in flood forecasting, hydrometeorology, and climate-change impacts on water resources. He has extensive experience in developing early warning systems, integrating satellite observations with hydrological models, and leading operational forecasting projects in Israel and internationally. Dr. Givati has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and has collaborated with governmental agencies, research institutes, and international organizations to improve flood and drought resilience. He is also an active lecturer and advisor on climate-related risk management and water policy.
Dr. Angelica Gutierrez - The Global Water Sustainability Program (GEOGLOWS).
Dr. Gutierrez is a senior water resources engineer and diplomat of science with over 25 years of experience in hydrological prediction, Earth observations, and international water policy. She has been a key architect of the Global Water Sustainability (GEOGLOWS) Flagship under the Group on Earth Observations, leading the design and operationalization of global and regional tools for streamflow, flood, and drought prediction. She represents both the United States and GEO on the World Meteorological Organization’s Expert Team on Operational Hydrological Prediction Systems, where she helps shape technical standards and best practices for forecasting systems worldwide.
Her diplomatic work focuses on turning science into actionable policy: she has negotiated intergovernmental agreements, coordinated international technical support during environmental crises such as the El Callao oil spill, and advised governments through the Ambassador’s Water Experts Program. She is a strong advocate for open data and interoperable services, and her leadership has been recognized with the NOAA Administrator’s Award for Exemplary International Leadership and the GEO Individual Excellence Award. Dr. Gutierrez holds a Ph.D. in Environmental and Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland and a Master’s in Public Policy and Technology from Stony Brook University."
Dr. Assaf Zipori - The Israel Meteorological Service (IMS)
Dr. Assaf Zipori is a Senior Statistical Climatologist at the Israel Meteorological Service (IMS). He completed his B.Sc. and M.Sc. studies (2007–2012) and later earned his Ph.D. (2012–2016) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, focusing on cloud–aerosol interactions under the supervision of Prof. Daniel Rosenfeld and Prof. Yigal Erel. He continued his research as a Postdoctoral Fellow (2016–2018) at the Weizmann Institute of Science, studying ice nucleation initiation with Prof. Yinon Rudich. Between 2018 and 2021, he served as Director of Cloud Seeding Operations at EMS Mekorot, before joining IMS in his current role. His expertise spans climate statistics, precipitation processes, and hydrological extremes.
Dr. Christel Prudhomme - The European Center For Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)
Dr. Christel Prudhomme is the Lead of the CEMS Hydrological Computational Centre. She oversees ECMWF’s hydrological prediction activities, developing improved forecasts and user-focused products.
Christel is responsible for the operational delivery of the European Flood Awareness System (EFAS) and the Global Flood Awareness System (GloFAS)—early warning systems co-developed with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. These systems provide flood forecasts for Europe and worldwide across short-, medium-, sub-seasonal, and seasonal time scales. Her role also includes scientific leadership, project management, and coordination with funders and partners.
For the session in the course, she works with her team:
Mr. Ervin Zsoter (Hydrometeorological forecasting expert);
Mr. Mohamed Azhar (Hydrologist specialised in GIS and data management, and
Mr Shaun Harrigan (Scientist in Hydroclimatology)
Mr. Cyrille Honoré - The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Mr. Cyrille Honoré is the Director of the Disaster Risk Reduction, Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS) Office and Public Services Branch, and the Deputy Director of the Services Department at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
He holds a background in atmospheric sciences and meteorology, graduating from the French Ecole Nationale de la Météorologie in Toulouse in 1986. Throughout his career, he has worked extensively in operational meteorology, user-focused service delivery, competency development, and early warning systems, including several years as an instructor and training manager. His regional and international experience led him to join the WMO Secretariat in 2018, where he continues to advance global early warning and public service capabilities.
Elyakom Vadislavsky - The Israel Meteorological Service (IMS)
Elyakom Vadislavsky is a Nowcasting and Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) expert at the Israel Meteorological Service (IMS), where he has worked in the R&D Department since 2008. His professional expertise includes remote sensing tools, high-resolution model forecasting, AI-based training and evaluation, and operational weather forecasting.
He holds a B.Sc. in Physics and an M.Sc. in Atmospheric Sciences from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences.
Dr. Michael Schwab - The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Dr. Michael Schwab, Scientific Officer at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), focusing at WMO on regional and global hydrological forecasting systems, including the standardization and harmonization of forecasting products to meet the needs of operational users. He is leading the strategic goal of integrating hydrology into the WMO Integrated Processing and Prediction System (WIPPS).
Before joining WMO, he worked several years as Scientific Researcher at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) on experimental catchment hydrology and gained a PhD from the University of Freiburg, Germany, focusing on innovative tracer methods investigating hydrological flow processes.
Dr. Peter Salamon - The Joint Research Center of the European Commission
Dr. Peter Salamon is a scientific project manager at the Joint Research Center of the European Commission where he is coordinating the Copernicus Emergency Management Service and is leading the development of flood early warning and monitoring systems such as the European and Global Flood Awareness Systems and the Global Flood Monitoring product. He holds an M.Sc. in Applied Environmental Geoscience from the Eberhard-Karls University in Tübingen (Germany) and a Ph.D. in Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain).
During his research activities and professional career, he has gained experience in policy support in the area of disaster risk management at European and global level. His technical background is in hydrology, numerical modeling, hazard and risk mapping, climate change impacts, uncertainty assessment and operational flood forecasting. He is author and co-author of more than 50 peer-reviewed articles.
Ms. Stefania Grimaldi - The Joint Research Center of the European Commission
Ms. Stefania Grimaldi is a project officer at the Joint Research Center of the European Commission, where she collaborates on the scientific development and evolution of the Global Flood Awareness System (GloFAS) of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS). Stefania holds a master's degree and a Ph.D. in Land and Water Management Civil Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin (Italy). Before joining the CEMS GloFAS team in 2020, Stefania worked for seven years as flood modeler and remote sensing analyst for the Australian Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre.
Dr. Valentin Aich - The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Valentin Aich is a Senior Water and Climate Specialist with expertise in climate services, hydrology, and hydroclimatic extremes. He joined the Global Water Partnership (GWP) in 2020 and is seconded to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), where he contributes to the Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP) and the Associated Programme on Flood Management (APFM)—the joint drought and flood initiatives of WMO and GWP.
In his role, he manages projects, leads collaborative activities, and coordinates the WMO Expert Team on Drought. Prior to this, Valentin served as an Associate Scientific Officer with the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) at WMO. He also brings field experience from his work as a Climate Change Adaptation Specialist with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Afghanistan.
Dr. Yoav Levi - The Israel Meteorological Service (IMS)
Dr. Yoav Levi holds a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He previously led the Israeli Rain Enhancement Project (2002–2008) and has served as the Head of the R&D Department at the Israel Meteorological Service (IMS) since 2008.
His expertise includes Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP), nowcasting, boundary-layer processes, remote sensing, and climate change projections. He is the author of over 60 scientific publications, and has held prominent leadership roles, including President of the Israeli Meteorological Society (2002–2007) and Chairman of the COSMO Steering Committee (2020–2022).