Team

Dorothée Baumann-Pauly is a Professor at Geneva University’s School of Economics and Management and directs the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights. Since 2013, she has also served as the Research Director at the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. In these roles, Dorothée works with companies to advance human rights in corporate practice. Her applied research is focused on embedding human rights in organizations and developing business models that enable profits and human rights principles to coexist. Dorothée also teaches Business and Human Rights and she co-edited the first textbook on Business and Human Rights (Routledge 2016). In 2016, she co-founded the Global Business School Network for Business and Human Rights to integrate human rights in business education as well as the Business and Human Rights Young Researchers Summit for emerging scholars. Dorothée earned her PhD in Economics (summa cum laude) at the University of Zurich in 2010 while working for the Fair Labor Association, a multi-stakeholder initiative with the mission to improve labor rights in global supply chains.
Please also refer to Dorothée’s UniGE webpage and her list of publications.

Dr. Berit Knaak is Associate Director at the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights at the University of Geneva’s School of Economics and Management. She completed her Ph.D. in Management with a focus on integrating human rights in business at the University of St.Gallen in 2020.

In her work, Berit focuses on resilient and ethical supply chains, studying innovative business models and multistakeholder approaches to address structural human rights issues. She has worked on diverse industries and issues, including agricultural supply chains, sustainable finance, child labor and fair recruitment of migrant workers.

Berit has a dual background in economics and in human rights law, holding an MSc in International Business from Maastricht University and an LL.M. in International Human Rights Law from the University of Galway. During her time as doctoral researcher, she served as a fellow for the Business and Human Rights Journal.

Ginous ‘Gigi’ Alford is a business and human rights practitioner with more than 15 years of experience translating complex governance and human rights challenges into practical programs, research, and partnerships. Her work has focused on the intersection of responsible business, human rights, technology, and global governance.

Before joining GCBHR, Gigi served as Director of Sport and Human Rights at the World Players Association and coordinated the Sport & Rights Alliance, leading initiatives on athlete rights, digital safety, accountability, and responsible governance in global sport. She previously managed international human rights programs at the U.S. Department of State and Freedom House, overseeing global grant portfolios and multi-stakeholder partnerships across multiple regions.

At GCBHR, she supports research, stakeholder engagement, strategic communications, and the development of The Bridge research service. Gigi holds a Master of Studies in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford and is based near Geneva.

Sarah Creedon is a Research Associate at the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights at the University of Geneva’s School of Economics and Management. Sarah is a foreign policy leader and practitioner with two decades of experience at the U.S. Department of State, the National Security Council, U.S. Senate, and in non-profit organizations. Until September 2025, she served as a Senior Advisor in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor where she advanced human rights through the UN and other international bodies. Sarah designed and led multi-stakeholder dialogues addressing some of the world’s most challenging issues, including conflict prevention, accountability for human rights violations, upholding space for human rights defenders, and the creation of new UN human rights mandates. She has regional expertise in the Middle East and South and Central Asia.

Sarah received her Master’s Degree with a double major in International Law and Organizations and Conflict Management from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a Bachelor’s Degree in Government from Smith College.

Serra Cremer Iyi is a consultant at the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights. Trained as a corporate lawyer with a background in M&A and project finance, Serra brings her experience representing businesses and advising senior management to the interdisciplinary field of business and human rights. Prior to her position at GCBHR, she worked as an adjunct professor of U.S. law, a local counsel for the International Refugee Assistance Project, and a managing director at Executive English Coaching. Serra continues to work as a global communication coach to executives at multinational corporations. She is a member of the New York Bar Association and holds a Juris Doctor degree from Fordham University School of Law and a double major Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies from New York University.

Auret Van Heerden has a degree in Industrial Sociology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and more than 40 years of experience in international human and labour rights. Founder of an institute that provided research and training services to trade unions and civil society groups. His 40 years of experience in value chains in different sectors and countries equips him to advise clients and engage with all stakeholders to build partnerships and resolve conflicts. President and CEO, Fair Labor Association. Forced into exile in May 1987 after long periods of solitary confinement and torture. 1988-94, joined the International Labour Organization (ILO), responsible for its Program of Action against Apartheid, Geneva; 1994-96, Labour Attaché, South African Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Geneva. 1996, returned to the ILO, working on labour relations issues in 25 zone-operating countries and established a Swiss-funded project to improve labour relations in Special Economic Zones in China. Auret was the President and CEO of the Fair Labor Association in Washington DC from 2001 to 2013. From 1996 to 2001 he was responsible for the Special Action Programme on Social and Labour Issues in Export Processing Zones (EPZs) at the International Labour Office (ILO) in Geneva. Served two terms as President, National Union of South African Students. Co-author of a book that called for trade union rights for black workers (1976).

Gustavo is an international lawyer, lecturer, and researcher specialised in business & human rights (BHR), and sustainability regulations with expertise in public and private international law, international human rights law, and international dispute resolution. He is currently working as a postdoctoral legal researcher at the Luxembourg Centre for European Law at the University of Luxembourg (“LCEL”, formerly the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law). His research focused on how private dispute resolution processes established as remedial mechanisms relate to the content of the right to an effective remedy. Gustavo holds a PhD in law from the University of Amsterdam and the University of Luxembourg (cotutelle) and an LL.M. in International Law and Human Rights with honours from Maastricht University, pursued as a UM Holland-High Potential Scholarship holder. He also holds an MSc in International Law and Sustainability and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Brazil, both achieved cum laude.