Lara is a partnerships expert with strategic knowledge and extensive experience in developing and managing financial and non-financial partnerships with a broad portfolio of stakeholders across the private and public sector, including big corporations, HNWIs, foundations and governments. She is currently serving as SDC Secondment at UNHCR, in the Private Sector Partnerships Team. For two years, Lara covered the role of Senior Manager Partnerships & Engagement at the Olympic Refuge Foundation, where she led a team and was responsible for developing and implementing the Foundation's partnerships and communications strategy. Before working at the IOC, she spent eight years as Partnerships Manager at the International AIDS Society, driving partners' engagement and identifying new fundraising opportunities. Lara arrived in Geneva in 2012 after being offered an internship at WHO. Prior to that, she worked for three years in Academia in Venice, Italy. Lara, who speaks English, Italian, and French, holds an MA in Social Sciences and Public Policies from Ca'Foscari University (2007), a Master in Public Administration with a specialisation in Management of International Organisations from Bocconi University (2012), and executive training in Negotiation Mastery from Harvard Business School (2023).