Board Members

Mr. Robert David Irish

Board Member / Technical Lead

Robert David Irish is a project manager, election practitioner, office administrator, and reporting specialist with more than 18 years of experience advising democracy and governance programs. In managerial and advisory roles, he has contributed thought leadership, knowledge products, and cultural intelligence to nine international organizations during 27 assignments in 16 countries in Africa, Europe, South Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands.

With the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), Irish was an electoral commission advisor in Iraq (2008-10) and field operations manager in South Sudan (2010-13). After spending 2016 in non-government controlled Donetsk with the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, he was a technical advisor and deputy country director for IFES in Papua New Guinea (2017-22). During the 2023 general elections in Liberia, Irish strengthened the organizational capacity of the Liberia Elections Observation Network as project lead for The Carter Center Democracy Program. He also provided structural, analytical, and editorial review of draft electoral products for IFES Ukraine (2024-25) and gender-related electoral reports for United Nations Women and the United Nations Development Programme in Liberia (2025). In 2025, Irish became a founding board member for the Center for Research and Advocacy Foundation in Liberia.

In 2014, IFES published his article, Mitigating Electoral Violence in South Sudan, in Elections Worth Dying For? A Selection of Case Studies from Africa. Originally from San Francisco, California, Irish currently operates from Berlin, Germany. He is pursuing a Master of Business Administration and holds a Master of Political Science, cum laude, from the Universiteit van Amsterdam.

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-i-5b2a065/

Mr. Benedict S. Dossen

Board Member

Senior regional executive with over fifteen years of leadership experience strengthening health systems and advancing humanitarian response, social development, institutional reform, and multi-country program delivery across Africa.

Currently serving as Senior Country Representative for Liberia and Regional Mental Health Lead for Africa, providing strategic oversight of country teams, partnerships, and regional priorities including workforce development and service integration, policy and legislative reform, financing, and strategic advocacy.

His track record includes national policy reform, crisis leadership during Ebola and COVID-19, gender and social integration, workforce development, and strengthening public institutions. He is experienced in working with governments, multilateral agencies, donors, academia, and civil society to convert strategy into implementable and measurable outcomes. He is committed to regional cooperation, resilient institutions, inclusive growth, and practical solutions that improve lives.

Mr. Dixon Psio Gblah

Board Member

Mr. Gblah is a Liberian national with over thirty years of experience in human rights activism and development work. He has served in diverse frontline and administrative capacities.

At the Independent National Commission on Human Rights, Mr. Gblah served as Technical Assistant, supporting the work of the commissioners by conducting strategic field research to highlight key human rights concerns and recommend pathways to address them.

At the Voluntary Partnership Agreement Support Unit (VPASU), he served as Information Coordinator. In this role, Mr. Gblah ensured effective and timely communication with government institutions and agencies as well as private sector actors working within Liberia's forestry industry to support sustainable forest governance practices.

At the German Technical Corporation (GTZ), he served as Training and Communication Director. In this capacity, Mr. Gblah trained District Development Committees in northern Liberia and coordinated communications between GTZ partners and local government authorities.

Mr. Gblah holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the African Methodist Episcopal University and an advanced certificate in Sustainable Forest Governance from the University of Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Darlington Saykay Tuagben

Board Member

Mr. Darlington Saykay Tuagben is an environmental governance and biodiversity expert with over 17 years of experience in West Africa. He led the Low Emissions Development Strategies and Sustainable Landscapes portfolio under USAID's WABiLED Program, where he provided technical oversight and coordination support for implementation of WABiLED Component 3, Reduce GHG Emissions and Increase Carbon Sequestration from Land Use.

A former Managing Director of Liberia's Forestry Development Authority, he has overseen national budgets up to $8 million and led major reforms in forest policy, REDD+, land tenure, and biodiversity conservation. Darlington has contributed to Liberia's revised NDCs, National Drought Plan, and Land Degradation Neutrality targets, and is a published scientist on tropical forest carbon and biodiversity.

He holds an MSc in Conservation Biology, is pursuing a PhD in Environmental Governance, and has represented Liberia at numerous COPs under UNFCCC, UNCCD, and CITES.