Chrysafo Arvaniti

IE University professor Chrysafo Arvaniti describes herself as having a strong commitment to bringing lasting positive change to society. This can be seen through her long career working in the development and humanitarian field for the past 25 years. Her work has taken her all around the world to Asia, Africa, Europe and America to work on a variety of projects. Chrysafo’s work now connects her to Madrid, where she teaches her course Community Mobilization at IE University as part of the Executive Master in International Development.

With a strong commitment to people and underprivileged communities, Chrysafo envisions a world where people feel safe and are able to live with both hope and dignity, regardless of their location. With this in mind, she has dedicated her work to helping people. She focuses on three distinct areas with the hopes of creating lasting positive social change: community organizing and community engagement, diversity and inclusion and inclusive leadership.

Early on in her career, Chrysafo worked with organizations such as Citizens in Action and ESEEPA, a vocational training center for people with intellectual disabilities in Greece. From 2011 to 2015, she served as the elected chair of the Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organizations, an international youth NGO that promotes voluntary service projects. Active in 31 countries across Europe, Asia and America, the alliance’s member organizations look to promote intercultural understanding, peace, equality and respect for universal human rights. 

Volunteering is an important part of Chrysafo’s life. Having donated her time to many grassroots groups, NGOs and local and international organizations since leaving school, she believes that people can find real purpose by dedicating their most valuable resource - time. She says that even the smallest group of committed volunteers can spark hope and make a difference in the world. 

Continuing a career dedicated to promoting social change, in 2014, Chrysafo joined Médecins Sans Frontières where she currently works as the senior advisor of community engagement. From 2018-2021, she led Médicins Sans Frontières’ Urban Spaces project. This innovative organizing project successfully developed a large-scale community engagement effort in over 15 cities which focussed on addressing issues caused by migration, the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I have a lifelong fascination to learn and understand cultures, communities, and human interaction from around the world.”

Despite her great professional success, Chrysafo wished to return to school to better progress her career in the future. In 2019, she received an Executive Education Specialization in Non-Profit Leadership from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. 

After completing her specialization at Harvard University, Chrysafo dove back into her role at Médecins Sans Frontières. Since March 2021, she has led Experts of Experience, a self-advocacy and community project that addresses displaced populations. Her work specifically focuses on assisting refugees, survivors of torture and victims of gender violence.

Always searching for more knowledge that can help her improve the lives of others, in May 2022, Chrysafo also completed the first UN Executive Leadership Program for Sustainable Development, which was developed by the United Nations System Staff College, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. 

A natural life-long learner, Chrysafo brings her love of learning and passion to promote social change to IE University. With community-driven change at the heart of her teaching, she hopes to give students the skills to engage with their communities and become active citizens that make a difference in the world. Her course Community Mobilizations draws upon her extensive experience in community organizing in order to give students key insights into this aspect of promoting social change. 

She hopes that by the end of the course which is part of the Executive Master in International Development, students will not only feel prepared and knowledgeable on the subject matter but curious enough to seek answers to the question: how can I make the world a better place for everyone? Chrysafo’s main lesson to students is that they must never stop asking themselves what they are curious about and what they care about because those two questions can serve as their motivation to learn and to do more in the world.