Melvin heads up the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) Secretariat. He oversees STDF’s Trust Fund, which has generated more than US$85 million since 2006, supporting over 240 projects in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. Leading a team of eight experts, Melvin manages STDF’s global knowledge platform and funding mechanism, working closely with STDF’s partner agencies (FAO, WOAH, World Bank Group, WHO and WTO), donors, developing country governments and the public and private sector.
Melvin has longstanding expertise in trade, development, agriculture and law, as a Counsellor in the Agriculture and Commodities Division of the WTO, and previously at FAO and other international organizations. He holds a civil and business law degree from the State University Leiden, The Netherlands and has published widely on leading policy areas covering sustainable development and natural resources.