Samitha Gunasekera is a Senior Program Officer for the ICUDDR Center for Credentialing & Accreditation (ICUDDR-CCA). She began her career with the Colombo Plan in 1998, serving as Programme Secretary for the Public Administration and Drug Advisory Programmes until 2009, when she received the “Best Employee of the Year” award. Before joining GCCC (now the Center for Credentialing & Accreditation) in 2014 as Credentialing Programme Officer, Samitha worked with the Asian Development Bank, UNOCHA, and UNDP in Sri Lanka, coordinating with government agencies to implement UN projects. For the Center for Credentialing & Accreditation, she manages the global credentialing and certification process and works with the Commission on related matters. Promoted to Senior Programme Officer (Credentialing) in 2022, she is dedicated to advancing the professionalization of the drug demand reduction workforce. Samitha holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from University College Dublin and a Master of Science in Project Management from Asia-e-University, Malaysia.
