b'STRENGTHENING EUROSEEDS VOICETWO NEW ARRIVALS JOIN THE TEAM.BY: MICHELLE CLARKE AND ALEX MARTINW hen you think of people in the European seed sector,international authorities) and is the spokesperson of the EU the team members of Euroseeds are probably some ofseed sector on all related matters.the first to jump to mind. Euroseeds continues to be the voice of the European seed sector, and to ensure that voiceBRINGING PASSION TO THE POSITIONis speaking to the right people, the association recently hiredA young professional with strong two new faces to join the team.communication and marketing European Seed recently corresponded with the two newestskills with her future sights set on a Euroseeds team members:Claudius Marondedze, Technicalcommunications director position, Manager Plant Health and Seed Trade, and Erika Maugeri,Erika Maugeri is passionate about Manager of Communications. energy, the environment, climate change and green technologies.LONG WAY FROM ZIMBABWE From Italy, Maugeri studied MarondedzejoinedEuroseedslanguages and liaison Interpreting in September 2021 as Technicalat the University of Catania during Manager Plant Health and Seedher bachelors and holds a masters Trade. He is a graduate of thedegree in political sciences and University of Zimbabwe with a degreeinternational relations from the University of Pavia. in biochemistry, followed by a post- Always interested in politics, public affairs and EU law, graduate degree at the University ofMaugeri has a passion for communication trends and tech-Western Cape, South Africa, com- nologies. Due to her deep interest and passion towards pleting his PhD in Biochemistryenvironmental affairs and related issues, she took courses and Plant Biotechnology in 2010.in environmental communication at the Universit Libre de He focused his research on charac- Bruxelles in Brussels. terizing fruit quality traits in applesMaugeri started her career in strategic and digital com-(Malusx domesticaBorkh) using functional genomics. In themunication by working in several non-profit associations, as last few years he has completed research in the areas of cell andpart of the Brussels bubble, dealing with energy and envi-RNA biology, biochemistry, proteomics, transcriptomics, massronmental topics. Before joining Euroseeds, she had the oppor-spectrometry, systems biology and RNA binding interactome intunity to explore the cogeneration, insulation and bioenergy plant stress responses. sectors by working in COGEN Europe, Eurima and Bioenergy From 2015 to 2016, he worked as Research Fellow at theEurope. A while after, Erika joined EEIP (Energy Efficiency in University of Cambridge. There he developed the plant RNA- Industrial Processes) where she worked as a Communication interactome capture technology that helped him unveil the firstand Project Manager and EuroGeoSurveys, where she worked mRNA interactome in plants and the post-transcriptional geneas a Communication Officer. regulation modifications to abiotic stress. This technology is nowMaugeri worked on Horizon 2020, the EUs research and widely used in plants and has been tailored for various researchinnovation funding programme from 2014-2020 with a budget including seed biology studies.of nearly 80 billion. Her special focus was on sustainability, Motivated by the research experience acquired during hisbiodiversity and soil and land management. academic life and desire to apply his research, MarondedzeAt Euroseeds, Maugeri deals with internal and exter-worked at Rijk Zwaan for almost two years as a Researcher Seednal communication, digital and offline, events management, Technology.communication and dissemination for H2020 projects and the His new drive? An interest in political affairs. He believesimplementation of communication and advocacy strategies and taking part in policy formulation from a technical point hascampaigns.been part of the drive to join Euroseeds. Marondedze is theMake sure to stay tuned to see how Maugeri and Marondedze interlocutor towards all relevant plant health and seed tradewill affect and strengthen Euroseeds voice throughout the seed administrations (EU Commission, EU Member States andsector and support their members endeavours. 24IEUROPEAN SEEDIEUROPEAN-SEED.COM'