In his capacity as AHI’s Regional Associate, Noel assists in the exploration of hybrid value chain collaborations for housing development in Nicaragua. He currently works to develop a comprehensive housing ecosystem for Nicaragua. Noel first joined AHI as Central America research intern, during which experience he worked in establishing AHI’s network and presence in Nicaragua with major stakeholders in housing provision, research of Nicaragua’s housing delivery system, and establishment of a business development strategy for the region.
Noel Sampson’s commitment to sustainable development and affordable housing has traced his path through many countries, including Vietnam, Mongolia, Switzerland and Palestine. His strong social awareness, cultural sensitivity and his work in community development projects in Nicaragua have granted him with several fellowships including the Netherlands Fellowship Program and the prestigious Erasmus Mundus Master Program scholarship. This has led him to achieve advanced education in housing development and management and development programs management at Lund University (LTH) in Sweden, MDF in the Netherlands, TU Darmstadt in Germany, UIC in Barcelona and the University of Geneva in Switzerland.
Noel has developed a research to improve climate change resilience of poor urban communities in Vietnamese and Nicaraguan cities, worked with the UN-Habitat office in Mongolia on slum upgrading programs of the Ger areas of Ulaanbaatar, worked with Campus in Camps, the renown experimental program in Palestinian refugee camps. Noel supported the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe UNECE, based in Geneva, Switzerland, in the formulation of the Coastal Cities Initiative and organized the Workshop “Building resilient communities through urban planning and the integration of the Natural Sciences” held on January 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland.
During his early work in Nicaragua as architect and development practitioner he worked with several nonprofit organizations such as the Center for Studies and Social Promotion (CEPS) and Bridges to Community on community development projects such as agriculture, public health, sustainable architecture, water and sanitation, and supporting local farmers’ trading. Noel’s series of sustainable architecture projects includes affordable housing, alternative solutions for health infrastructure, and educational buildings such as libraries, multi-use classrooms and sustainable rural schools whose designs have been replicated and built in different municipalities in Nicaragua.
Born in Nicaragua, Noel holds a double Master degree in International Cooperation and Urban Development from the Technological University of Darmstadt, Germany as part of the European Union-sponsored MUNDUS URBANO and a Master degree on Sustainable Emergency Architecture of the International University of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain. Additionally, he holds a specialization certificate on assessment and management of geological and climate related risks from the University of Geneva (CERG-C). Noel is co-founder and director of Emerge and the Dev Studio. He is fluent in both English and Spanish.
