Layal Samaha

Financial Coordinator

Layal is a development specialist with over a decade of experience in social and urban development, project coordination, and humanitarian action. Her professional background spans local and international initiatives focused on sustainable development, governance, and community resilience, particularly in complex and fragile contexts.

She has collaborated with international organizations such as UN-Habitat, UNDP, and the Norwegian Refugee Council, as well as with local NGOs in Lebanon, where she began her professional career. Her work has included supporting municipalities, coordinating multi-stakeholder projects, and contributing to inclusive and community-based development approaches.

Layal currently serves as Financial Coordinator at the Canada Practitioners Network for the Prevention of Extremist Violence (CPN-PREV) at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). In this role, she supports financial and administrative management of grants-funded projects, including budget preparation and monitoring, financial reporting, compliance with funding and institutional requirements, and coordination with UQAM administrative departments.

Her expertise lies at the intersection of development practice, governance, and project management, supported by advanced academic training in sociology and urban development. She is currently based in Canada and has recently begun an MBA at UQAM.

samaha.layal@uqam.ca