The Team

Meet the core team behind thirdPlaces, collaborating with a global network of creative consultants and academics. We approach each project with agility and purpose, assembling teams of experts to ensure the cultural sensitivity and technical expertise your project deserves.


Lina Silisty

Founding Director

Lina Silisty is a UNESCO Expert, cultural policy specialist and strategy consultant, recognized for designing and leading initiatives that place culture, community, and care at the heart of regeneration. With over 20 years of experience across the MENA region and internationally, she is a trusted partner for governments, cultural authorities, institutions, and communities in shaping vibrant cultural landscapes.

She leads thirdPlaces’ strategic partnerships and portfolio, applying regenerative thinking to develop cultural strategies, creative economy frameworks, and place-based interventions that drive systemic and sustainable impact.

Qualifications:

MA Arts Administration and Cultural Policy, Goldsmiths University of London.

Graduated with distinction and two specialisations: 

  • Culture, Tourism and Urban Regeneration
  • Cultural Diplomacy and Relations

BSc Economics, American University of Beirut

Mahita El Bacha Urieta

Associate Director

Mahita El Bacha Urieta is a cultural strategist and curator with over 30 years of international experience in cultural policy, institutional design, and art curation and production. With a background in curatorial practice, cultural programming, and development, she brings a systems thinking lens to the design of visionary and context-sensitive strategies and programmes.

Mahita contributes to shaping thirdPlaces’ regenerative approach with expertise in cross-sector collaboration and ecosystem building. Her work spans geographies, disciplines, and languages, thus supporting long-term cultural transformation in different national and cultural contexts.

Qualifications:

MA Arts Policy and Management, City University, London

MA Psychology, Middlesex University, London

BA History and Archaeology, American University of Beirut