Meet the team
Our website is in ten languages: English, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Our regional researchers are based in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, North America, Latin America and the Middle East (team members in some regions may not be listed below). They draw global attention to the human rights impacts (positive and negative) of companies in their region, seek responses from companies when civil society raises concerns, and establish close contacts with grassroots NGOs, local businesspeople, and others. We have offices in London and New York.
BHRC is an independent non-profit: in the UK we are a registered Charity in England & Wales (no. 1096664). In the USA we are a tax-exempt non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Africa and Middle East
Africa and Middle East team
Aliou Diouf
Francophone Africa Researcher and Representative (Lieu: Dakar, Senegal)
Aliou Diouf
Francophone Africa Researcher and Representative (Lieu: Dakar, Senegal)
Aliou was educated at Graduate Institute of Intl. & Development Studies in Geneva (Switzerland) where he obtained a Ph.D. in Intl. Relations with Int. Criminal and Humanitarian Law as specialisation, and a Master's (LLM) in Intl. Law & Human Rights Law at Gdansk University (Poland). He also earned degrees in International Law from the University of Helsinki (Finland), the Geneva International Peace Research Institute (GIPRI) and the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) in Geneva. Aliou worked as a legal intern for the Intl. Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha (Tanzania) and interned at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. Aliou is a lawyer and a Human Rights Defender who worked previously with different human rights NGOs and the public office for refugees in Geneva. Aliou is a national of Senegal.
Manson Gwanyanya
Researcher & Representative for South & Anglophone Africa (Lieu: Johannesburg, South Africa)
Manson Gwanyanya
Researcher & Representative for South & Anglophone Africa (Lieu: Johannesburg, South Africa)
Manson Gwanyanya is the Researcher and Representative for South and Anglophone Africa, based in Johannesburg. Manson is a qualified lawyer with experience in general human rights litigation, including but not limited to immigration, refugee law, land and housing, as well as openness and accountability. He completed his articles of clerkship at the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) in Johannesburg in December 2018. Before this, he was a Legal Researcher with the LRC's migration and refuges unit. Manson also worked as a Researcher in the Socio and Economic Rights Programme (ESR) at the South African Human Rights Commission and was a Lecturer at the Wits Law School. He obtained his LLB (Bachelor of Laws) and LLM (Masters) in Corporate Law as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Environmental Law from Wits University. Manson has a strong passion for human rights law in general and access to justice for the poor and marginalised in particular.
Americas
Americas team
Andrea Betancourt
Administrative Coordinator for the Colombia Programme (Lieu: Bogotá, Colombia)
Andrea Betancourt
Administrative Coordinator for the Colombia Programme (Lieu: Bogotá, Colombia)
Andrea has a degree in Public Accounting and a postgraduate title in Tax Administration. She has four years' experience as General Administrator in a private company, and was andependent accountant for three years and has two years of experience in the area of Audit of last Control in the Internal Audit Unit of the Public Sector. In Bogota D.C. she has lived for the past four years working as an Accounting, Administrative and Audit Assistant at non-profit organisations, legal and natural persons. She has numerical and analytical skills, management of accounting programmes and cost centres, excellent management of the office package, good interpersonal relationships, and mastery of information technology and communication. Andrea is a Venezuelan citizen with a migrant permit in Colombia. Her native language is Spanish and has an average understanding of written English.
Fabián Andrés León Peñuela
Programme Manager, Researcher and Representative Colombia (Lieu: Bogotá, Colombia)
Fabián Andrés León Peñuela
Programme Manager, Researcher and Representative Colombia (Lieu: Bogotá, Colombia)
Fabián Andrés León Peñuela is the Programme Manager, Researcher and Representative of the Colombia Programme. Fabián has been with BHRC since 2019. He has a master's degree in law with an emphasis on constitutional law, specialised in education and environmental management at the Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas and in Justice, Victims and Peace Building at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia as well as Collective Memories, human rights and resistances specialisation at Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales (CLACSO). He studied law at the National University of Colombia and economics and political science at the University of Montreal (Canada). He also has experience with migrant and refugee populations with whom he worked for more than six years in Canada. He has accompanied environmental and human rights training processes with indigenous and rural communities.
Helene Saadoun
Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean Researcher (Lieu: Mexico)
Helene Saadoun
Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean Researcher (Lieu: Mexico)
Helene joined BHRC as Mexico, CA and the Caribbean Researcher in December 2023. She is a Uruguayan-French lawyer with more than seven years of experience in gender, human rights, and access to justice for women, girls, and other vulnerable groups.
Previously, she worked at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in a gender and human rights project. She has worked with United Nations agencies, international organizations, government institutions, and civil society organizations on gender issues, gender-based violence, the protection of journalists and human rights defenders, and the criminal justice system in Mexico and the region.
Helene holds an LL.M. in International Criminal Law from the University of Sussex and studies in gender, human rights, and access to justice. Her native tongues are Spanish and French. She is also fluent in English, is currently studying Portuguese, and has basic abilities in Japanese.
Mariana Franco
Mexico, Central America & Caribbean Representative (Lieu: Mexico)
Mariana Franco
Mexico, Central America & Caribbean Representative (Lieu: Mexico)
Mariana Franco is the Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean Researcher and Representative. Mariana is a highly experienced human rights lawyer who has spent more than a decade working in positions related to international human rights law. She has served as a consultant for various ESCR projects and has implemented a USAID project focused on Access to Justice for Victims, with a particular emphasis on gender justice.
She worked on the design and implementation of the Business and Human Rights Programme of the National Human Rights Commission. Mariana has played a crucial role in designing and implementing prompt reparation for victims of human rights violations in cases before the Interamerican Court and Interamerican Commission. She has also served as the Ombudsperson of a municipality in a state of Mexico.
As an academic, Mariana has taught as a University professor at the Universidad Iberoamericana, focusing on business and human rights. She holds an LL.M. in Economic Social and Cultural Rights from the University of Essex and was part of the Human Rights Clinic designing the implementation of ESCR in Colombia.
Furthermore, Mariana holds an MA in Human Rights and Democracy from FLACSO and diplomas in Business law, and Human Trafficking focusing on children's rights. She also possesses an International Human Rights Law Certificate from the American University.
Marina Novaes
Brazil Researcher and Representative (Lieu: São Paulo, Brazil)
Marina Novaes
Brazil Researcher and Representative (Lieu: São Paulo, Brazil)
Marina is a lawyer and historian. Since 2003 she has worked in the areas of human rights, labour rights, social justice and migration, doing so at NGOs and in public administration. She has trained public officials on child trafficking; led the Advanced Post for Humanised Services to Migrants (which later became a public policy); coordinated a project to prevent human trafficking in public schools; and coordinated the legal department of an NGO assisting South American immigrants and advocating for public policies on migration.
Marina also worked as a special advisor for the promotion of decent work in the City of São Paulo, coordinating the municipal policy to fight and eradicate slave labour and human trafficking. Together with stakeholders, she wrote the first Municipal Plan for the Eradication of Slave Labour.
She is a member of the editorial board of the Anti-Trafficking Review magazine, published by the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women (GAATW). She has authored various articles and books on human trafficking and forced labour.
She was educated at the University of São Paulo (master’s degree in social history) and Pontifical Catholic Univ. of São Paulo (Bachelor of Law). Marina's mother tongue is Portuguese; she is fluent in English and has a good understanding of Spanish. Marina is a national of Brazil.
Meagan Barrera
Meagan Barrera, North America Researcher and Representative (Lieu: New York, USA)
Meagan Barrera
Meagan Barrera, North America Researcher and Representative (Lieu: New York, USA)
Meagan joined BHRC in September 2021 as the North America Researcher and Representative. She is a human rights and gender justice advocate and researcher who has collaborated extensively with grassroots communities to achieve systemic change and accountability for human rights abuses.
Meagan has worked with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and MADRE to support grassroots partners in their work to achieve feminist peace and gender justice. With the Investor Alliance for Human Rights, she engaged investors to promote human rights and responsible business practices in their investment portfolios.
She has also consulted with Inclusive Development International, Human Rights Watch, and the Clinton Foundation on various business and human rights issues. Meagan was an organizer for NARAL Pro-Choice America in New York and helped to set up the NARAL New York City Volunteer Action Council, where she served as Volunteer Deputy Director.
Meagan holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. Her native language is English, she is fluent in Spanish, has a good working knowledge of Portuguese. Meagan is a national of the United States.
Miguel Ángel Barboza López
South America Researcher and Representative (Lieu: Bogotá, Colombia)
Miguel Ángel Barboza López
South America Researcher and Representative (Lieu: Bogotá, Colombia)
Miguel joined the Resource Centre as a South America Researcher and Representative in 2023. He is a Peruvian lawyer with more than ten years of experience in the Inter-American System of Human Rights, indigenous peoples and business and human rights. Miguel holds a Master's degree in International Human Rights Law (LL.M) from the University of Notre Dame in the United States of America (Magna Cum Laude).
Before joining the Centre, he was a visiting researcher at the Center for Law, Justice and Society (Dejusticia) in Colombia, a lawyer at the Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and as a human rights lawyer at EarthRights International. Currently, he is also a project coordinator of the thematic lines of business and human rights and indigenous peoples in the Rule of Law Programme for Latin America of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
Vitória Dell'Aringa Rocha
Latin America Researcher (Lieu: São Paulo, Brazil)
Vitória Dell'Aringa Rocha
Latin America Researcher (Lieu: São Paulo, Brazil)
Vitória joined BHRC in 2018 as an intern and returned in 2021. She is a national of Brazil and holds a bachelor's degree in International Relations from the University of São Paulo (USP). She also has a master's degree in International Law and Human Rights, with a minor in Minority Studies, from Åbo Akademi University, in Finland. Vitória is involved with migration issues, especially forced displacement and environmentally displaced persons.
Her work experience includes taking part in the social assistance and protection programmes of the Refugee Reference Center of Caritas Arquidiocesana São Paulo, a UNHCR implementing partner; and being an interpreter of the eligibility interviews with asylum seekers in the General-Coordination of the Brazilian National Committee for the Refugees (CG-CONARE, Ministry of Justice).
Vitória's mother tongue is Portuguese, and she is fluent in English and Spanish, and has advanced French and basic abilities in Arabic.
Juan Diego Espinosa
Colombia Programme Researcher (Lieu: Bogotá, Colombia)
Juan Diego Espinosa
Colombia Programme Researcher (Lieu: Bogotá, Colombia)
Juan joined BHRC in 2019. He is a political scientist, a specialist in justice, victims and peacebuilding and has a master's degree in environment and development. He has analysed different human rights legal-political arrangements and has worked in national and international human rights organisations in Colombia.
Asia & Pacific
Asia & Pacific Team
Amy Sinclair
Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Senior Representative (Lieu: Sydney, Australia)
Amy Sinclair
Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Senior Representative (Lieu: Sydney, Australia)
Amy is the Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Senior Researcher and Representative.
Amy joined BHRC in January 2017 as its first regional representative and researcher for Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific. She is an international lawyer, researcher and adviser working to advance respect for human rights in business.
Amy holds expert advisory appointments with the Australian Government, the Law Council of Australia and Law Society of New South Wales. She is an Adjunct Lecturer at Australian Human Rights Institute, University of New South Wales, and is a recognised public commentator on business and human rights issues and developments. Formerly a corporate lawyer, with ten years' prior experience with major international legal practices in Sydney, Hong Kong and London. Amy is a dual-qualified lawyer, in Australia and the UK.
Anju Kozono
Japan Researcher and Representative (Lieu: Japan)
Anju Kozono
Japan Researcher and Representative (Lieu: Japan)
Anju joined BHRC in July 2023. She is responsible for research and outreach in Japan. Previously, she was a project coordinator of Human Rights Now (HRN), an international human rights organisation based in Japan, promoting responsible businesses in accordance with the UNGPs with CSOs, governments, multinational corporations and so on.
Anju holds an LL.M in International Human Rights and Economic Law from the University of Essex (the United Kingdom) and a B.A. in Philosophy from Keio University (Japan).
Her master's dissertation explored the integration of gender and queer perspectives in the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights in Japan and the UNGPs. Anju is fluent in Japanese and English.
Daywin Prayogo
Indonesia Researcher (Lieu: Indonesia)
Daywin Prayogo
Indonesia Researcher (Lieu: Indonesia)
Daywin joined BHRC in 2024 as our Indonesia Researcher. He is a human rights researcher with 11 years of experience in civic spaces, business and human rights, and public policy at the national and regional levels. Previously, Daywin led the research team at Lokataru Foundation, managing resources to expose the human rights impact of Mega Infrastructure Project in Indonesia, and co-founding the hakasasi.id, an online human rights media publishing collective in Indonesia.
From 2014 - 2017, Daywin worked with FORUM—ASIA as an ASEAN Programme Associate, responsible for fostering civil society engagement with ASEAN for better regional human rights mechanisms. Prior to FORUM—ASIA, Daywin also dedicated his first graduate year to working with ELSAM in monitoring human rights violations in the Indonesian palm oil industry.
Daywin obtained a bachelor's degree in international relations from Parahyangan Catholic University, Bandung, Indonesia. He is an Indonesian national based in Jakarta.
Pochoy P. Labog
Southeast Asia Programme Manager and Representative (Lieu: Manila, Philippines)
Pochoy P. Labog
Southeast Asia Programme Manager and Representative (Lieu: Manila, Philippines)
Pochoy joined BHRC in August 2020 and is responsible for research and outreach in the Southeast Asia region. He is a human rights lawyer and advocate. Prior to joining the Centre, he was the Legal Services Coordinator of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center or Friends of the Earth - Philippines, where he led the litigation of cases aimed to advance the rights of Indigenous Peoples and upland, rural, poor communities. He was also a Program Officer of the Asia Foundation where he worked on judicial reform and human rights issues such as extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearance, and torture.
Pochoy holds a BA in Philosophy and a JD from the Ateneo De Manila University. He also has an LLM in International Legal Studies, with a Certificate in International Human Rights Law from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C. He speaks English and Filipino.
Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders
Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders team
Alancay Morales Garro
Senior Project Manager, Indigenous Peoples Rights Specialist
Alancay Morales Garro
Senior Project Manager, Indigenous Peoples Rights Specialist
Alancay is an Indigenous leader with more than 20 years of experience advancing the rights of Indigenous Peoples at international, regional, and grassroots levels. His work has included advocacy in key standard-setting processes at the United Nations, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the Organization of American States, as well as engagement with UN Treaty Bodies, Special Procedures, and the Inter-American Human Rights System. Most recently, he served as Lead on Business and Human Rights at Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI).
Alancay holds a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Costa Rica and a Master’s degree in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy from the University of Arizona College of Law. He is a visiting professor at the UN-mandated University for Peace (UPEACE) and has authored studies on Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
Ana Žbona
Co-Head, CFs and HRDs Programme (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Ana Žbona
Co-Head, CFs and HRDs Programme (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Ana joined BHRC in 2016. She is the Co-Head of the Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders project, which explores the role of business in these spheres. Before joining BHRC, Ana worked as a manager of a fair trade/community development program with the NGO Mosqoy, working with indigenous communities in the Peruvian Andes. Prior to that, Ana was an advocacy assistant in the EU advocacy team of Human Rights Watch in Brussels, a research assistant for the Slovenian Human Rights Ombudswoman, and a fellow at the EU Delegation to the UN and at the Slovenian Mission to the UN.
Ana holds a Master's degree from the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC), Italy, and Lund University, Sweden. She has a BA in International Development and International Relations from Saint Mary's University, Canada. Her mother tongue is Slovenian; she also speaks fluent English and Spanish, intermediate French and Croatian, and a little bit of Italian and Quechua. Ana is a national of Slovenia.
Chloe Cole
US Business and Human Rights Senior Researcher (Lieu: United States)
Chloe Cole
US Business and Human Rights Senior Researcher (Lieu: United States)
Chloe Cole is the US Business and Human Rights Senior Researcher. In this role, Chloe works to prevent corporate backsliding on human rights commitments in the United States. Previously, she was the Mining Industry Co-Lead and Natural Resources Officer with USAID's Land and Resource Governance Division, where she worked to advance human rights through the Agency’s partnerships with the private sector.
Before joining USAID, Chloe spent nearly nine years at Oxfam, where she managed relationships with food, beverage, and agriculture companies, led a global programme advising on and monitoring implementation of corporate human rights commitments, and served as a subject matter expert on land and business and human rights. She holds a Master's in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Bachelor's in International Studies from the University of Washington.
Christen Dobson
Co-Head, CFs and HRDs Programme (Lieu: Portugal)
Christen Dobson
Co-Head, CFs and HRDs Programme (Lieu: Portugal)
Christen Dobson is the Co-Head of the Civic Freedoms & Human Rights Defenders Programme.
Christen joined BHRC in March 2017, where she co-leads the Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders programme. She also previously managed the Technology and Human Rights programme and served as the Resource Centre’s first North America Regional Researcher. In addition, Christen spent several years supporting funders and climate justice activists to collectively create the Hive Fund for Climate and Gender Justice, which makes grants to groups working at the intersection of climate, gender, and racial justice in the south of the United States.
From 2009 to 2016, Christen led the Human Rights Funders Network's Research and Policy programme, where she managed a global research initiative to map and analyse the landscape of human rights funding and supported donor efforts to address closing space for civil society.
Christen has consulted with Global Greengrants Fund and Prospera - International Network of Women’s Funds, been a gender fellow with EarthRights International’s Southeast Asia office, and interned with Safe Horizon's Anti-Trafficking Program and UN Women's East and Southeast Asia Regional Office.
Christen is currently part of Mama Cash’s Global Advisory Network and was previously a member of the International Council of Peace Brigades International. Christen holds a Master of International Affairs degree with a concentration in human rights from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. She speaks some Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese.
Dylan Lebecki
CFs and HRDs Project Assistant (Lieu: Portugal)
Dylan Lebecki
CFs and HRDs Project Assistant (Lieu: Portugal)
Dylan Lebecki joined BHRC in August 2023 as a Project Assistant with the Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders programme. Before joining us, Dylan worked with the protection and security of Human Rights Defenders in Colombia with the Swedish Fellowship of Reconciliation (SweFOR) and in Guatemala with PBI. Prior to that he also completed an internship in human rights with the EU Delegation to Lao PDR. He is mainly interested in the defense of indigenous rights, territory and land, and transitional justice processes.
He holds a master's degree in Violence, Conflict, and Development from SOAS University of London and a Bachelor's degree in Business Studies from the University of Edinburgh. Dylan speaks English, Spanish, and Portuguese fluently and is a national of both Ecuador and Portugal.
Hannah Matthews
CFs and HRDs Researcher and Database Coordinator (Lieu: Mexico)
Hannah Matthews
CFs and HRDs Researcher and Database Coordinator (Lieu: Mexico)
Hannah joined BHRC initially in 2018 as a Research Assistant and later became Latin America Researcher. She returned in 2023 as Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defender (HRD) Researcher and Database Coordinator.
Previously she collaborated with Peace Brigades International (PBI) in different capacities, principally in Mexico and Colombia as well as coordinating the organisation's communication work on an international level. This and other consultancy work directly linked to the impact of business on human rights in the region has led her to gain expertise in the protection of HRDs and a deep understanding of the threats against them.
She holds master's degrees in Agroecology and Regenerative Food Systems from the Universidad del Medio Ambiente, Mexico, and another in Human Rights and International Law from the University of London, UK, and is keenly interested in the defence of Indigenous rights and our shared natural resources.
Hannah's mother tongue is English and she speaks fluent Spanish, good French, basic German and Mixteco. Hannah is a British national based in Mexico.
Lady Nancy Zuluaga Jaramillo
CFs and HRDs Senior Legal Researcher and Project Coordinator (Lieu: Panama)
Lady Nancy Zuluaga Jaramillo
CFs and HRDs Senior Legal Researcher and Project Coordinator (Lieu: Panama)
Lady Nancy joined BHRC in December 2019 as a Legal Researcher with the Civic Freedoms & Human Rights Defenders program. Prior to joining the Centre, Lady Nancy was a staff attorney at the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), where she was directly entrusted with cases pending before the Inter-American System of Human Rights in Central America. At CEJIL, she worked on issues regarding gross human rights violations, economic social and cultural rights, migration and persons deprived of their liberty.
Lady Nancy has also been a lecturer in Public International Law, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at the University of Medellin where she was also the coordinator of a research seminar on the Inter-American System of Human Rights. She also has experience working in the Judicial Branch in Colombia. Lady Nancy holds a Law degree from the University of Medellin (Colombia), and an LL.M in International Human Rights Law from the University of Notre Dame (USA). She is in the late stages of her PhD in Law at the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina).
Lady Nancy was a research scholar at the Max Planck Institute for Procedural Law in Luxembourg and a member of the Seminar on Transnational Enterprises and Gross Human Rights Violations at the University of Buenos Aires.
Her mother tongue is Spanish. She is fluent in English and has a basic knowledge of French. Lady Nancy is a national of Colombia.
Corporate Legal Accountability
Corporate Legal Accountability programme team
Elodie Aba
Senior Legal Researcher (Lieu: France)
Elodie Aba
Senior Legal Researcher (Lieu: France)
Elodie joined BHRC in January 2013. She conducts research for the Corporate Legal Accountability Programme and contributes to the Resource Centre's francophone work. Elodie is a human rights lawyer and legal translator. She was a research assistant at the One World Trust and previously worked at Handicap International UK in London.
She also interned at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia; the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; and the International Service for Human Rights. Elodie has a Master of Laws (LL.M) from the University of Melbourne; a law degree in International and European Law from the University of Paris XI; a degree of a legal translator from Institut Supérieur d’Interprétation et de Traduction (ISIT).
Her mother tongue is French and she speaks fluent English and some Spanish. Elodie is a national of France.
Laura Mont Castro
Corporate Legal Accountability Research Assistant (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Laura Mont Castro
Corporate Legal Accountability Research Assistant (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Laura joined BHRC in January 2025 as a Legal Research Intern and became a Corporate Legal Accountability Research Assistant in July 2025, after finishing an LLM in Human Rights Law from UCL, in London.
Before this, she worked as parliamentary assistant at the European Parliament, in Brussels and Strasbourg, and as a Corporate and M&A lawyer at Cuatrecasas, an international law firm in Barcelona.
Laura also holds a master’s degree in international business law and legal practice from ESADE (Barcelona), a law degree from Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona), and a degree in journalism from the same university. Her mother tongues are Catalan and Spanish, and she speaks fluent English and some German.
Communications
Communications team
Amanda Waite
Website Manager (Lieu: Edinburgh, Scotland)
Amanda Waite
Website Manager (Lieu: Edinburgh, Scotland)
Amanda joined BHRC in 2023 with responsibility for managing the website and ensuring that our digital platform maximises the impact and reach of our work and informs and empowers allies. She works with our global team and external digital partners to continuously improve the website content and user experience.
Prior to joining BHRC, Amanda worked in digital communication, website development and translation projects at the University of Edinburgh. Amanda has a Master of Professional Studies in Translation and bachelor’s degrees (BA/BCom) in French and Operations Management from the University of Auckland.
Her native language is English, she has good knowledge of French and Spanish and is learning Scottish Gaelic. She is a national of the UK and New Zealand.
Harriet Wood
Communications Manager (Lieu: London, UK)
Harriet Wood
Communications Manager (Lieu: London, UK)
Harriet joined the communications team in October 2019. Prior to joining the Resource Centre, she worked in communications and operations for Ninth Wave Global and spent three years working on grassroots environmental projects in southeast Mexico.
Harriet has worked in PR, operations and communications for a range of projects and as a freelance writer and research assistant for English-language Latin American news media with a focus on politics and sustainability.
She has a BA in English Language and Literature from King’s College London. She speaks English and Spanish.
Maeve Diffley
Weekly Update Editor (Lieu: Brighton, United Kingdom)
Maeve Diffley
Weekly Update Editor (Lieu: Brighton, United Kingdom)
Maeve joined the team in November 2023. Prior to her time with BHRC, she worked in content and communications roles for a range of NGOs with a focus on climate change and human rights.
She is passionate about environmental justice and alternative economies. In her spare time she can be found trying hand at any arts and crafts, gardening, and dreaming up utopian futures.
Priyanka Mogul
Senior Media Officer (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Priyanka Mogul
Senior Media Officer (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Priyanka joined BHRC in 2021 and is responsible for the organisation's press outreach. She works with our teams across the globe to amplify the voices of human rights advocates through the media. Prior to joining us, she worked in the communications team at the think tank Asia House.
Priyanka has also worked as a journalist, reporting primarily on international development and human rights issues in Asia - with articles in Al Jazeera, the International Business Times and The Diplomat, among others.
She has a BA in Journalism with Human Rights (Kingston University) and a MSc in Emerging Economies and International Development (King's College London).
Stuart Fowkes
Head of Communications (Lieu: Oxford, United Kingdom)
Stuart Fowkes
Head of Communications (Lieu: Oxford, United Kingdom)
Stuart joined as Head of Communications in 2024, having previously worked as a Director at digital agency Edmonds Elder, working on digital communications strategies and social-first content for a wide range of clients including Santander, Marks and Spencer, the Financial Conduct Authority, Gatwick Airport and Unilever as well as Paralympics GB, the Autism Centre of Excellence, Wildlife Trusts and Prince’s Trust International in the NGO space.
Prior to this, he led the social media team at Oxfam GB, headed up the PR team at international NGO ActionAid, and worked as Head of Digital Communications at Oxford University. Stuart speaks English and Italian, and also created one of the world’s largest sound projects, Cities and Memory.
William de Villiers
Social Media and Digital Content Officer (Lieu: Bristol, United Kingdom)
William de Villiers
Social Media and Digital Content Officer (Lieu: Bristol, United Kingdom)
Will joined BHRC in May 2025. He has multiple years' experience working on digital communications and social-first content production for wide-ranging for-purpose organisations, including the United Nations Refugee Agency, Amnesty International UK, Corporate Justice Coalition (formerly CORE), Empower Agency and Medical Aid Films, among others.
Will holds an MA in Human Rights - with a focus on the health impacts of water privatisation - and a BA in Politics, both from University College London. He is based in Bristol, UK, and spends his spare time developing practices in illustration and photography.
Development
Development team
Brittany Bouchez
US Administrative and Development Assistant (Lieu: New York, USA)
Brittany Bouchez
US Administrative and Development Assistant (Lieu: New York, USA)
Brittany joined BHRC in October 2021 as a temporary US Administrative and Development Assistant. In January 2022, she became a permanent member assisting on all administrative needs with the Development and Operations Team. She has a BA in Psychology from SUNY Albany and more than eight years of customer experience in a variety of industries. She is passionate about BHRC's mission and is excited to help continue its growth for years to come. Outside of her career, she enjoys painting, embroidery, and travelling.
Émile Kinley-Gauthier
Senior Development Officer
Émile Kinley-Gauthier
Senior Development Officer
Émile joined BHRC as a Development Officer in December 2021. Previously, from 2016 to 2021, he held multiple positions with the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), where he was a Resource Mobilisation Officer from 2019. In his role, he was leading and coordinating in all activities related to fundraising, including the development of the organisational Fundraising Strategy & Plan and drafting proposals to institutional donors.
Émile also spent one year at Manushya Foundation as a Human Right Researcher. There, he drafted multiple chapters of a CSO National Baseline Assessment (NBA) on the situation of business and human rights in Thailand, including a legal & policy analysis on the protection of human rights defenders.
Émile holds a Master's Degree in Asian Studies from the Graduate Institute of Geneva, and a BA in International Studies from the University of Montreal. He is a Canadian national and is fluent in both French and English.
Katie Hetherington
Development Officer/Grant Officer (Lieu: Spain)
Katie Hetherington
Development Officer/Grant Officer (Lieu: Spain)
Katie joined BHRC in May 2025 as a Development Officer. Prior to working at the Centre, since 2022 Katie has coordinated human rights, peacebuilding, and transitional justice programmes in Kenya, Bangladesh, Ukraine, and Yemen with an international law NGO, the Public International Law and Policy Group.
Katie has previously held roles in the UK Civil Service, the British Red Cross, and a UK-based social mobility NGO. She holds a masters degree in Conflict Studies and Human Rights from Utrecht University, and an MA (Hons) in Politics and International Relations from the University of Aberdeen. Katie is learning Spanish and Catalan and is from Scotland.
Martín Lassalle
Development Officer (Lieu: Argentina)
Martín Lassalle
Development Officer (Lieu: Argentina)
Martín joined BHRC in April 2022 as a Development Officer for the LATAM region. Prior to working at the Centre, Martin developed his fundraising and international cooperation career in different countries in the region, having worked in regional and grassroots organisations in Argentina, Haiti, Guatemala, and Costa Rica, and has experience in different thematic areas such as education, civil rights movements, and nutrition.
Martín is an Argentinian national and has postgraduate studies in Administration for nonprofit organisations and an MA in International Law.
Europe and Central Asia
Europe and Central Asia team
Amelie Freund
EU/Western Europe Research Assistant
Amelie Freund
EU/Western Europe Research Assistant
Amelie joined BHRC in May 2022 as an EU/ Western Europe Intern. She currently studies law at Freie Universität Berlin and holds a BA in International Relations from Technische Universität Dresden. During her studies, she focused on feminist and decolonial critiques of the (international) legal system and global capitalism.
Her previous experience includes working for the Chair of International Law, European Law and Public Law at the Technische Universität Dresden and internships at Brot für die Welt, the International Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Arms (IALANA) and the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV).
She is particularly interested in supply chain due diligence acts, labour rights and rethinking the existing economic system. Amelie is fluent in German and English and has a good knowledge of Spanish.
Belle Benckendorff
EU/Western Europe Researcher (Lieu: Germany)
Belle Benckendorff
EU/Western Europe Researcher (Lieu: Germany)
Belle joined BHRC in January 2024 as a Legal Research Intern and became a Europe/Western Europe Researcher in September 2024.
Prior to joining us, Belle gained experience in strategic litigation, corporate law and human rights law. She completed her clerkship at the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Development Agency GIZ, and the Legal Assistance Centre in Namibia. She also worked with NGOs in Greece and the UK, assisting with asylum applications and welfare benefits. Her work and research interests focus on the intersection of human rights, mandatory human rights due diligence legislation, and the extractive industries.
Belle studied law at Münster University and the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing. She passed her First and Second State Examinations at the Higher Regional Courts in Hamm and Frankfurt am Main. She holds an LL.M. in Law and Development from SOAS University of London. A German national, Belle is fluent in German and English, with basic knowledge of French and Chinese.
Ella Skybenko
Eastern Europe/Central Asia Senior Researcher (Lieu: Kyiv, Ukraine)
Ella Skybenko
Eastern Europe/Central Asia Senior Researcher (Lieu: Kyiv, Ukraine)
Ella joined BHRC in 2008. She is responsible for research and outreach in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and has conducted regional missions to the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia and Armenia.
Ella formerly worked as a regional manager at American Red Cross, HIV/AIDS program manager at Holt International Children’s Services and program coordinator at American International Health Alliance. Ella holds an MSc in Global Health from the University of Manchester; Master's degree in International Relations with a concentration in International Law from the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv; and MA in International Human Rights from the University of Denver.
Her mother tongues are Ukrainian and Russian. She speaks fluent English. Ella is a national of Ukraine.
Johannes Blankenbach
Senior EU/Western Europe Researcher (Lieu: Berlin, Germany)
Johannes Blankenbach
Senior EU/Western Europe Researcher (Lieu: Berlin, Germany)
Johannes Blankenbach is BHRC’s Senior EU/Western Europe Researcher & Representative, based at its Berlin office. He has been with the organisation since 2018, after more than five years as a Researcher at the (now) German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) in Bonn.
Johannes leads the Resource Centre's EU research, which covers human rights impacts of EU businesses within and outside of the region, as well as policy and legislative trends. Human rights and environmental due diligence and the move towards binding corporate due diligence and accountability legislation is a particular focus of his work.
Among other topics, Johannes’ writing and presentations have addressed the pitfalls of social audits and the need for genuine due diligence including responsible purchasing practices and business models, as well as effective and safe stakeholder engagement.
He holds a BA in International Relations from Dresden University (TU Dresden) and an MSc in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Johannes speaks fluent German and English, with a good knowledge of French. He is a national of Germany.
Vladyslava Kaplina
Eastern Europe/Central Asia Research Assistant (Lieu: Lisbon, Portugal)
Vladyslava Kaplina
Eastern Europe/Central Asia Research Assistant (Lieu: Lisbon, Portugal)
Vladyslava joined BHRC in 2021. She is responsible for research in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Vladyslava was the administrative assistant of the course Business, Corporations and Human Rights, organised jointly by the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University (Kharkiv, Ukraine) and the Judge of the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of Portugal Paulo Pinto de Albuquerque (March-December 2020).
She holds a degree in Law from the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University and a Master's in Fundamental Rights from the University of Lisbon School of Law. At the University of Lisbon, she is engaged in the project Human Rights and Business: regulatory aspects and corporate duties emerging from human rights rules, created by the Lisbon Public Law Research Centre.
Her mother tongues are Ukrainian and Russian. She speaks fluent English, French and Portuguese. Vladyslava is a national of Ukraine.
Labour Rights in Supply Chains
Labour Rights programme team
Áine Clarke
Co-head Labour Rights in Supply Chains and Investor Strategy (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Áine Clarke
Co-head Labour Rights in Supply Chains and Investor Strategy (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Áine leads the KnowTheChain benchmark - a resource for companies and investors to understand and address forced labour and labour rights risks and impact within their global supply chains.
Prior to this, she led investor engagement on the Workforce Disclosure Initiative (WDI) at the UK based responsible investment charity, ShareAction. While there, she was seconded to the Project Task Force on the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (EFRAG), developing the draft workforce standards for the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
She has an MA in International Political Economy and has completed CFA level 1 and certificate in ESG investing.
Anithra Varia
Labour Rights Researcher (Lieu: United Kingdom)
Anithra Varia
Labour Rights Researcher (Lieu: United Kingdom)
Anithra brings more than a decade of experience in the not-for-profit sector, consisting of a diverse portfolio of roles across various organisations and thematic focuses. Beginning her career at the Sri Lanka Youth Climate Action Network, she transitioned to World Vision Sri Lanka after obtaining her Bachelor's Degree in Law from the University of London.
During her time in Melbourne, Anithra pursued a Master's Degree in International Development from RMIT University while actively engaging with Sisterworks, an organisation dedicated to empowering refugee women.
Upon returning to Sri Lanka, she integrated back into the landscape, collaborating with entities such as MSI, Pact International, and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. Anithra's expertise extends to thematic areas including enforced disappearances, torture, land rights, and labour issues, particularly within the apparel and plantation sectors of Sri Lanka.
Catriona Fraser
Migrant Workers Researcher (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Catriona Fraser
Migrant Workers Researcher (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Catriona joined BHRC in April 2023. She has a master's degree in Migration Studies from the University of Oxford, where her research focused on female migrant rights in Europe and the USA in the context of globalisation and worker precarity. Prior to joining us, Catriona worked as Research and Impact lead of an education consultancy, and she also ran the organisation’s charity, The Oppidan Foundation, working to reduce the risk of exclusion for vulnerable pupils in UK schools.
Before moving into research, Catriona worked for the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s Media and Advocacy department in Geneva, supporting the maintenance of the disaster risk reduction website PreventionWeb.
She has also volunteered for the NGO Lifting Hands International, teaching children in refugee camps in Greece, and has interned as a journalist and photographer in Bolivia.
Isobel Archer
Senior Researcher, Labour and Migrant Worker Rights (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Isobel Archer
Senior Researcher, Labour and Migrant Worker Rights (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Isobel joined BHRC in April 2019 to work on the Migrant Workers in the Gulf Project in the run-up to the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Her knowledge of modern slavery, and business and human rights comes from her time working and interning for a number of organisations, including an internship at BHRC.
Isobel also gained experience at Shiva Foundation, Environmental Resources Management (ERM) and Ardea International where she focused on corporate disclosure, improving access to labour rights, and tackling human trafficking in the hotel, construction, and professional service sectors.
Isobel holds an MA (Dist.) Understanding & Securing Human Rights from the University of London and a BA (Hons) English Literature from the University of Exeter (UK) including a year studying at the University of Otago (New Zealand). Isobel is a UK national.
Kane Shaw
KnowTheChain Research Assistant (Lieu: United Kingdom)
Kane Shaw
KnowTheChain Research Assistant (Lieu: United Kingdom)
Kane joined BHRC as KnowTheChain Research Assistant in April 2024. He supports the KnowTheChain team to research and investigate allegations of forced labour, corporate disclosure and Modern Slavery Statements from companies operating in the ICT, Apparel and Footwear, and Food and Beverage sector.
He also works as a Freelance Legal Researcher on large scale collective litigation against companies in breach of workers’ and consumers’ rights. Prior to joining BHRC, he spent several years working in trade unions and renters’ unions in the UK challenging the exploitation of low-paid, precarious, and migrant workers, and holding corporate and social landlords to account respectively.
He also holds a Master of Arts in Social and Political Thought from the University of Sussex and a First Class BSc in Social Policy and Sociology from the University of Bristol. He is also fluent in Spanish and has previously lived and worked in Argentina.
Kate Jelly
Labour Rights Researcher (Lieu: Berlin, Germany)
Kate Jelly
Labour Rights Researcher (Lieu: Berlin, Germany)
Kate joined BHRC in September 2022 to work primarily on research in the garment and tea sectors in South and Southeast Asia and East Africa. Prior to joining the Resource Centre, Kate was a consultant at Ergon Associates where she undertook research and advisory work for a range of clients - focusing on human rights and labour risks in global agricultural and manufacturing supply chains, and gender-based violence and harassment in relation to development finance investments.
Previously, Kate worked for the consultancy Context, and at the UK Department for International Development, where she supported the UK government’s response to global humanitarian emergencies and relief efforts. Kate holds an MSc in Gender, Policy and Inequalities from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). She is a UK national based in Berlin and speaks some German and Spanish.
Rosie Monaghan
KnowTheChain Researcher and Representative (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Rosie Monaghan
KnowTheChain Researcher and Representative (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Rosie joined BHRC as KnowTheChain Research Assistant in June 2017. She supports the research methodology for KnowTheChain and carries out research and analysis of Modern Slavery Statements, corporate disclosure, and allegations of forced labour.
She holds an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the Irish Centre for Human Rights and a law degree from Oxford Brookes University. Her academic research has focused on legal protection for victims of human trafficking, and human rights due diligence as a tool for addressing slavery in supply chains.
Rosie has previously undertaken internships at the Equal Rights Trust, supporting the Trust's litigation and advocacy programmes; the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants; and volunteered as a researcher with the Sophie Hayes Foundation. Rosie is a national of the UK.
Management Team
Management Team
Betty Yolanda
Director of Regional Programmes (Lieu: Jakarta, Indonesia)
Betty Yolanda
Director of Regional Programmes (Lieu: Jakarta, Indonesia)
Betty joined BHRC in February 2019 as its first Regional Manager for Asia, having previously worked at the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), where she was Programme Manager and then Co-Director from 2014 to early 2019. She was appointed Director of Regional Programmes in December 2021, leading the Resource Centre's teams of experts in Asia and Pacific, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe and Central Asia.
From 2011-2014, Betty led the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI)’s work in Southeast Asia to strengthen the capacity of public interest lawyers in engaging with the ASEAN human rights mechanisms. Prior to ABA ROLI, Betty dedicated her time working as a human rights lawyer and researcher at the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) for more than seven years.
A Chevening scholar, Betty holds an LL.M in international human rights law with Merit from the University of Essex, United Kingdom. She has a bachelor’s degree in international law from the Catholic University of Atma Jaya, Jakarta.
Graham Mackay
Chief Operating Officer (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Graham Mackay
Chief Operating Officer (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Graham joined BHRC in August 2021 and is based in the London headquarters. He oversees the internal organisational and operational functions and his purpose is to ensure a well-run, efficient, agile organisation that is enabled to be outward-facing and delivering its mission and the commitments made to its partners and stakeholders.
Graham’s background originally was in natural sciences where he gained a PhD in environmental science before moving into relief and development, where he has worked on programmes in more than 15 countries around the world. He was Oxfam’s deputy humanitarian director before moving into organisational management.
Prior to joining BHRC, he was Chief Operating Officer at Bond, the UK’s membership organisation for International Relief and Development organisations for six years doing a similar role.
Michael Clements
Director of International Programmes (Lieu: Johannesburg, South Africa)
Michael Clements
Director of International Programmes (Lieu: Johannesburg, South Africa)
Michael brings a unique blend of extensive expertise in business and human rights, alongside her internationally-focused legal background and private sector experience. She leads the organisation from Johannesburg, South Africa.
Michael has served as BHRC’s Director of International Programmes since 2022, during which time she has been a key driver of the organisation’s strategic direction across its work on the just energy transition, labour rights in supply chains, technology and human rights, civic freedom and human rights defenders, corporate legal accountability, and racial and gender justice.
Before joining BHRC, Michael worked as Acting Director and Head of Programmes at Lawyers for Human Rights, a South African public interest legal organisation. There, she previously led its Environmental Rights Programme, focused on representing communities pressing for corporate accountability, particularly of the extractive sector. She was with Lawyers for Human Rights from 2015 – 2021. She is a member of the New York State Bar.
Her further professional background includes:
- Litigation Associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in New York (2010-2014), focusing on international arbitration and domestic litigation.
- Postgraduate Fellow in Business and Human Rights at Columbia University’s Human Rights Institute (2010).
- Trial Chambers Clerk at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia at the Hague (2008)
- Corporate Affairs Manager, then VP - Investor Relations, at AngloGold Ashanti Limited in Johannesburg, South Africa (2001-2007).
Patricia Surak
Deputy Director, Director for Development (Lieu: New York, USA)
Patricia Surak
Deputy Director, Director for Development (Lieu: New York, USA)
Patty joined BHRC in 2009 as the organisation’s first Development Director. Since then, she has helped to significantly expand and diversify the Centre’s income and funding sources, increase the number of donors worldwide, build and support the board, and build and lead a Development Team on five continents.
Patty works closely with the Development Team to manage current funding relationships, to seek financial support to enable the Resource Centre to expand its work, and to ensure effective Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning are woven into project implementation and the organisation overall. Prior to managing her own fundraising consulting business for several years, Patty was the Director of Development at a local senior care facility in New Rochelle, NY, where she oversaw a capital campaign which raised over $6 million to build a nursing and rehabilitation center.
Other posts included: Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations at Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), where she and her team managed relationships with over 600 foundation and corporate supporters and grew the revenue from this sector six-fold; Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for Catholic Relief Services, which included travel to Turkey, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Bosnia, to provide technical assistance and fundraising training to CRS field staff to help with capacity building of local independent NGOs.
Patty’s academic and research projects included work on the commercial sexual exploitation of children in the USA, Canada and Mexico and on the effects of welfare reform on poor and low-income Pennsylvania residents. Patty earned her Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) at the University of Pennsylvania, where she was awarded the Ruth Smalley Award for Outstanding Achievements in International Social Welfare, and her BA in Political Science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Phil Bloomer
Executive Director (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Phil Bloomer
Executive Director (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Phil became Executive Director of BHRC in 2013. Phil leads strategy and outreach globally working with 80 global team members and allies. Programmes are focused on the transformation of business and investment models especially in areas of the just transition to net zero carbon; labour rights in supply chains; rights in technology and civic freedoms.
Phil sits on several external groups including the Civil Society Advisory Group for Principles for Responsible Banking, the Expert Review Committee of the World Benchmarking Alliance; Climate Outreach’s Board, and the European Citizen’s Initiative for a Living Wage.
Prior to joining BHRC, Phil was Director of Campaigns and Policy at Oxfam GB, joining them after 11 years in Latin America working on human rights and indigenous rights.
Just Transition and Natural Resources Programme
Just Transition and Natural Resources team
Azminah Jhetam
Natural Resources and JET Researcher and Advocacy Officer (Lieu: South Africa)
Azminah Jhetam
Natural Resources and JET Researcher and Advocacy Officer (Lieu: South Africa)
Azminah joined BHRC in June 2025 as a researcher and advocacy officer in the Natural Resources and Just Energy Transition team. She was previously a summer intern in the Resource Centre’s Labour Rights and Corporate Legal Accountability teams, supported by a student fellowship granted by the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights.
Azminah holds BA and LLB degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand and a BCL from the University of Oxford. Prior to joining the Resource Centre, Azminah worked as a junior lawyer at a leading African law firm and as a researcher at the South African Constitutional Court.
Blanca Racionero Gomez
Senior Researcher, Just Transition and Natural Resources (Lieu: Spain)
Blanca Racionero Gomez
Senior Researcher, Just Transition and Natural Resources (Lieu: Spain)
Blanca Racionero Gomez is a Senior Researcher on the Natural Resources and Just Energy Transition team. Blanca is highly experienced in conducting in-depth research on minerals, almost entirely on energy transition minerals, from mineral extraction to its end-uses in renewable energies and batteries.
Before joining the BHRC team, Blanca served as a consultant for Levin Sources, a consultancy advising governments, civil society, businesses, and investors, on sustainable and equitable mineral supply chains. Blanca also volunteered with several organisations to advocate for environmental justice and human rights.
Blanca holds a degree in Biotechnology, an Erasmus Mundus Master in Environmental Technology and Engineering (IMETE), and a Master of Research in Geology from Durham University. She is fluent in English, Spanish, Catalan and intermediate French.
Bukelwa Nzimande
Senior Renewable Energy and Human Rights Project Manager (Lieu: South Africa)
Bukelwa Nzimande
Senior Renewable Energy and Human Rights Project Manager (Lieu: South Africa)
Bukelwa Nzimande is a Senior Renewable Energy and Human Rights Project Manager: Policy and Engagement based in Johannesburg South Africa. She has more than ten years of diverse experience in the climate justice and sustainable energy spaces, in the private sector and civil society organisations, as a consultant, technical advisor, and campaigner.
Bukelwa has contributed to and led climate, energy and just energy transitions research and policy development processes (including capacity building and communication) in South Africa, Kenya and India.
She is also an intersectional justice advocate, and activist committed to the pursuit of inclusive and progressive change. Bukelwa actively seeks to contribute to work with tangible and intersectional solutions to development challenges, especially those faced by the underserved and underrepresented.
She is currently completing her doctoral studies at the Power Futures Lab based at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business. Her research focuses on renewable energy and the democratisation of electricity systems. Utilising a political economy lens, she explores the intricacies of power sector reforms and renewable energy transitions, aiming to contribute valuable insights for a more sustainable and equitable energy future.
Caroline Avan
Head of Just Transition and Natural Resources (Lieu: France)
Caroline Avan
Head of Just Transition and Natural Resources (Lieu: France)
Caroline joined BHRC in May 2022 and became the head of the team in March 2024. She leads our research and analysis on corporate abuses, policies and practices in renewable energy value chains - from the extraction of transition minerals to the deployment of wind and solar projects, and engagement and advocacy towards companies and their investors.
Prior to joining BHRC, Caroline worked with Oxfam France for three years as Extractive Industries Advocacy & Research Officer. She led Oxfam's global engagement with French extractive companies, and coordinated the development of several publications on the industry, with a focus on climate, human rights and tax justice issues. She also was in charge of coordinating the Publish What You Pay (PWYP) coalition in France, as well as co-leading PWYP EU advocacy strategy for stronger European regulations on corporate transparency and accountability.
Before that, she was a humanitarian worker, holding various operation coordination positions in emergency abd post-emergency settings. She lived and worked in different countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jordan and Iraq. She initially started her career as a financial auditor.
She holds a Master's degree in Advanced Global Studies from Sciences Po Paris, a Bachelor of Laws, and a MSc in engineering from the ISAE (France). She is a French national, her native language is French and she is fluent in English.
Operations and Finance
Operations and Finance team
Alice Penzo
PA and Operations Officer (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Alice Penzo
PA and Operations Officer (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Alice joined BHRC in December 2022. She has worked in different private-sector industries in the past, including retail, financial services, and renewables. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Bologna, Alice spent several months in South America working on renewable energy projects with the Indigenous communities of the Atacama Desert.
Alice holds a Master's degree in Human Rights and International Conflict from the London Metropolitan University and is fluent in English, Spanish, and Italian. She is interested in human rights, conflict prevention and resolution. With expertise in administration, policy development, and event coordination, she specialises in creating efficient processes, supporting diverse teams, and driving impactful initiatives.
She is an Italian citizen living in the UK.
Ezgi Crössmann
Project Support and Compliance Officer (Lieu: Munich, Germany)
Ezgi Crössmann
Project Support and Compliance Officer (Lieu: Munich, Germany)
Ezgi joined BHRC as Finance Officer in November 2021. She is based in Munich and supports the team through grants management and compliance.
She started her career at Deloitte, where she realised her interest in being part of the development work through audits she performed. In the following years, she supported country offices and projects teams of Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e.V. and GIZ GmbH in Turkey and Germany. She worked for various humanitarian aid, emergency response, and development projects as a Finance and Administration Officer.
Prior to her career, Ezgi studied International Relations and got her master's degree in Business Administration. She lives in Germany since 2018.
Giulia Vinzi
Human Resources Lead (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Giulia Vinzi
Human Resources Lead (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Giulia joined us in July 2021 as the first Human Resources Lead based in our London office. She has more than five years of HR experience in a fast-paced, international healthcare media company, WebMD. She started her career in the NYC headquarters where she was hired while in her senior year of college, after a summer internship.
After three years, her passion for international affairs was recognised by the head of HR who offered her a role in London as the first HR support for the growing global business. There, she supported more than 150 employees across the UK and EU with all aspects of human resources.
Nisha Rabadia
Bookkeeper (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Nisha Rabadia
Bookkeeper (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Nisha joined BHRC in March 2023 as a bookkeeper in which she supports the finance function globally and is based at the London Headquarters.
Since then, she has supported the Finance and Operations Team in maintaining daily financial transactions. Her aim is to ensure accurate and up-to-date data processing on a real-time basis to help the business with long-term and short-term decision making which is essential for the business to succeed.
She is a finance professional with a master's in financial and management accounting and is ACCA part-qualified.
Bea Ocampo
Human Resources Officer (Lieu: Manila, Philippines)
Bea Ocampo
Human Resources Officer (Lieu: Manila, Philippines)
Bea joined the Resource Centre in February 2024. She has accumulated more than seven years of experience in areas of HR, operations, and programme support in different international non-government organisations.
Based in Manila, Philippines, she has previously taken on national and regional roles within the development and humanitarian sector. Becoming part of a global team, she is now given an opportunity to continue honing her skills and knowledge with a wider reach.
Preeti Seshadri
Planning and Operations Manager (Lieu: India)
Preeti Seshadri
Planning and Operations Manager (Lieu: India)
Preeti joined BHRC in April 2024 and is based in Bangalore, India. Preeti will work closely with the Operations Team and Project teams to support the COO in planning and project management globally.
Preeti brings over two decades of business operations experience across both the corporate and non-profit sectors, having worked with multiple global teams spanning Asia to Latin America.
She has experience scaling teams, setting up and streamlining processes and has been focused on gender diversity initiatives for the majority of her career. Preeti holds a double Master's - one in Economics and a Postgraduate Diploma in Management.
Thierry Reid
Bookkeeper, Finance Assistant (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Thierry Reid
Bookkeeper, Finance Assistant (Lieu: London, United Kingdom)
Thierry joined BHRC in April 2025 and is based at the London office. He has a varied background, having worked across a range of industries including pharmaceuticals, healthcare, construction, and most recently, finance.
Drawing on several years of experience in accountancy practice, he plays a key role in supporting the finance function and the wider global team. He holds a bachelor's degree in Renewable Energy from the University of Exeter.
In his free time, Thierry enjoys bouldering, playing badminton, a good game of chess, and sunny camping weekends.
Tech Accountability Programme
Tech Accountability programme team
Gayatri Khandhadai
Head of Technology and Human Rights (Lieu: India)
Gayatri Khandhadai
Head of Technology and Human Rights (Lieu: India)
Gaya joined BHRC in February 2022 as the Head of Technology and Human Rights. She is a lawyer with a background in international law and human rights, international and regional human rights mechanisms, research, and advocacy. She previously worked with national and regional human rights groups, focusing on freedom of expression.
More recently she worked as the Asia Policy Regional Coordinator at the Association for Progressive Communications where her focus was on digital rights and policy in Asia with specific emphasis on freedoms of expression, religion, assembly and association on the internet. Her areas of expertise include capacity building, network support, policy advocacy on regulations and adoption of human rights-based approach to internet governance.
She holds an MA in International Law and Human Rights from the University for Peace, Costa Rica and a BA BL (Hons) from the Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, India.
Meredith Veit
Technology and Human Rights Researcher (Lieu: Brussels, Belgium)
Meredith Veit
Technology and Human Rights Researcher (Lieu: Brussels, Belgium)
Meredith joined BHRC at the start of 2023. Her work sits at the intersection of business, human rights and technology, with a particular focus on at-risk groups. She is a journalist by vocation, and she has worked on various projects related to the protection of human rights defenders, journalists, migrants’ rights and children’s rights in the digital age. She specialises in research, writing, and trauma-informed, gender-sensitive interviewing.
Meredith is currently pursuing a degree in International Human Rights Law at Oxford University (UK). She holds a master's degree in Human Rights and Democratisation from the Global Campus of Human Rights (Italy) and an interdisciplinary bachelor's degree in Communication and Public Culture from The George Washington University (USA).
Founder and former Director
Chris Avery
Chris founded BHRC in 2002 and was Director until he retired in September 2013. He is a former Legal Adviser and Deputy Head of Research Department, Amnesty International - International Secretariat. He authored Business and Human Rights in a Time of Change, a 108-page report published by Amnesty International UK in 2000. Chris was educated at Columbia Univ. School of Law (LLM); Univ. of California, Davis, School of Law (JD Order of the Coif); Stanford Univ. (BA Honours). Chris is a national of both the US and UK.
Current interns
September 2025-Present, Nnennaya Jennifer Nwali, Legal Research and Just Transition Intern
Nnennaya Jennifer Nwali joined BHRC in September 2025 as a Legal Research and Just Transition Intern, supporting the Corporate Legal Accountability Programme. She is currently a PhD candidate and teaching assistant at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, where her doctoral research explores how legal frameworks and policies can promote socially just decarbonisation across different contexts, comparing experiences in both the Global North and South. Jennifer has also worked as a research assistant and is currently a research associate at the University of Aberdeen’s Just Transition Lab.
Jennifer holds an LL.M. in Energy and Environmental Law with distinction from the University of Aberdeen and an LL.B. (Hons) from the University of Sunderland. Her mother tongues are English and Igbo, and she is a Nigerian national and a UK permanent resident.