Scholars

Abie is a humanitarian worker whose work focuses on migrant protection and supporting the sexual and gender minority community around the world. In 2019, he founded BRANI, a virtual safe space for Indonesians that encourages discussion and provides information on SOGIESC-related issues. Abie has previously worked with diverse organizations, such as Amnesty International, Project Hope 4 Kids, and International Organization for Migration. He has experience in program management and providing direct assistance to vulnerable groups such as asylum seekers, refugees, and victims of human trafficking both in Indonesia and abroad. Abie earned a Master’s degree in Theology from Uppsala University in Sweden and a Master’s degree in International Humanitarian Action from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Abie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Universitas Gadjah Mada. Abie aims to bolster BRANI by learning about effective online campaigns and how to reach those without Internet access. He also wants to gain insight into the unintended negative consequences of outreach campaigns, including backlash, confusion, and desensitization. Abie now focuses on acquiring skills in organizational management, leadership, fundraising and grant-writing, marketing and communications, and strategic planning.

Host Organization: Princeton in Asia

Role at Host Organization: As a Programs Fellow, Abie will develop relationships with host countries and organizations; improve tools for evaluating new and renewing partnerships for Princeton in Asia; and implement equitable, inclusive best practices in recruitment, application, review, and fellow support in partnership with PiA staff and Board of Trustees committees.

Aishani Jaiswal is a New Delhi based research analyst. Having graduated from the University of Delhi with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, her areas of interest lie in gender, minority rights, and public health. She has previously worked in research and media spaces focusing on South Asian issues and tackling online hate speech. In addition to her professional goals, she is also passionate about mental health issues.

Alison B. Omiste is a Systems Engineer and lawyer, both with mention of excellence. She has studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Hradec Králové University, Czech Republic, and Advanced Studies in Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law at Washington College of Law. She is an activist for human rights, gender equality, and freedom. She is a former IACHR intern and lover of technology, particularly its use to build a fairer, more transparent, and equitable society. Alison has been a trainer and speaker in various academic and technological spaces and is the Co-Founder and current National Director of “Mujeres TICs Bolivia” (Women ICTs Bolivia), an organization that seeks to reduce the digital gender gap. Her organization has trained more than 500 women from peri-urban and rural areas of Bolivia on issues of technologies and digital inclusion and has impacted more than 2,000 people with different digital inclusion programs and workshops in STEM areas. She works in constant contributions and investigations presented as amicus curiae before the IACHR and has participated as a team coach and judge in international Human Rights competitions. She is the Vice-curator of the Global Shapers hub and a member of the Ladies of Liberty Alliance and Students of Liberty. Alison is also a Fellow of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and of the Ban Ki-Moon Center for Global Citizen. She is a CISCO instructor with experience as a mentor in digital education.

Berta Soley has worked in the fields of international development, human rights, social work, and education for more than six years and has a profound interest in gender and social innovation. Berta strongly believes that education is the key to social change. She currently works as a Knowledge Development and Editorial Associate at the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims. In her role, she embraces the potential that collaborative development, knowledge sharing, and dissemination have to advance and strengthen a global movement working toward a common purpose. She enjoys collaborating with member centers from around the world and the cultural awareness it brings. Berta holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the Faculty Pere Tarrés in Spain and a master’s degree in Development and International Studies from Aalborg University in Denmark. After that, she had the opportunity to gain experience in project management at UNDP Samoa, the Danish Institute for Human Rights and other non-governmental organizations. She has also worked in international relations, research and quality control at two universities in Barcelona. Berta believes that engaged, well-motivated, and healthy teams can contribute significantly to positive social change. It is important to her to see the positive results and impact of her work towards a more just and egalitarian world.

Chris Julias has three years of experience in the non-profit sector and earned a Master of Engineering degree in Electronic and Computerized Systems from the University of Antananarivo as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Anglophone Studies. Currently, working as a data science content engineer at SmartPredict, she has been entrusted the mission of creating the landing page content and webinars for SmartPredict Version 1.0 – the eponymous automated AI platform. Apart from that, she contributed to the launching of SmartPredict Beta that reached fifty permanent users. As the role is by nature multidisciplinary, she frequents different stakeholders on a daily basis which enables strong communication skills as one of her main assets. This strength has been inherited from her previous experience as a business analyst and machine learning engineer at the Strategy and Innovation Pole of the eTech Research Lab, during which she developed the architecture of an ontological chatbot with a team of DSML engineers. Chris has always been entrusted with leadership roles in which she has demonstrated a unique systemic empathic approach with transversal management and succeeded to federate her team to achieve their business goals. Being in charge of designing tech-commercial video tutorials as well as blogs about data science, she is proficient with Balsamiq, Adobe Audition, Active Presenter and PicsArt. Her interests include Artificial Intelligence in all its aspects and how it could benefit human beings. One value dear to her heart is also the promotion of girls’ inclusion in the field of technology conveyed through her integration of Ikala STEM.

Edrisa Keita is from Sukuta in the West Coast Region of the Gambia. For the past five years, he has been the National Coordinator of Tostan Gambia, after five years of previous experience working with the organization as a partner and Assistant National Coordinator. He holds a postgraduate degree in Population and Development Studies at the University of the Gambia. He has also completed training in Entrepreneurship and Promotion of Income Generating Activities at The National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development in Uttar Pradesh, India. He holds a Professional Training Certificate in Project Planning, Management, and Evaluation from the Pan African Institute for Development West Africa; and a certificate in Business Management and Administration from the Institute of Commercial Management from the Nusrat Commercial Management Center. Before his current role at Tostan, he held positions as a teacher, an Accounts Clerk in the Ministry of Finance, a Regional Programme Officer at the National Women’s Bureau, a member of the Gender Action Team and Technical Advisory Committee, and a Chairperson in the Gambia Red Cross Society. He has also participated in development platforms with different agencies: the UN Development Assistance Framework for the Gambia (UNDAF) working group, the National Gender and Women Empowerment Survey, and the development process of the National Women’s Act of 2010.

Eka Christiningsih Tanlain (she/her/hers) is an experienced and passionate human rights educator who likes to conduct training for state apparatus and the public with various methods and games. She also has experience in developing modules, organizing public campaigns, and developing campaign tools. She has concerns about minority groups, gender & sexuality, and psychological impact in the helping profession. But she also keeps expanding her knowledge in other human rights issues such as torture, human rights defender, human rights cities, and others. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Jember University. Currently, she is pursuing a Master’s program in Social Psychology at Unika Atma Jaya with a focus on health.

Fiona is a driven and organized individual, committed to positive social change in individual and global spheres. She is passionate about learning and minimizing her impact on the environment. Fiona has lived in six countries and traveled to 30 more, which allowed her to understand different ways of life and cultivate her values and passions. In her current role, Fiona conducts training around the world and enjoys observing how people learn and adapting the curriculum accordingly. Fiona has over seven years of experience in NGOs and currently works at SOS Children’s Villages International. In her role as Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor, she leads the implementation of results-based management through a participatory training curriculum. She was also Interim Head of Monitoring and Evaluation, which gave her the unique opportunity to lead the M&E network and raise awareness about its importance in an increasingly results-focused environment. Prior to SOS Children’s Villages, Fiona worked as a Project Manager for APLE Cambodia, a child protection NGO. Here, she designed and implemented planning, monitoring, and reporting system that helped diversify funding and facilitated the creation of a multi-year strategic plan. Fiona has a Master’s Degree in International Development and Management from Lund University (Sweden) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Conflict Studies and Human Rights from University of Ottawa (Canada).