Emerging Experts
Emerging experts have expressed an interest in addressing the humanitarian, economic and other implications of arms transfers, security assistance, and weapons use...and are at an early stage in their career.
Current program participants (mid-2023 to mid-2024) are based in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, India, Israel, Nigeria, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States and are of American (United States), Australian, Brazilian, British (United Kingdom), Canadian, Finnish, French, German, Indian, Irish, Israeli, Italian, Nepali, Nigerian, Sri Lankan, Sudanese, Swedish, Turkish, Ugandan, and Ukrainian nationalities. See what they are tweeting here.
Ask the Emerging Experts: Opinion Series
The Forum's work is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Inclusion in this list is meant to strengthen our community, but does not indicate agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of others. Institutional affiliation, where indicated, is for identification purposes only. To learn more about the Emerging Experts list and program, click here.
Ask the Emerging Experts: Opinion Series
- April 2024: The U.N. and other multilateral institutions have been ineffective in responding to recent armed conflicts, such as in Ukraine, Israel/Palestine, and Sudan. (See responses.)
- December 2023 - The stigma surrounding disarmament treaties (i.e. the Mine Ban Treaty, Cluster Munition Convention, Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons) is becoming less effective in deterring states from producing, using, and transferring prohibited weapons systems. (See responses.)
The Forum's work is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Inclusion in this list is meant to strengthen our community, but does not indicate agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of others. Institutional affiliation, where indicated, is for identification purposes only. To learn more about the Emerging Experts list and program, click here.
Susan Aboeid
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Jonathan Ellis Allen
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Hiruni Alwishewa
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Jacob Batinga
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Richa Bhattarai
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Natalie Briggs
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Natalie Davidson
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Sara Elizabeth Dill
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Nico Edwards
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Paul Esau
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Katie Fallon
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Avidan Freedman
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Julius Nasamu Gaiya
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Monalisa Hazarika
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Lauriane Heau
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Tove Holmström
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Luke James
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Kevin Klyman
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Olena Kryzhanivska
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Rhona Michie
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Laura Rose O'Connor
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Ruth Rohde
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Patrick Senft
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Esra Serim
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Ellie Shackleton
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Shawn Mason Stanley
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Chiara Torelli
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Laura Varella
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Racheal Wanyana
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Susan Aboeid is an Associate for the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch (HRW). She holds a bachelor’s degree in Modern Middle Eastern Studies from Yale University. Her work and research interests include humanitarian disarmament and the implications of emerging weapons technologies on the Global South. Email aboeids [at] hrw [dot] org || @aboeidsusan
Jonathan Ellis Allen is a research associate at the Cato Institute and producer of Power Problems podcast. His work on arms sales features in numerous outlets and he will be a coauthor on Cato’s 2023 Arms Sales Risk Index. Email jallen [at] cato [dot] org || @jeallenFP || LinkedIn
Hiruni Alwishewa is a PhD Candidate in International Law at Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Graduate Institute Geneva. Her research examines the responsibilities of actors involved in the transfer of arms to conflict zones. Email hiruni [dot] alwishewa [at] graduateinstitute [dot] ch || LinkedIn || University profile
Jacob Batinga received his J.D. from Berkeley Law School in 2023 with a specialization in international law. He was an advanced student in Berkeley’s International Human Rights Law Clinic and a seasonal fellow with Reprieve UK’s drone strike practice. In September, he will begin work as a Public Interest Fellow with Oxfam America, focusing on American arms exports and security assistance to the Middle East. Email jacobbatinga [at] berkeley [dot] edu
Richa Bhattarai is a Ph.D. student at Kennesaw State University. She holds a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice (MS) from Southeast Missouri State University and a Master of Law (LLM) degree from Washburn University School of Law. Her research interests include foreign policy, counterterrorism, nuclear nonproliferation, and national security interests. Email richabattarai01 [at] gmail [dot] com || LinkedIn
Natalie Briggs is a Special Assistant and Program Officer at NYU's Center on International Cooperation. Previously, she worked as a Policy Adviser at the Permanent Mission of Norway covering disarmament and non-proliferation issues and with UNIDIR on research related to urban violence and weapons and ammunition management. Briggs has a BA in Politics from New York University and a MA in International Affairs from The New School. Email brign290 [at] newschool [dot] edu || @nataliemayaa
Natalie Davidson is a Senior Lecturer at the Tel Aviv University Faculty of Law. She researches and teaches about security exports from Israel, their human rights and political impacts, and international and domestic regulation of the trade in arms and other security technologies. Email davidson [at] tauex [dot] tau [dot] ac [dot] il || @Natalie59426231
Sara Elizabeth Dill is a London-based international human rights attorney focusing on war crimes and the role of sanctions and illicit finance in armed conflict. Her present projects include accountability and reconciliation efforts in Yemen, Syria, and Afghanistan, and the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Email dill [at] anethumglobal [dot] com || @_SEDill || LinkedIn
Nico Edwards is a PhD Candidate in International Relations, University of Sussex, Advisor to Scientists for Global Responsibility, and Research Associate for the World Peace Foundation’s Revitalising Debate on the Global Arms Trade program. Email nicosananes [at] gmail [dot] com || @nicosananes || LinkedIn
Paul Esau is a Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellow at the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization which conducts research on strategic trade controls and sanctions implementation. Esau has a PhD in History from Wilfrid Laurier University (Canada). Email paulesau [at] gmail [dot] com || @ptesau
Katie Fallon is Advocacy Manager at Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), focusing on UK arms sales used in Yemen. She previously worked at Reporters Without Borders and the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, in London and the UN in New York. Email katie [at] caat [dot] org [dot] uk || @katifallon_
Avidan Freedman is the founder and Director of Yanshoof, an Israeli organization dedicated to advocating for ethical limits on Israeli arms exports, to ensure that Israel ends its military support of regimes committing gross violations of human rights. Email Avidan [at] yanshoof [dot] org || @no2arms || Facebook
Julius Nasamu Gaiya is a Program Officer Communication and Advocacy for the Center for Civilians in Conflict based in Nigeria. He holds a Master's in Conflict, Peace and Strategic Studies and a Certificate in International Humanitarian Law in Theory and Practice from Universiteite de Leiden, Netherlands and is currently studying for a master’s degree in Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Email gaiyanasamujulius [at] gmail [dot] com || @GaiyanasamuJ || LinkedIn
Monalisa Hazarika is an Intern at Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and hold a M.A. in Conflict Management and Development from Banaras Hindu University, India. She is one of the #Leaders4Tomorrow & Leaders2theFuture under the UNODA’s Youth4Disarmament initiative. She is interested in the ATT, Additive Manufacturing, and the nexus between the illicit trafficking of SALW and narco-insurgency in South and Southeast Asia. Email haza [dot] mona [at] gmail [dot] com || @mona_haza || LinkedIn || Instagram
Lauriane Heau is a Researcher within SIPRI’s Dual-Use and Arms Trade Control Programme. Lauriane follows developments within the ATT and the multilateral export control regimes. She undertakes research on risks of diversion following arms exports, as well as post-shipment controls. Lauriane also follows assistance activities on the ATT and other SALW control instruments. Email lauriane [dot] heau [at] sipri [dot] org || @LaurianeHE || LinkedIn
Tove Holmström is an independent human rights advisor based in Paris and consultant for the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar, an independent organisation founded by three former UN experts on Myanmar in the wake of the coup in the country in 2021. Email tove [dot] holmstrom [at] multi [dot] fi || LinkedIn
Luke James Luke is a Programme Officer for the HALO Trust’s Libya Programme, a UK Ministry of Defence Human Security Advisor and a Programme Director for an NGO, specialising in IHL. He has worked at the ICC, OSCE, British Red Cross, UNV and the Amsterdam International Law Clinic. He holds a Masters in Public International Law from the University of Amsterdam. Email L [dot] James [at] peacehumanity [dot] org || @lukejameslaw || LinkedIn
Kevin Klyman is a Master’s in International Policy student at Stanford and a researcher at Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered AI. He previously worked at Harvard’s Belfer Center, the UN Foundation, United Nations Global Pulse, and Human Rights Watch’s arms division. Email Kevin [dot] klyman [at] berkeley [dot] edu || @kevin_klyman || LinkedIn
Olena Kryzhanivska is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at Ankara Haci Bayram Veli University, Turkiye. Her areas of interest include conventional arms disarmament, particularly the prevention of weapons and ammunition diversion in Ukraine. Kyrzhanivska interned at the UNODA, worked at the Norwegian Embassy in Turkey, and the Ministry of Agriculture of Ukraine. Email olena [dot] kryzhanivska91 [at] gmail [dot] com || LinkedIn
Rhona Michie is Director of Projects and Planning at Shadow World Investigations (SWI) and a co-Founder of the Corruption Tracker. Her focus is on investigations into corruption in the arms trade, the systemic militarism that underpins it, and its humanitarian consequences. Email rhona [at] shadowworldinvestigations [dot] org
Laura Rose O'Connor is an emerging technologies policy researcher with a regional focus in South Asia, She is Senior Program Officer and Research Coordinator at the Ottawa Dialogue, Graduate School of International Affairs, University of Ottawa. In September, O'Connor will begin a Master of Philosophy in South Asia Studies at the University of Cambridge. Email lauragreetings153 [at] gmail [dot] com || @LauraApostrophe || LinkedIn
Ruth Rohde is a researcher and project coordinator at Shadow World Investigations UK. She is also co-founder and programme manager at the Corruption Tracker project. Rohde holds an M.A. in International History and Politics from the Geneva Graduate Institute. Her research currently focuses on the arms trade in the war in Yemen and corruption in the arms trade. She has also worked on nuclear disarmament and research on active nonviolence. Email ruth [at] shadowworldinvestigations [dot] org || @ruth4peace
Patrick Senft is the Research Coordinator at Armament Research Services (ARES) where he works on cluster munitions and chemical weapons. Senft has a background in Physics and holds a master’s degree in Crisis and Security Management from Leiden University. Email patrick [dot] senft [at] armamentresearch [dot] com || @SenftPatrick || LinkedIn
Esra Serim is an Associate Researcher at the University of Bordeaux in France, writing
about nuclear and conventional weapons. Her research interests include drones, missiles, and
arms trade. She graduated from Sciences Po d’Aix, France with a PhD degree in Political
Science and was a visiting researcher at George Washington University in 2017. Email esraserim [at] yahoo [dot] fr || @esraserimm || LinkedIn
about nuclear and conventional weapons. Her research interests include drones, missiles, and
arms trade. She graduated from Sciences Po d’Aix, France with a PhD degree in Political
Science and was a visiting researcher at George Washington University in 2017. Email esraserim [at] yahoo [dot] fr || @esraserimm || LinkedIn
Ellie Shackleton is the Program Assistant at the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation. Her interest is the environmental impacts of the arms trade. She holds a BA in International Studies from American University, and an MA in International Affairs from the New School. Email eshackleton [at] hfg [dot] org || @missellieanne || LinkedIn
Shawn Mason Stanley is a postgraduate at the London School of Economics and Political Science studying International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies. His research interests include explosive ordnance risk education processes and mitigating the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. He is currently with Conflict Armament Research and previously worked in Nepal with UNRCPD. Email stanleyshawnm [at] gmail [dot] com || LinkedIn
Chiara Torelli is an Explosive Violence Researcher at AOAV. Prior to joining the organisation, she was working in Calais supporting refugees. She has an MA in Conflict Transformation and Social Justice, during which she focused on the demobilisation of non-state armed actors. Email c [dot] torelli [at] aoav [dot] org [dot] uk
Laura Varella is the Disarmament Programme Associate at the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). She supports WILPF’s advocacy and research on a wide range of disarmament issues, in addition to monitoring and reporting on multilateral disarmament fora. Email [email protected] || @laura_varella1 || LinkedIn
Racheal Wanyana is an international security law and policy expert currently pursuing a PhD in Law and Security at the University of Lisbon. Her research draws on intersectionality principles and public international law sources and methods to analyse the contemporary challenges related to the defence and security industry. Email wanyana1000 [at] gmail [dot]com || @WanyanaR || LinkedIn
Safa is currently a project manager with Berkeley Economic Advising and Research Firm. Previously Safa has worked extensively with Mnemonics Syrian Archive and UC Berkeley's Human Rights Center gathering and verifying evidence from indiscriminate attacks on civilians for use in universal jurisdiction prosecutions. [photo and certain contact information withheld]
Past Participants
Due to employment and other changes, at times individuals leave the Emerging Expert program before the cohort term concludes. In the 2023-2024 program, that has included:
Due to employment and other changes, at times individuals leave the Emerging Expert program before the cohort term concludes. In the 2023-2024 program, that has included:
Brian Freskos was a senior researcher and data analyst at the Conflict Awareness Project, an international nonprofit dedicated to investigating and bringing to justice major arms traffickers and transnational criminal operations around the globe. @BrianFreskos