Our Team
Marcella Pasotti
Office and Projects Coordinator
Marcella holds an MSc in International Development Studies from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. She has previously worked in project management, monitoring&evaluation and communication. Before joining PfC, Marcella lived in different African countries, namely Senegal, Rwanda and Burundi, where she worked with international NGOs and a bilateral government agency. Her main interests lie in migration, gender and in challenging the representation of Africans and migrants in Western mainstream media. To this end, she has independently produced a web documentary on voluntary return migration between Italy and Senegal called Demal Te Niew, which was published on L’Espresso and El País. As part of her communication work, she has also published on The Guardian Witness, Africa&Mediterraneo and L’Essentiel des Relations Internationales. Marcella also loves travelling and learning foreign languages.
Areas of interest/expertise: development, migration, gender, communication.
Office and Projects Coordinator
Marcella holds an MSc in International Development Studies from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. She has previously worked in project management, monitoring&evaluation and communication. Before joining PfC, Marcella lived in different African countries, namely Senegal, Rwanda and Burundi, where she worked with international NGOs and a bilateral government agency. Her main interests lie in migration, gender and in challenging the representation of Africans and migrants in Western mainstream media. To this end, she has independently produced a web documentary on voluntary return migration between Italy and Senegal called Demal Te Niew, which was published on L’Espresso and El País. As part of her communication work, she has also published on The Guardian Witness, Africa&Mediterraneo and L’Essentiel des Relations Internationales. Marcella also loves travelling and learning foreign languages.
Areas of interest/expertise: development, migration, gender, communication.
Urszula Grycuk
Researcher
Urszula holds an MA in Law from the University of Bialystok in Poland. Her main area of her expertise is human rights law. She also holds a PG diploma in Psychosynthesis Psychology and Leadership Coaching Diploma from the Institute of Psychosynthesis at Middlesex University. Urszula worked as a lawyer at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg where she dealt with a variety of cases relating to discrimination, family life, minorities' rights and children’ rights. Before joining the People for Change Foundation she also worked as a project coordinator with Coffey International Development, as a lawyer linguist at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and international relations officer in the Ministry of Justice of Poland.
Areas of interesr/expertise: interdisciplinary research, migration, anti-discrimination, gender, empowerment of women, inclusion and integration.
Researcher
Urszula holds an MA in Law from the University of Bialystok in Poland. Her main area of her expertise is human rights law. She also holds a PG diploma in Psychosynthesis Psychology and Leadership Coaching Diploma from the Institute of Psychosynthesis at Middlesex University. Urszula worked as a lawyer at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg where she dealt with a variety of cases relating to discrimination, family life, minorities' rights and children’ rights. Before joining the People for Change Foundation she also worked as a project coordinator with Coffey International Development, as a lawyer linguist at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and international relations officer in the Ministry of Justice of Poland.
Areas of interesr/expertise: interdisciplinary research, migration, anti-discrimination, gender, empowerment of women, inclusion and integration.
Daiva Repeckaite
Researcher
Daiva holds an MA in Sociology and Social Anthropology from Central European University in Hungary. She has worked as a researcher, journalist, and lecturer, focusing on equal opportunities, social policies in the EU, and education policy. Before joining PfC, Daiva worked as a researcher both in academic and think-tank settings in Lithuania, writing policy evaluations and feasibility studies for various European institutions. She has also carried out research projects on migrant integration and minority issues is in Japan, Israel and Thailand. As a journalist with a focus on minorities, youth affairs and human rights, Daiva got published in Politico Europe, the Guardian, and Der Spiegel. Daiva enjoys drawing comics and travel blogging.
Areas of interest: migration, minority rights, ethnic identity, ethnicised poverty
Researcher
Daiva holds an MA in Sociology and Social Anthropology from Central European University in Hungary. She has worked as a researcher, journalist, and lecturer, focusing on equal opportunities, social policies in the EU, and education policy. Before joining PfC, Daiva worked as a researcher both in academic and think-tank settings in Lithuania, writing policy evaluations and feasibility studies for various European institutions. She has also carried out research projects on migrant integration and minority issues is in Japan, Israel and Thailand. As a journalist with a focus on minorities, youth affairs and human rights, Daiva got published in Politico Europe, the Guardian, and Der Spiegel. Daiva enjoys drawing comics and travel blogging.
Areas of interest: migration, minority rights, ethnic identity, ethnicised poverty
Interns and Research Assistants
Teo Can Osmanoglu
Research and Projects Intern
Teo holds a Research Masters in Contemporary History from the University Paris-Sorbonne and a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Geneva’s Global Studies Institute. Thanks to his Masters thesis focused on the role of French diplomacy during the Cypriot conflict (1963-1975), Teo has a developed a good understanding of the complex geopolitical issues surrounding the modern-era Mediterranean Basin. Teo also has experience in the field of diplomacy, gained through an internship carried out at the embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Ivory Coast. His stay in the Gulf of Guinea offered him an opportunity to familiarize himself with the local political, humanitarian and media landscape. Along with his interest in Western African and Maghrebi geopolitics, Teo shares a passion for practicing bass guitar, swimming and French cinema.
Research and Projects Intern
Teo holds a Research Masters in Contemporary History from the University Paris-Sorbonne and a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Geneva’s Global Studies Institute. Thanks to his Masters thesis focused on the role of French diplomacy during the Cypriot conflict (1963-1975), Teo has a developed a good understanding of the complex geopolitical issues surrounding the modern-era Mediterranean Basin. Teo also has experience in the field of diplomacy, gained through an internship carried out at the embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Ivory Coast. His stay in the Gulf of Guinea offered him an opportunity to familiarize himself with the local political, humanitarian and media landscape. Along with his interest in Western African and Maghrebi geopolitics, Teo shares a passion for practicing bass guitar, swimming and French cinema.
Giulia Menegatti
Research and Projects Assistant
Giulia is currently reading for a Masters in Advanced Migration Studies at the University of Copenhagen. She holds a B.A. in International Studies from the University of Trento (Italy). Throughout her studies she analysed the causes, consequences and dynamics of present day migration, cultivating a particular interest in the phenomenon of unaccompanied child migration. Before joining the People for Change Foundation, she also volunteered in a House of Migrants in Mexico, where she supported the integration of migrants and repatriated Mexicans hosted in the shelter in the local community. She has also worked as a fundraiser with COOPI, an Italian humanitarian organization. Giulia loves travelling, hiking, and practicing yoga.
Areas of interest: migration, human rights, child migration, inclusion, gender, identity.
Research and Projects Assistant
Giulia is currently reading for a Masters in Advanced Migration Studies at the University of Copenhagen. She holds a B.A. in International Studies from the University of Trento (Italy). Throughout her studies she analysed the causes, consequences and dynamics of present day migration, cultivating a particular interest in the phenomenon of unaccompanied child migration. Before joining the People for Change Foundation, she also volunteered in a House of Migrants in Mexico, where she supported the integration of migrants and repatriated Mexicans hosted in the shelter in the local community. She has also worked as a fundraiser with COOPI, an Italian humanitarian organization. Giulia loves travelling, hiking, and practicing yoga.
Areas of interest: migration, human rights, child migration, inclusion, gender, identity.
Joseph Harshbarger
Research and Projects Assistant
Joseph is a recent graduate from Gonzaga University with a double bachelors (BA) in International Relations and French. He was an active member in both Model United Nations and Intercultural Student Union throughout his four years, and held leadership roles in both groups. During his studies, he focused particularly on European politics and the role of colonialism in conflict, writing his senior thesis on the future of armed conflict in Nigeria. He hopes to pursue graduate work in the field of peace building and post-conflict reconstruction. Outside these topics, Joseph enjoys learning new languages (currently studying Hindi), cooking, and travelling.
Areas of Interest: International Law, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Post-Colonial Societies, International Security, Citizenship Law, Integration, and Asylum.
Research and Projects Assistant
Joseph is a recent graduate from Gonzaga University with a double bachelors (BA) in International Relations and French. He was an active member in both Model United Nations and Intercultural Student Union throughout his four years, and held leadership roles in both groups. During his studies, he focused particularly on European politics and the role of colonialism in conflict, writing his senior thesis on the future of armed conflict in Nigeria. He hopes to pursue graduate work in the field of peace building and post-conflict reconstruction. Outside these topics, Joseph enjoys learning new languages (currently studying Hindi), cooking, and travelling.
Areas of Interest: International Law, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Post-Colonial Societies, International Security, Citizenship Law, Integration, and Asylum.
Senior Consultants
Carol Bohmer
Carol Bohmer, a lawyer and sociologist, is a Visiting Associate Professor in the Government Department at Dartmouth College, and a Teaching Fellow at King’s College, London. She has worked extensively in the area of law and society, examining the way legal and social institutions interact, in the United States, the UK and elsewhere. Her current research interests are in the field of immigration and asylum. She also does pro bono legal work for asylum seekers. She has been involved in setting up a project to register children as British citizens in London, UK. Her most recent book is Rejecting Refugees: Political Asylum in the Twenty-First Century with Amy Shuman, (Routledge, 2007), a comparative study of the asylum process in the US and the UK.
Carol Bohmer, a lawyer and sociologist, is a Visiting Associate Professor in the Government Department at Dartmouth College, and a Teaching Fellow at King’s College, London. She has worked extensively in the area of law and society, examining the way legal and social institutions interact, in the United States, the UK and elsewhere. Her current research interests are in the field of immigration and asylum. She also does pro bono legal work for asylum seekers. She has been involved in setting up a project to register children as British citizens in London, UK. Her most recent book is Rejecting Refugees: Political Asylum in the Twenty-First Century with Amy Shuman, (Routledge, 2007), a comparative study of the asylum process in the US and the UK.
Patricia Mallia
Patricia Mallia obtained her law degree from the University of Malta in 1999. Her post-graduate studies were carried out at Oxford University where she graduated in Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) in 2000. She then returned to Malta to lecture in Public International Law at the University of Malta where she is now Head of the International Law Department. She obtained her PhD from the IMO, International Maritime Law Institute, focussing on combating contemporary threats to maritime security. Her research interests focus on the analysis of contemporary maritime threats, primarily piracy and migrant smuggling. Her book, ‘Migrant Smuggling by Sea: Combating a Current Threat to Maritime Security through the Creation of a Cooperative Framework’ was published by Martinus Nijhoff in 2010. In her free time, Patricia enjoys tennis, swimming, baking and reading.
Areas of interest: Settlement of International Disputes, Law of the Sea, Maritime Security, Maritime Migrant Smuggling, Human Rights
Patricia Mallia obtained her law degree from the University of Malta in 1999. Her post-graduate studies were carried out at Oxford University where she graduated in Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) in 2000. She then returned to Malta to lecture in Public International Law at the University of Malta where she is now Head of the International Law Department. She obtained her PhD from the IMO, International Maritime Law Institute, focussing on combating contemporary threats to maritime security. Her research interests focus on the analysis of contemporary maritime threats, primarily piracy and migrant smuggling. Her book, ‘Migrant Smuggling by Sea: Combating a Current Threat to Maritime Security through the Creation of a Cooperative Framework’ was published by Martinus Nijhoff in 2010. In her free time, Patricia enjoys tennis, swimming, baking and reading.
Areas of interest: Settlement of International Disputes, Law of the Sea, Maritime Security, Maritime Migrant Smuggling, Human Rights
