Team

Marianna is a Legal Advisor at ECNL, with over a decade of experience working on research regarding civic space freedoms. She provides expertise in issues related to the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression.

Before joining ECNL she led the Civic Space Research Cluster at CIVICUS, which includes the coordination of the CIVICUS Monitor, an online tool that tracks civic space developments in 198 countries and territories. Marianna has worked for human rights organisations, particularly on strategic litigation and matters relating to freedom of expression and access to information. She holds a law degree from Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas, Venezuela and an LL.M. in International Human Rights from the University of Notre Dame in the United States.

Katerina (she/her/hers) is a human rights legal expert, who for over 20 years works with organisations, movements, authorities and philanthropists to protect civic freedoms.  As the Executive Director of the ECNL since 2012, she leads the only regional organisation in Europe focused entirely on law and policy that affect civil society. Katerina has been with ECNL through the phase of transition from a branch office to an independent and established European organization now based in the Hague. Under her leadership ECNL broadened its expertise to respond to new trends impacting on the non-profit sector (e.g., securitization and counter-terrorism) while continuing to address challenges in public participation and the right of peaceful assembly. She has helped empower partners to defend their spaces and freedoms through designing innovative tools to monitor civil society laws, and researching trends and good practices to guide reforms.  She has spoken at different forums to reflect on various civic space issues e.g., at TEDx event, EU Parliament hearing, launch of Community of Democracies’ Democracy and Security Dialogue Initiative. Katerina engages with the European Union, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the UN Human Rights Council and works to strengthen international standards to safeguard freedoms. She is member of the OSCE/OIDHR Panel on Freedom of Assembly and of Association and the Council of Europe Expert Council on NGO Law. She also volunteers her time in the board of several organizations.

Francesca  is an Italian/British lawyer who has worked in international and EU law for over 20 years. She is also a Fellow specialised in freedom of expression at the Center for Media, Data and Society, Central European University and a member of Internews’ Internet Freedom Expert Register. At ECNL, she mostly works on projects at the UN, Council of Europe and EU level aimed at developing standards and regulatory frameworks addressing the impact of new technologies and AI on civic freedoms. Moreover, she is leading ECNL’s work on how CSOs can use EU law to defend fundamental rights and civic space and efforts to promote EU-wide legislation to end Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP). Most recently, Francesca led ECNL’s engagement in supporting the UN Human Rights Committee in developing General Comment no. 37 on Article 21, ICCPR, a milestone UN document creating improved safeguards for existing and emerging practices of peaceful protests and gatherings. She also provides assistance and expertise to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the implementation of the Guidelines on the Right to Participate in Public Affairs; to the EU Commission, EU Fundamental Rights Agency and EU Council Member States in addressing attacks to civic space in Europe and in developing countries. Francesca is fluent in Italian, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Eszter is a Program Director at ECNL with 14 years of experience in creating an enabling legal environment for civil society. She has worked in over 16 countries across the EU, Western Balkans, Eastern Partnership and MENA regions, Central Asia and Latin America, leading and supporting efforts in the areas of CSO framework legislation, CSO-government cooperation, participation in policy-making, financial sustainability, climate action and anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing, among others. Eszter oversees ECNL’s portfolio on philanthropy and public participation. As part of this, she has mapped out emerging trends impacting civil society, including the use of digital technologies and AI for public participation or fundraising. She also provides support to grassroots initiatives focused on women's rights, the environmental justice and anti-corruption efforts under the Catalyst of Change project. Eszter also contributed to the introduction of the percentage designation mechanism in Moldova that provides additional income to hundreds of CSOs. Her expertise benefited the adoption of a new, progressive NGO Law in Kosovo and the first policy document for cooperation in the Middle East region.

Eszter is member of the Expert Council on NGO Law within the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe. She graduated at the Hungarian Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Law and passed the Bar Exam. Before joining ECNL, she gained 5 years of experience as a corporate lawyer and ran her own law office. 

Karolina (she/her) is a Digital Civic Space Advisor at ECNL. She is responsible for supporting ECNL in furthering its digital rights portfolio, broadening up partnerships with diverse stakeholders in the digital rights field and delivering ECNL policy and advocacy initiatives in this area. In particular, Karolina coordinates ECNL’s advocacy on the EU Artificial Intelligence Act and leads on developing the AI Learning Center. She is also involved in research and policy analysis at the intersection of security, counterterrorism, and technology. Finally, she supports ECNL’s training and education activities related to digital rights. 

Prior to joining ECNL, Karolina worked as a lawyer and policy analyst at the Warsaw-based digital rights organisation Panoptykon Foundation. She was primarily responsible for the organisation’s advocacy related to the regulation of AI and algorithms of online platforms, as well as strategic GDPR litigation in the area of online tracking and profiling. In 2019/2020 she was a Mozilla EU Tech Policy Fellow researching privacy-friendly online advertising. She holds a master’s degree in Law from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.

 

Jonneke (she/her/hers) is a Project and Communications Assistant at ECNL, where she supports the project and communications teams with the implementation of projects, compliance and external communications. She mostly works on projects focussing on freedom of assembly and association, civic space for environmental defenders and access to financial services for civil society organisations. Jonneke holds a master’s degree in International Relations from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and a master’s degree in Communication and Media Studies from Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Before joining ECNL, she gained over eight years of experience in international project management and stakeholder management in Europe and Asia.

Berna (she/her) is a legal advisor at ECNL and has more than 7 years of experience with working on laws, policies and practices affecting human rights. She provides legal and policy expertise through analysing laws and policies affecting civic freedoms, researching and monitoring new developments, contributing to developing guidance for partners, delivering trainings and managing projects. With her extensive experience in the field of participation rights and practices in political decision making and governance, she leads the cross-cutting Participation work stream that is connected to ECNL's Global and EU projects related to civic space, counter-terrorism(financing) and technology. 

 

Prior to joining ECNL, Berna worked as a network coordinator of the Human Rights NGO platform in the Netherlands (Breed Mensenrechten Overleg -BMO); lecturer at the University of Amsterdam (legal philosophy, ethics, human rights and politics); coached women of color and first-generation students in their (early) career and higher education path in the Netherlands; and managed a European educational network for human rights in Palestine and Israel. Berna has a LL.M. in Law and Politics of International Security, a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration and Organization from the VU University Amsterdam.

Sushruta joined ECNL in 2023 as a Project and Communications Assistant, contributing to the Digital and AI team. She is engaged in various projects, offering support to project managers and the communications team. Her responsibilities encompass aiding the project team in project planning, reporting, and upholding the organisation's communication and media presence.

Sushruta has a comprehensive track record of professional engagement and voluntary service with various NGOs, centered around humanitarian affairs and youth peacebuilding initiatives. Her interests revolve around understanding complex governance structures, gender transformative approaches and decoloniality fueling her dedication to promote inclusivity and equality. With a recent Master's degree in Development Studies, majoring in Governance and Development Policy from the International Institute of Social Studies - Erasmus, Sushruta brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. Her academic journey began with a Bachelor of Science in International Relations and Organizations from Leiden University.

Brighton joined ECNL in October 2022 as Finance Manager to help support transparency and accountability of the organisation. With a passion for working for cause-driven organizations, over the past 14 years he has worked in various segments of the development sector, from donor agencies to international and local CSOs. He has worked on projects funded by the major funding partners such as SIDA, FCDO, USAID, EU, on issues including human rights and democracy, climate change, sexual and reproductive rights, diversity and inclusion. He holds a BBA (Accounting) from the Solusi University Zimbabwe, and an MBA (Finance and Accounting) from the Maastricht School of Management Netherlands.

Esther is Senior Legal Advisor with expertise in issues related to freedom of association and the right to participation. Philanthropy is among her key areas of focus: Esther is passionate about giving as a force for social change and form of civic engagement. She provides legal and policy advice, monitors new developments, and supports partners in their efforts to defend civic space and promote a more enabling environment for civil society and philanthropy. Prior to joining ECNL, she gained extensive experience within civil society and international cooperation. She worked globally on civic space, human rights, philanthropy, inclusion and decolonisation of international solidarity. She has co-designed and managed multi-year regional projects. Esther holds a law degree from Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

David (he/him) joined the ECNL team in September 2022 as Senior Advocacy Advisor, to help develop and enact advocacy strategies at the global, European and national levels. A major focus of this work is the human rights impact of new technologies and their development and use for national security, including the impact on civil society.

Prior to joining ECNL, David was a human rights advocate for Amnesty International for 15 years, based in New York and Brussels. In New York, David specialised in thematic initiatives at the UN Security Council and General Assembly, on issues such as: promoting gender diversity and inclusion; exposing human rights violations caused by counter-terrorism policies; recognizing the right to a healthy environment; and ensuring the participation and protection of human rights defenders. His work in Brussels focused on EU foreign policy, particularly strengthening the EU’s action on human rights in its relations with neighbouring countries. David also previously worked at the European Parliament and has a master’s degree in European Studies from the College of Europe in Natolin, Poland.

Simona is a Research and Monitoring Expert at ECNL. She has over 8 years of experience in co-creating research methodologies with the aim of  using the evidence to influence law and policy change. She leads ECNL`s efforts around empowering CSOs to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic while safeguarding our civic freedoms. Also, she supports the systematic assessment of the environment through the implementation of the CSO Meter in the Eastern European countries and the monitoring assemblies in Eastern European and Balkan countries. She is currently exploring data in search of answers to interesting questions arising from intersections such as: climate change activism and the right to participation; and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic over the right to assembly.  

Simona contributed to the development and implementation of multiple methodologies that monitor civil society environment ( CSO Meter, Monitoring Matrix, EU TACSO-Monitoring of the Guidelines for EU support to civil society). Prior to joining  ECNL she worked at the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation and authored numerous country analyses . Simona earned her MSc. in Social Policy and Development from the perspective of NGOs, at the London School of Economics and Political Science, as a recipient of the Chevening Scholarship.

Ivana has been working with ECNL since November 2013, when she joined the team as a legal fellow. Since then, she has had an opportunity to grow with ECNL and its team and work on a wide range of issues affecting civic space, including access to funding and philanthropy, tax regulation, public participation, and more recently climate justice. She has a law degree from Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic, and from 2020, she is a member of the Czech Bar Association. During her legal practice as an attorney, she has been focusing on the regulation of data privacy, and IT law. This links well to recent ECNL efforts focusing on digital rights and civic space, where Ivana supports the development of policies around digital fundraising.

Vanja is ECNL’s Program Director overseeing global and EU engagement programmes with 19 years of experience in legal analysis and research. She mostly works on the UN and EU /Council of Europe-level support and advocacy, as well as in EU member states, Western Balkan region, MENA, East Africa and Eurasia countries. She also leads the work on securitisation and counter-terrorism / anti-money laundering measures that impact civil society, as well as ECNL’s engagement in digital and artificial intelligence (AI) issues affecting civic freedoms.

Her favourite engagements include changing the opaque standard related to countering financing of terrorism in nonprofit sector and advocacy for enhanced protection of the right to freedom of assembly through inciting adoption of the General Comment no. 37 by the UN Human Rights Committee. Lately, she enjoys blending law and tech through the work on AI and finding synergies between civil society and technical voices.

Vanja has been a civil society activist since 1999. Previously, she was a Legal Advisor at Croatian organisation GONG and a member of the Croatian Council on Open Government Partnership Initiative. She is also one of the founders and served as a board member of the Solidarna Community Foundation in Croatia. Vanja holds a LLM degree in Public International Law from the University of Amsterdam and a Law Degree from the University of Zagreb.

Boglárka is working as Project and Communications Officer at ECNL. She offers support to coordinate project processes and reporting with international partners and helps oversee and manage individual project accounts with a specific focus of EU-funded projects. As part of the communication team, she is involved in the implementation of the organization’s communication policies, e.g. creating visual materials, ensuring projects comply with brand identity and visibility and assisting with web development. Prior to ECNL, she has been working in the not-for-profit sector for 4 years as a project manager with the focus on EU-funded educational programs (in the higher educational field and youth sector). She holds a BA in German Studies with Latin American Studies Specialization along with an Associate Degree in Business Administration from the University of Szeged.

Andrea (she/her/hers) leads ECNL's communication portfolio as Senior Communications Manager. She is responsible for developing ECNL's comms presence, supporting key messaging and ensuring brand integrity. Recently, she led ECNL's institutional rebranding by launching a new visual profile, website, learning platform and logo. She also support raising the organisation’s online outreach by setting up new communication channels and increasing ECNL’s social media followers. She has over 15 years of experience managing multi-country projects and research work on various civic space issues and monitoring tools. She holds an MA in International Relations, English and History.

Fulvia worked as Finance Assistant in ECNL since March 2021 and became Finance Manager from February 2022. She helps the Finance team in collecting and managing financial information and she supports managing the documentation for reporting with international partners. She has previously worked in the not-for-profit sector covering the role of Information officer and Finance assistant. She has a valuable experience as project manager and project control of complex engineering project as working for several years in manufacturing companies the most of them in development and manufacturing of large sailing yachts. She holds a B.A degree in Engineering (Ingegneria gestionale) from University of Pisa, Italy.

Judit joined the ECNL team in 2000. In her current role she is the Director of Finance and Operations and the co-director of ECNL. She is responsible for leading the finance/accounting function, as well as provides overall management of administrative operations, including logistics, procurement, human resources, information technology and property. She provides strategic direction and oversight of financial work processes and outcomes. Judit oversees sound and effective systems for project administration and operations, including grants, subcontracts, procurement, and compliance. She also supervises budget development, financial reporting and systems management, as well as the finance team.  Her background in business administration includes financial, administrative, and management reporting systems. She received her MSc. at City University in London, UK with a degree in Business Administration.

Maria joined ECNL in September 2023 as a Project and Communications Assistant, working mainly on the CSO Meter and projects supporting the participation and capacity-building of civil society organisations (CSOs). Her passions centre around the empowerment of civil society (especially in Central and Eastern Europe) and leveraging communications for social change. She brings experience from various CSOs in Slovakia, as well as the European Parliament. Previously she has worked in project management and communications, and conducted research on the training needs of CSOs for Justice and Peace Netherlands. Holding Master’s degrees in Public Policy and Political Communication from the University of Amsterdam, she is especially interested in the relationships between policy, communication and public opinion. She speaks Slovak, English and Dutch. 

Marlena leads policy and advocacy on digital rights at ECNL, with a focus on algorithmic systems and digital platforms in security and counter-terrorism. As a lawyer, Marlena has over a decade of experience working globally across sectors at the intersection of technology and human rights, with expertise in business and human rights. Until recently, she oversaw content governance on Twitter's legal team and had previously led the civil society and academic portfolios at the Partnership on AI. Her other appointments have included the Danish Institute for Human Rights, the Investor Alliance for Human Rights, Oxfam America and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, among others. Admitted to the Geneva (Swiss) bar, Marlena holds a Master’s of Law degree (LL.M) from Stanford Law School, a law degree and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Geneva.

Emina Nuredinoska has over 22 years of work experience in civil society and the democratisation of institutions in North Macedonia, the Western Balkan, and Southeast Europe. She joined ECNL as an external consultant in June 2022 to coordinate the activities of the Civil Society Resilience activity project in Serbia. She is in charge of supporting the cooperation and dialogue between the CSOs and state institutions in Serbia. She possesses knowledge on the pathways for the development of civil dialogue in the Balkan countries, the legal framework for CSOs, tax and financial regime, participation and support to CSOs, and emerging issues that restrict civil society space. As part of ECNL, she also contributes to the development of philanthropy and fundraising for CSOs, as well as public participation in policymaking. 

For 19 years, she was a legal expert and head of the unit at the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation, and for almost three years, a Key expert in the EU TACSO 3 project for Western Balkan and Turkey. Emina has an academic background in law and holds an MA in International Law from the University "St. Cyril and Methodius" Law Faculty Skopje.