Julia Mayerhofer is the Co-Executive Director of PILnet.  She joined the team in July 2018 and in addition to leading the organization, she also oversees all operations and programs of PILnet in Asia. Previously she was with the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) for seven years and led the Network as Executive Director/Secretary General from 2015-2018. Prior to her work with APRRN, Julia worked with a refugee community center in Hong Kong where she supported fundraising, project development, and also community outreach. Julia is an Austrian national and has a B.A. in Educational Sciences and a M.A. degree in Development Studies. In addition she has participated in various trainings related to human rights/refugee rights and remains a strong interest in this area.

Andrej Nosko is PILnet’s Co-Executive Director. Prior to joining PILnet, Andrej was head of a division at an international foundation overseeing portfolios on policy research, innovation, democracy, governance, anti-corruption, and law enforcement. There he also spearheaded design, innovation and uptake of new technologies in research and communication. Andrej also worked for the European Commission on law enforcement and internal security. Nosko received his PhD (Summa Cum Laude) in political science from Central European University in Budapest.

His professional interests include resilience of civil society and human rights defenders and future of democracy, as well as Environment and Climate Justice, Environmental, Social, and (Corporate) Governance (ESG), and the related societal, energy and industrial transition.

Ágnes Almádi joined the PILnet Budapest office in 2019. Previously she worked as a senior member of the Open Society Foundation’s Grants Management Team at Admin Group, with an educational background in Humanities and Human Resources.  Currently in a Project and Operations Manager role, she supports PILnet’s different programs, projects and events in business administration functions, coordinates the European Pro Bono Alliance and runs the Hungarian Clearinghouse.

Ana de la Cruz Cubeiro is a Legal Officer based in Madrid. She has a dual Bachelor’s degree in Law and Economics, and she recently completed an LLM in International Criminal Law. Ana was part of a Law Clinic centered around combating gender-based violence targeting teenagers in Spain, and more recently she contributed to a research group at the University of Amsterdam, aiming to shed light on international crimes perpetrated against migrants. Ana works for the Europe team at PILnet, focusing primarily on the Global Clearinghouse.

Jonathan holds the position of Partnerships Director: US & Latin America and Global Senior Counsel, based in the US. He previously served as Program Director: Asia at PILnet’s Hong Kong office for over four years. Prior to joining PILnet, Jonathan spent over a decade as a US and Irish immigration lawyer, with experience in New York, London, Dublin, and Hong Kong. His nonprofit work includes a bonded labor abolition project with the International Justice Mission in South Asia and providing legal support to refugees and asylum seekers at Justice Centre Hong Kong. Jonathan holds an LLM from the School of Oriental & African Studies in London and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Human Rights Law from the National Law School of India. He is a qualified lawyer (non-practicing) in Hong Kong, California, Ireland, and England & Wales

Isabella Efstathiou supports PILnet’s development and partnership efforts, bringing experience in fundraising, stakeholder engagement, and cross-sector collaboration in the nonprofit sector. She has worked across both international and grassroots initiatives, supporting programs focused on refugee rights, environmental technology, and conflict prevention. In addition to her work in development, she has been involved in programming aimed at empowering vulnerable populations to access and help shape the support systems designed for them. Isabella holds an M.A. in Human Rights Studies from Columbia University and a B.A. in Trauma Studies from New York University.

Judit Geller is a Legal Program Manager based in PILnet’s Budapest office. Judit is an experienced human rights lawyer who has been leading strategic litigation and legal advocacy challenging human rights abuses and discrimination of Roma in Europe. Prior to joining PILnet, as a senior lawyer for the European Roma Rights Centre, Judit represented victims of discrimination at domestic courts, at the European Court of Human Rights and UN Treaty bodies, focusing on advancing equality and access to justice for women and children. Working as a senior legal manager at PILnet, Judit is engaged in promoting pro bono legal practice in Europe and developing and implementing pro bono projects with the view of using law to bring social change and making law work for all, including the most excluded and vulnerable. Judit holds a Master Degree in Law, an LLM in Children’s Rights, and a BA in Public Administration and is admitted to the Budapest Bar of Hungary.

Yusra Herzi is a Program Officer based in Canada. Prior to joining PILnet, Yusra spent over three years at Asylum Access Malaysia, working as a Work Rights Program Officer and Legal Advocate. Prior to that, she worked at a corporate law firm in Malaysia. Yusra has extensive experience working in strategic litigation, legal empowerment, and legal assistance projects with and for refugees. She holds a bachelor’s degree in law (LLB) and a Master’s degree in Strategic and Defence Studies, specializing in International Security and Post- Conflict Peacebuilding. Yusra works for the Forced Displacement team at PILnet, focusing primarily on the Refugee-Led Clearinghouse.

Orsolya Jeney is a seasoned human rights professional with over a decade of experience, specializing in international child protection. She has held impactful roles in organizations dedicated to advancing human rights, including serving as the Impact Advisor at NestingPlay Hungary, where she led project development for early childhood education initiatives. Previously, Orsolya was the Executive Director at Trauma Center, contributing significantly to Ukraine’s response efforts and playing a key role in child protection initiatives. She also served as the Child Rights Education Program Manager at UNICEF Hungary, focusing on raising awareness about the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in schools.

During her tenure at Amnesty International Hungary (AI Hungary), Orsolya held pivotal leadership roles, including Director, where she led operational and financial planning, boosted fundraising efforts, and represented AI Hungary as a spokesperson. In her interim directorship, she stabilized AI Hungary during a transitional period, expanding its staff and establishing essential systems and procedures.

Orsolya holds a Master’s degree in Human Rights from Central European University, as well as an MA in International Relations and a BA in International Studies. She is fluent in English, Spanish, and Italian, and is the founder of an upcycling brand. Her human rights thesis on strategic litigation marked her initial connection with PILnet (then PILI).

Candice Johnson is the Director of Communications and Events based out of the New York office. In this role, she works with the Communications and Events team to develop PILnet’s internal and external communications and helps organize PILnet’s events, including the PILnet Global Forum. Prior to joining PILnet, Candice worked at Odyssey Impact as a Project Manager where she managed and developed their online multimedia resource and worked to broaden their faith-based network. Previously, she worked as Marketing Manager at Liaoyuan International High School in Shanghai, China. Candice received her M.S. in Global Affairs from New York University with a specialization in International Relations.

As Director of Finance and Operations at PILnet, Cintia leads with strategic vision to ensure financial integrity and operational excellence across our global NGO. Her expertise in sustainable budgeting, cross-border financial management, and compliance comes from a robust career in organizations that champion diverse causes such as Chance for Children, Budapest Pride and Terre des hommes Foundation. Cintia’s dedication to the NGO sector is reflected in her advocacy for organizational sustainability and social change, underpinned by a comprehensive background in administrative and financial management. Driven by a passion for social progress, she guides each project with a strategic financial outlook to bolster our mission and foster innovation within the NGO landscape.

Aidan Kim is a Program Officer based in New York. Prior to joining PILnet, Aidan’s work in law school focused on issues existing at the intersection of disability, labor, gender, and race. Aidan holds a BA in Philosophy from NYU and a JD from CUNY Law. Aidan works primarily on leading the adaptation and implementation of PILnet’s Legal Health Check service for CSOs in the US and on supporting PILnet’s Global Clearinghouse pro bono requests from US nonprofits.

Anastassiya Miller is the Program Director: Civic Space at PILnet, based out of the New York office. Anastassiya joined the team in July 2018 and currently leads the Eurasia Program and oversees PILnet’s global portfolio on civic space. Anastassiya is a Kazakh human rights lawyer with more than 15 years of experience in the human rights field, focusing on protection of civic space through different tools. She previously worked with Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, and pioneered strategic litigation in Central Asia on national and international levels (before the UN treaty bodies).

In 2015, Anastassiya held an internship in Germany at the Institutfür Ostrecht, conducting research on human rights issues in post-Soviet countries, drafting conclusions for courts. She graduated with an LL.M. degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of Notre Dame du Lac in 2018.

Cherry Ng is a Senior Program Officer based in Hong Kong with her work focusing primarily on the Asia Clearinghouse. Prior to joining PILnet, she worked at a law firm as a trainee solicitor, and later as a research assistant at the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong. She holds a Bachelor of Laws from Durham University, and a Master of Laws and a Postgraduate Certificate in Laws from the City University of Hong Kong. She takes great professional interest in the intersection of the law with women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights, and has volunteered extensively in these disciplines.

Ashlynn is a Program Officer based in Hong Kong. She holds a Bachelor of Laws from Queen’s University Belfast and a Master in Laws in Human Rights from The University of Hong Kong.

Prior to PILnet, Ashlynn worked as a paralegal in a public interest law firm and then as a Research Assistant at the Faculty of Law of The University of Hong Kong, focusing on delivering hands-on interdisciplinary training to students via legal clinical education. As the Education Program Manager of a local NGO serving victims of trafficking, refugees and people facing disabilities, Ashlynn has amassed extensive experience working with vulnerable and marginalized individuals and remains dedicated to ensuring access to justice for these communities.

Wendy Otieno is the Communications Officer based in Nairobi, Kenya. In her role, she works as part of the Communications and Events team supporting the implementation of the Communication strategy. She has 8 years of experience in her field. Prior to PILnet, she gained her skills working with several organizations both in the private and nonprofit sectors in different capacities, most specifically in development communications, grant management, website management, social media and corporate strategy design and implementation, stakeholder management, and event planning. 

Wendy holds a BA in Applied Communication from Multimedia University of Kenya and is currently finishing her MA in Corporate Communication from the same University. 

Giulia Patane has held several roles at PILnet since 2018 and is currently Program Director: Europe. She holds a Juris Doctor, a Specialization Degree in Law (Universita’ degli Studi di Perugia) and a Master of Art in Human Rights (Mahidol University, Bangkok). After working for a civil and criminal law firm and assisting the Public Prosecutor Office in Italy, Giulia moved to Asia in 2012 to design and implement NGOs and academic projects predominantly on Access to Justice for victims of trafficking in the South East Asian territory.

Giulia was based in PILnet’s Hong Kong office leading the Anti-Trafficking in Persons (ATIP) Project across Southeast Asia since 2018. In 2021, Giulia relocated back to Europe where she currently manages the implementation of programs related to vulnerable groups (children’s rights, minority rights, anti-trafficking in persons) and of PILnet’s Online Regional Course on Public Interest Lawyering. Since moving back to Italy, Giulia also helps develop pro bono collaborations in the space of children’s rights and unaccompanied minors.

Raisa Shumeyko is the Finance Manager in PILnet’s New York office. As a Finance Manager, Raisa is responsible for a range of programs involving business and fiscal affairs of the organization. She works closely with the Budapest and Hong Kong offices to maintain grant reporting, allocations, and financial transactions. Prior to joining PILnet, Raisa worked extensively in the nonprofit sector providing accounting and consulting experience.  As a senior accountant at the Cathedral School and Greenwich House, she had managed financial aspects of operations ranging from bookkeeping functions to preparing the 990 form and Board reports. Raisa holds a BA in Accounting from National College of Finance in Moscow, Russia.

Jasmine Simperingham is currently the Program Director: Forced Displacement with PILnet. Jasmine leads the organization’s work engaging the global legal community to put the power of the law to work with and for refugees, stateless, and other displaced people. Jasmine is particularly interested in people-centered pro bono and the intersection between access to justice and the meaningful participation of those with lived experience of displacement and statelessness in policy making and decisions that affect their lives. She joined the team in September 2020 and works remotely from Geneva.

Jasmine has over 20 years of international experience in the humanitarian, human rights, and justice sectors. This includes more than 8 years experience with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as well as roles with government authorities in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Jasmine holds a Master of Laws (Hons), a Bachelor of Arts, and a Bachelor of Laws. Jasmine is admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand.

Tássia Sodré is a Legal Officer at PILnet with a background in international human rights law and refugee protection and forced migration. Previously she has worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Danish Refugee Council in humanitarian responses in Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela focusing on developing and implementing a rights-based approach to address the specific needs of those forcibly displaced. She is Brazilian and has an LLM from New York University School of Law and an MA from University of London. In addition, she is a certified Protection Information Management (PIM) trainer of trainers.

Ildikó Szántó joined PILnet in December 2023. She is an experienced office/admin manager with a history of working for NGOs in Hungary (Budapest Festival Orchestra, Habitat for Humanity, K-Monitor Public Association, Snétberger Music Talent Centre, ‘Beszélő’ Political Weekly, and the Parliament of
Hungary). She also has experience in education management as a founder/teacher of the first independent high school and educational trainings in Hungary.

She is responsible for HR, Finance and Administration tasks, and is the liaison to the Board of
Directors.

Ildikó holds a Law degree from ELTE Hungary and an Educational degree from Emerson College, UK.

Laura is a Senior Legal Officer with PILnet in Budapest. She supports resilience and compliance initiatives for civil society organizations operating in constrained civic environments. Laura contributes to key projects including the MARIO initiative – promoting minority rights advocacy across Europe -, environmental and climate justice pro bono collaborations, the Global Nonprofits Guide – equipping organisations with legal compliance- and the coordination of European Pro Bono Week. Working closely with pro bono lawyers, she advances civic freedoms and legal access for civil society.

Laura holds a law degree from The Hague University of Applied Sciences with a focus on International and European Union Law. She has also completed a Master’s degree from Lund University in Human Rights Law.

Emily Thompson is the Communications and Events Manager and is based in Prague.  In this role, she helps to develop and implement the communications strategy by creating effective campaigns, producing a variety of editorial materials promoting PILnet’s mission and programs, and coordinating impactful events. She has more than a decade of experience in non-profit and human rights communications, having previously worked as the Communications Officer with the Prague Civil Society Centre, and in the Media and Public Affairs Department of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Before starting in communications, she worked as a journalist and editor for a variety of media outlets in the U.S. and Europe. She has an MA in Philology and a BA in English.

Zainab Onuh-Yahaya is PILnet’s Programs Manager for Africa, where she leads efforts to develop partnerships with civil society organizations (CSOs) and law firms. Her work primarily focuses on expanding PILnet’s pro bono network, supporting civic space and climate justice initiatives, and facilitating pro bono legal support across Africa. Zainab is an attorney and prior to joining PILnet, worked at the Network of University Legal Aid Institutions (NULAI) Nigeria, where she supported access to justice, climate justice, and civic space projects. Before that, she headed the Kogi State University Law Clinic, leading
initiatives to provide indigent communities with access to legal services. Zainab holds a Master’s degree in Law, with a specialization in International Humanitarian Law and Migration Studies.