Our London-based Secretariat works closely with our members to deliver activities, including to oversee coordination, development and fundraising.
Chris Nash
Director
Chris Nash is the Director and co-founder of the European Network on Statelessness. He has worked in the refugee and migration field for over 25 years, initially as an asylum lawyer and then at the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (Head of Policy and Advocacy), the Refugee Council of Australia (National Policy Director), Amnesty International (Head of Refugee and Migrant Rights Team) and Asylum Aid (International Protection Policy Coordinator). Chris has written widely on asylum, migration and statelessness policy. He has also previously worked as a consultant, including for the UN Refugee Agency.
Nina Murray
Head of Policy and Research
Nina joined ENS in March 2017 to lead on research and policy work. She holds a masters degree in Migration Studies and a BA in Modern Iberian and Latin American Regional Studies. She previously worked at Scottish Refugee Council for over six years, and has extensive experience undertaking and leading research, policy development and advocacy with a focus on gender and refugee rights. She has also worked as a researcher at What Works Scotland, based at the University of Glasgow, and in a range of other professional and voluntary roles in the human rights field. Nina is also Convenor of the Board of Directors of Engender, Scotland’s leading third sector organisation working for women’s equality, and a trustee of the Ngbotima Charity Trust, supporting young people through education in Sierra Leone.
Jan Brulc
Head of Communications, Operations & Development
Jan joined ENS in 2015 to work on communications, campaigns and online advocacy. His role evolved since to also cover operations, fundraising and strategic planning. He holds a masters degree in politics and philosophy. Over the last 15 years Jan has worked for the Migrants' Rights Network and the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) managing media and communications work. He also worked as a consultant for the European Medicine Agency (EMA) and as a lead web developer and non-executive director at Small Axe Communications.
Elizabeth Rees
Finance Manager
Elizabeth joined ENS in March 2022 with responsibility for managing the charity’s financial matters. She has extensive experience managing the finance function in charitable organisations, previously working in education, the provision of sporting facilities and with the YMCA in Central London, where she was Company Secretary and Head of Finance. After qualifying as an accountant, she initially worked for British Telecom in the UK and overseas implementing financial systems in new acquisitions.
PatrĂcia Cabral
Legal Policy Coordinator
PatrĂcia has worked at ENS since February 2020, coordinating ENS' strategic litigation work, conducting human rights advocacy, and supporting law and policy development at national and regional level. Prior to joining ENS, PatrĂcia was working at the AIRE Centre as a legal researcher on asylum and children's rights, and also has experience in child care proceedings and in the use of non-formal education to raise human rights awareness. PatrĂcia holds an LLB in Law, an LLM in International Law and Human Rights, and is a qualified lawyer with experience working in law firms in Portugal and Mozambique.
Sirazul Islam
Community Engagement Coordinator
Sirazul joined the Secretariat in January 2024, taking on the role of Community Engagement Coordinator. His primary responsibility is to ensure that community engagement is integrated across ENS’ work. Sirazul joined the ENS community in 2019 as a Rohingya member. Before joining ENS, he worked as a consultant with various NGOs and the UNHCR, focusing on issues related to statelessness and human rights. He holds an LLB and LPC LLM, bringing a legal perspective to his work. Sirazul has significantly contributed to the discourse on Rohingya human rights issues through extensive writings. Furthermore, he has presented and spoken at numerous events related to Rohingya issues, establishing himself as an expert on the subject.
Layan Choufani
Policy and Advocacy Officer
Layan joined the team in November 2023 to support policy and advocacy initiatives on statelessness towards the EU, Council of Europe, UN, and other relevant institutions in specific thematic areas. Prior to joining ENS, she worked as a Legal Researcher at BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights and is continuing this work now, carrying out legal research and advocacy to promote and defend the rights of Palestinian refugees and IDPs. She was also a long-term volunteer at Zaatar Non-Profit Organization where she provided administrative, legal, and educational support to refugees and asylum seekers in Athens, Greece. She holds an LLM in Human Rights, Conflict, and Justice as well as an LLB in Law.
Josephine Foster
Operations and Partnerships Officer
Josephine joined the ENS secretariat team in June 2020 to help administer our expanded Secretariat and membership. Josephine provides events and project support, oversees ENS’ membership liaison and supports operations, HR, financial and governance administration. She holds a BSc in Psychology and previously worked as Programme Manager at My Life Films, a charity supporting people living with dementia. She has volunteered with marginalised people and communities in the UK, Europe and Zimbabwe.
Alexia Tizzano
Legal Officer
Alexia joined the Secretariat in February 2022 as a Legal Officer to support ENS’ work on strategic litigation, human rights advocacy, and law and policy development. Prior to joining ENS, Alexia was a researcher on international refugee law and sexual violence during conflict at Harvard Kennedy School and Boston University School of Law. She previously worked at the Legal Service of the European Commission in the EU external relations and international law team where she provided legal advice and represented the European Commission in court cases. She also worked at the Court of Justice of the European Union. She is a member of the New York State bar.
Emily Carpenter
Communications Officer
Emily joined ENS in February 2024 as a Communication Officer, to support ENS’ communications work and deliver new ways of raising awareness and galvanising action to end statelessness. Before joining ENS, Emily had worked in both local and international NGOs across the world in a variety of different fields, including communications, journalism, and advocacy. She holds a MSc in Politics of Conflicts, Rights and Justice and a BA in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies.