Secretariat

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 20 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 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 joined ENS in November 2015 to work on communications, campaigns and online advocacy. His role evolved since to also cover operations and strategic planning. He holds a masters degree in politics and philosophy. Previously, Jan worked for the Migrants' Rights Network and the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) managing media and communications work. He also worked as an external consultant for the European Medicine Agency (EMA) in their communications and web department and as a lead web developer at Small Axe Communications.

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.

Patrícia joined the team in February 2020 to deliver ENS' strategic litigation work and to support law and policy development. Prior to joining ENS, Patrícia 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. Patrícia holds an LLB in Law, an LLM in International Law and Human Rights, and is a qualified Portuguese lawyer with experience in private firms in Portugal and Mozambique.

Charlotte joined ENS in 2022 to coordinate the network’s communications work, enhancing our capacity to increase issue awareness and mobilise key audiences to act. Previously, Charlotte was Content Manager for the Open Preservation Foundation (OPF), a not-for-profit membership organisation developing tools and supporting resources to support digital preservation in cultural heritage institutions. She holds a PhD and MA by research in music and has previously held teaching and research positions at the University of York, specialising in disability and performance studies, digital humanities, and co-production of research with community groups.

Layan joined the team in November 2022 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 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 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.