RWAN Organization Founders

Lama Jaghjougha - Founder & CEO

Lama has accumulated more than 6 years of experience in public relations and communications in the Middle East and in Europe. She has worked for many different companies and nonprofit organizations and has developed a specialization in the field of migration. She is the founder of Raise Women’s Awareness Network (RWAN). She holds a master's degree in European Public Affairs and communications at IHECS, and a master's degree in International Migration with a specialization in International Development at the University of Kent. She also has significant project management experience and speaks Arabic, English and French.

Isabel Marques da Silva - Founder & Communication consultant

Isabel a European Affairs Correspondent at the Euronews' Brussels delegation. Migration, Environment and Sustainable Development are the main areas of expertise. Isabel has a BA in Communication Sciences (1995) from the UniversidadeNova de Lisboa (Portugal) and a MA in Communication for Development (2017) from the Malmo University (Sweden), with a thesis about Higher Education opportunities for young displaced people. Outside journalism, Isabel worked as the Communication Officer for Portugal at the United Nations Regional Information Center, in Brussels (2015/2016).

Amanda Klekowski von Koppenfels - Founder

Amanda Klekowski von Koppenfels received her PhD in Government and MA in German and European Studies from Georgetown University, Washington, DC. She received an AB from Harvard University. Amanda is a reader in Migration and Politics at the University of Kent’s Brussels School of International Studies (BSIS) and Director of the MA in International Migration. She was visiting scholar at Harvard University's Center for European Studies 2012-13 and visiting professor at the University of Vienna, in the Research Group Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion, in 2009. 

RWAN Volunteer Team

Hayat Adi

Hayat is an Analyst in Executive search and leadership advisory. She has a BA in Business Administration (2014) from Aleppo University (Syria) and a M.Sc in International Business (2020) from Vrije Universiteit Brussels (Belgium). Hayat is fluent in Arabic, English and French.

Hayat believed in RWAN’s vision from the beginning and became a member to help achieve it by helping migrant women.

Lia Martina

Lia is a biomedical scientist with a particular interest in reducing the gender gap and social inequalities. She is finalizing her PhD on the fundamental principles of pathogen-host interactions at the protein and post‐translational level, at the faculty of Medicine and Health Science at University of Ghent, Belgium. Currently, she supports the work of the Citizens and the Social Innovation Matrices as a Blue Book Trainee at the Research and Innovation Directorate General of the European Commission. She is the founder and chief executive officer of Belgian Aid Network, a non-profit organization that offers humanitarian aid to refugees in need. 

Eva Allibone 

Eva is a recent graduate of the University of Kent Brussels School of International Studies where she was awarded a Master’s Degree in International Development with a Specialization in Conflict and Security.  She has spent 3 years working with non-profits and has built international experience in her time working in Thailand.  In her current role as COVID-19 Response and Data Integrity Associate at Neighborhood Housing Associates in Chicago, she works to administer emergency relief and secure affordable housing.  She is also part of the Disaster Action Team with her local Red Cross chapter.

Xanne Bekaert

Xanne is a law student at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium) who cares about equality and democracy. She just finished her Bachelor degree (2021) and will start her Master European and International Law in September 2021. Xanne has a strong interest in fundamental human rights and likes to dedicate herself to combating different forms of discrimination and inequality. She has experience in fighting inequalities as a volunteer in De Ruimtevaart (Leuven, Belgium) and MINGA (Nova Scotia, Canada).

Simona Camillini

Simona is a gender and development specialist with experience in communications and project management at EU level and has recently completed an MSc at London School of Economics and Political Science. After working as a freelance translator for 5 years, Simona joined the European Commission, where she worked for one year. Since 2010, she has also been collaborating with a development NGO operating in the field of education and humanitarian relief in the Global South. Simona’s main research interests are gender and development, conflict, migration and displacement, humanitarian assistance and disaster-management. She is fluent in English, French, German and Italian, has a good knowledge of Spanish and Portuguese and a basic knowledge of Arabic and Dutch.

Alina Yli Juuti

Alina has recently completed her MSc in Health and International Development at the London School of Economics and Political Science as well as an Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences from the University of Ottawa, Canada. She has experience in both communications and policy and maintains a strong interest in advocating for the equality of rights and opportunities available to all women. Alina speaks both French and English.

Natalia Cacho Iannone 

Natalia is a marketing communication specialist with a strong business marketing management and marketing analyst background. She is currently studying a master's degree in gender-based violence and equality at Universidad Nacional de Educación (Spain). Natalia has been working for different NGOs supporting women and children in Latin America, Africa, and Europe. Her main focus is to contribute to the development of society by helping achieve gender equality, empowerment of women and the fight against gender-based violence. She communicates in English, Spanish, and French, and has a good knowledge of Italian and Portuguese.

Tamara Gómez-Sánchez

Tamara holds a degree in Translation and Interpreting from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain and a Master degree in European and International Advanced Studies from the Centre International de Formation Européene (CIFE). Tamara has been part of several NGOs as a volunteer in the field of education and inclusion in different countries, developing activities for the social integration of minor’s migrants and refugees, minors and adults with disabilities or from minority groups. She is currently a Project and Communications Officer, with an expertise in advocacy, in a European organisation in the social services sector in Brussels. She speaks Spanish, French, English, Italian, Galician and has a basic level of Arabic and Portuguese.

Mariateresa Signorile

Mariateresa is a specialist in International Relations and Intercultural Communication with particular attention to human rights, migration issues and sustainable development. She also obtained a second Master's Degree in European Studies at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), where she focused on conflict resolution, democracy issues and geopolitics. Since the start of her career she worked for NGOs, European instititutions and Government bodies. Her expertise and interests are multidisciplinary and transversal, as she worked in communication, project management and research in several fields. She is an italian native, who can speak fluent English and French, with working knowledge of Spanish, intermediate Russian and basic Dutch language skills.

RAWAN Taj

Sura Almaleh

Dima Radwan