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WIIS AUSTRALIA STAFF
ASH LAYTON
PRESIDENT
Ash holds a double MA in International Relations/Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Her areas of interest are gender equality, non-violent conflict resolution, diplomacy and peacebuilding initiatives with a focus on local empowerment and collaboration.
SHANNON ZIMMERMAN
DEPUTY PRESIDENT
Shannon is a lecturer and Doctoral Researcher at the Asia-Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.
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SARAH BOYD
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
NATIONAL DIRECTOR FOR VIC
Sarah Boyd is a Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, after graduating from the Mid Career Masters in Public Administration in 2019. She is an Australian Fulbright Scholar, working to advance feminist foreign policies through improving women's rights and representation in politics and international affairs
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JENNIFER WITTWER
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Jennifer provides specialised services to organisations to address the challenges of women’s participation and representation in the workforce, and to empower women to take
leadership roles. In 2018 she developed a training framework on gender for the Ukrainian
Armed Forces and authored a course on violence against women in peacekeeping for the US Peace Operati......read more
ELIZABETH BUCHANAN
CHAIR OF THE ADVISORY BOARD
Dr Elizabeth Buchanan is a Research Fellow at the ANU Centre for European Studies. Her areas of expertise are Russian foreign energy strategy and Russia’s global polar strategy. Dr Buchanan completed a PhD on Russian Arctic strategy under Vladimir Putin and holds an Honours degree in Russian-Ukrainian natural gas relations.
LUISA RYAN
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
NATIONAL DIRECTOR FOR QLD
Luisa Ryan is currently undertaking her PhD at the University of Queensland, studying the ramifications of the UN Stabilization Mission to Congo’s (MONUSCO) Force Intervention Brigade on protection of civilians, and wider peacekeeping doctrine. Her thesis builds on her former position as MONUSCO’s Policy and Best Practices Officer.
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MARIA ROST RUBLEE
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Maria Rost Rublee is an Associate Professor of International Relations at Monash University, with expertise in constructivism, nuclear politics, maritime security, and diversity in security studies.
MATILDA DAY
INTERN
Matilda is currently undertaking her honours program in Political Science and International Relations, at the University of Queensland. Her thesis will discuss the relationship between transnational climate governance and the maintenance of the liberal international order. Her other research interests include UNSCR1325, Early-Warning-Early-Response modelling and techopolitics.
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JENNIFER KEENE-MCCANN
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Jennifer is a solicitor admitted in the Supreme Court of the Australian State of Victoria and independent international law researcher. Most recently she worked at a non-profit legal centre managing a clinic that sees hundreds of clients only eligible for temporary refugee protection in Australia. Previously, she was the author of “International Criminal Tribunals and Civil Society: Impediments and Opportunities for Engagement,” a report for the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre. She has also assisted in creating a grant-making strategy to promote fair labor practices ahead of the 2022 World Cup and was lead researcher and author of a case study on...Read more
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