Staff
Sanaea Suntok
Chief Operating Officer
Advocacy & Alliance Director
Sanaea Suntok is a graduate of Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, where she majored in Political Studies, minored in Global Development, and completed a specialization in international law and politics. Sanaea served as the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Chair of the Perspectives on Gender Equity in Politics Journal, and conducted research at Bader College on the jurisdictional scope of the International Criminal Court. At Genocide Watch, Sanaea coordinated the writing of the Genocide Watch/ Pan African Lawyers Union Training Manual on Genocide and Genocide Prevention.
She will begin her study of law at the University of Toronto in Fall, 2025.
Sanaea's current research interests pertain to the efficacy and legitimacy of international criminal law, the colonial underpinnings of international law and politics, unconventional avenues of transitional justice, and the politics of remembrance.
As the Advocacy & Alliance Director, she coordinates the work of Genocide Watch's Advocacy Task Forces. As Chief Operating Officer she trains staff in advocacy and project development, and monitors the operations of the Division’s task forces.
Sanaea resides in Toronto, Canada and outside of her work enjoys reading, yoga, and hiking. Sanaea intends to pursue a career in the fields of international human rights law and international criminal law. She is particularly interested in contributing to the prevention and prosecution of genocide and crimes against humanity and the implementation of transitional justice. Sanaea is deeply committed to the advancement of human rights and the rule of law.
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Grace Condon
Research Director
Gaza Taskforce Leader
Grace Condon is a graduate of the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada where she majored in History with a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies. Her research interests include global histories of human rights abuses and advocacy, social and political dissent, decolonization, historiography, and narrative history. As Research Director for Genocide Watch, she leads the Research Team. She oversees Genocide Watch Blogs and special research. She presented her study of "Femicide in Mexico" at the IAGS meeting in Barcelona in July 2023. She monitors Israel and Palestine. Passionately committed to building a future in which genocide, extrajudicial violence, and widespread social inequality are unthinkable, Grace hopes to deepen her understanding of genocide prevention and acquire knowledge and skill in international human rights law and advocacy.
In Fall 2025, Grace will enroll in the School of Law of the University of Waterloo, Ontario.
Elia Redolfi Tezzat
Podcast Director
Elia Redolfi Tezzat is a graduate of London School of Economics (LSE) with a Master of Science in Human Rights and Politics and previously majored in Political Science and in Africana Studies at Brown University. As an undergraduate, Elia studied abroad in Rwanda and Uganda, completing a qualitative research project on genocide perpetrators' experiences with justice and reconciliation, and continued such work during their postgraduate studies. Their current research interests pertain to the memorialization of genocide through personal narratives and archival efforts.
As Podcasting Director, Elia recruits and interviews guest for "Conversations on Genocide", Genocide Watch's podcast, as well as edit podcasting episodes. In the future, Elia plans to pursue a law degree in the U.S. and to become an international human rights lawyer.
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Frankie Condon
Lead Editor
Frankie Condon is an Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Waterloo and the Associate Chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC). Frankie’s recent co-edited collection, CounterStories from the Writing Center (with Wonderful Faison) is the winner of the International Writing Center Association’s 2023 Outstanding Book Award. Among her other books are her monograph, I Hope I Join the Band: Narrative, Affiliation, and Antiracist Rhetoric; Performing Anti-Racist Pedagogy in Rhetoric, Writing and Communication, co-edited with Vershawn Ashanti Young; and The Everyday Writing Center: A Community of Practice (co-authored with Geller et al). Her current projects include new monographs: The Road to Hell: Radical Precedents of Post-Racial Rhetoric in the 21st Century, a genealogical history of the metaphor of colourblindness for racial justice, and Encounters with Bean: Contending with White Supremacy in the Antiracist Classroom.
Jennifer Mitchell
Co-Senior Editor
Jen Mitchell is an Associate Professor in the English Department and director of the writing center at SUNY Potsdam, a public university in northern New York. She has over 25 years' experience teaching courses in first-year composition and professional writing, including courses for incarcerated students. As a community volunteer, she has written grant proposals and standard operating procedures for local nonprofits. Jen earned a BA in sociology at Bryn Mawr College and a PhD in English at the University at Albany.
Areeka Khan
Sudan Taskforce Leader
IRF Roundtable Coordinator
Areeka holds a bachelor's degree in Philosophy from Sophia College for Women in Mumbai, India, where she conducted extensive research on topics such as abortion, LGBTQIA+ rights, and women's rights. Her academic background is complemented by practical experience in human rights advocacy.
In her previous role as an International Justice Intern at the Advocates for Human Rights, Areeka prepared reports for submission to various United Nations treaty bodies, gathering comprehensive and reliable data on human rights issues, including gender-based violence, the death penalty, and discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community in countries such as Eritrea, Oman, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Guyana, Egypt, Albania, Somalia, and Qatar.
At Genocide Watch, Areeka serves as the Sudan Task Force Leader and is a member of the India Team, where she has spearheaded initiatives to raise awareness about the genocide and humanitarian crisis in Sudan, as well as the rising anti-minority sentiments in India. Her efforts include producing a variety of advocacy materials on both Sudan and India, in addition to managing the IRF Roundtable and the Alliance Genocide Working Group.
Areeka aspires to pursue a degree in international law to deepen her understanding of the field and to develop effective mechanisms for addressing its limitations, ultimately aiming to strengthen its implementation.
Emily Mullin
Ukraine Taskforce Leader
Legal Division
Emily Mullin is a law student at the Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Canada. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Glendon College, York University. Emily is an editor for the Osgoode Hall Law Journal and a member of Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights-Osgoode.
Emily has previously interned for two global non-governmental organizations, the NATO Association of Canada and the Organization for World Peace, where she published over twenty writing pieces on international peace and security, as well as a freelance article in The Globe and Mail. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she began a volunteer communications position with the Canada Ukraine Surgical Aid Program and has since been on four humanitarian missions in Poland to support medical assistance for injured Ukrainian soldiers and civilians.
In the summer of 2023, Emily participated in the Genocide and Human Rights University Program graduate-level seminar hosted by the Zoryan Institute. Her academic interests include genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Emily aims to have a legal career in international human rights and international criminal law to contribute to atrocity prevention and punishment, particularly in Ukraine.
Grace Harris
Alliance Against Genocide Coordinator
DRC/Rwanda/Burundi Taskforce Leader
Grace graduated from UCLA majoring in International Development Studies and minoring in Geography. She will enroll in the Masters program at Columbia University in Fall, 2025. Since high school, she has fostered an interest in human rights issues and genocide and atrocity prevention. She first got involved in this field when she joined STAND: The Student-Led Movement to End Mass Atrocities. In her studies at UCLA, she focused on the intersections between international development work and genocide, exploring how genocide prevention can be implemented in development policy. With Genocide Watch, Grace has taken on a number of roles. She is the Coordinator of the Alliance Against Genocide. She directs the DRC/Rwanda/Burundi Task Force and is an active member of the Sudan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Gaza Task Forces. Grace is a member of the Management Team. She is excited to continue her work monitoring countries, writing reports, and organizing actions this year!
Raziya Masumi
Hazara Analyst
Legal Division
Raziya came from Afghanistan in 2019 to pursue her legal studies at International and European Law at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. She got her first bachelor's degree in the field of Law in Kabul in 2011. Raziya worked as a lawyer and human rights activist with experience working with civil society organizations in Afghanistan and the Netherlands. She has acted as a legal advisor, written extensively on the role of women and minorities, and has led advocacy campaigns. Her work focuses on peacebuilding and bridging communities together to contribute to positive change and healthy societies. She focuses on crimes that the Taliban have committed in Afghanistan, particularly against women and Shi'a and Hazara groups. She monitors the Taliban's brutal policies which illustrate their systematic discrimination against women and minorities in Afghanistan. She led a press conference about crimes against humanity in Afghanistan in June 2022 in The Hague. She has organized and spoken in many protests against the Taliban in the Netherlands. She created a podcast series in the Persian language for the protection of Afghan minorities’ rights and women’s rights with civil society organizations in the Netherlands. Raziya is writing a book regarding children’s situation during peace and wartime in Afghanistan. She believes in freedom and advocacy for voiceless people and growing hope among the oppressed women and minorities of Afghanistan.
Ani Tonoyan
Advocacy & Alliance Division
Armenia and Artsakh Task Force Leader
Ani Tonoyan is an undergraduate Psychology and Legal Studies student with a minor in Literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). As President of UCSC’s Armenian Students’ Association (ASA), she has organized numerous events to educate the local community on Armenian issues and culture. One benefit she organized raised $4000 for refugee families in Armenian border villages. Throughout the year, she plans talks, fundraisers, and vigils. In the summer of 2024 she worked at the American University of Armenia in Yerevan, translating Armenian literature regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh Wars.
As a part of Genocide Watch’s Alliance and Advocacy team, her work in the Artsakh Task Force focuses on researching the South Caucasus region and Turkey.
Ani hopes to pursue a career in international human rights law and advocacy, centering her research on Central Asia.
Bhaswati Bhattacharjee
Advocacy & Alliance Division
Bhaswati Bhattacharjee is working on her PhD thesis as a Senior Research Fellow at the department of English of Dr. Harisingh Gour Central University at Madhya Pradesh, India. The areas of her research interest include peace and conflict studies, war memoirs, biopolitics, intersectionality, and genocide studies. The thrust area of her research is marginalized women’s war memoirs. She has one national and two international journal publications so far. As of now, she has presented papers at one national seminar and at one national and four international conferences, with the latest being the 6th “Migration, Adaptation and Memory” International Interdisciplinary Conference held in Gdańsk, Poland on 15-16 June 2023. She has contributed one chapter in the book titled Fourth Wave of Feminism: Reconstructing Gender Studies in Media, Law and Literature-An Insightful Interpretation and Analysis and one chapter in the book titled Identity Explorations: Dimensions and Discourses (vol 1). She is now working on two more chapters on genocide, memory, trauma studies, and liminality for two upcoming volumes to be published by Routledge and Vernon Press respectively. She is currently a member of the Sudan Task Force of Genocide Watch.
Brenda Salazar Lamar
Legal Division
Brenda is an International Relations graduate and Law student from Madrid, Spain. As an undergraduate, she contributed to humanitarian aid and international cooperation projects aimed at addressing the needs of women and children in Syria. She has also played an active role in Amnesty International Spain, where she helped organize national and international events promoting human rights.
Currently, Brenda is a dedicated member of the International Peace and Security Research Group at the Center for Strategic Studies of International Relations (Centro de Estudios Estratégicos in Spanish). In this capacity, she contributes to weekly reports on the situation in the Middle East and monitors developments in other international conflicts. At Genocide Watch, Brenda is part of the Legal Team, Ukraine and Sudan Advocacy Task Forces. She monitors China, Mongolia, Poland, Ukraine, and Russia.
With a strong interest in international criminal law and transitional justice, she plans to pursue an LL.M. in Public International Law upon completing her law degree. She is committed to advocating for justice for victims of international crimes.
Trinity Huynh
Advocacy & Alliance Division
China and Southeast Asia Task Force Leader
Trinity Huynh recently graduated from Chapman University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in Peace and Justice Studies. As an undergraduate researcher, she investigated numerous themes in international law, such as nuclear disarmament and nuclear deterrence evolution, while studying at Soka University's 2023 nuclear politics program and conducting research for her thesis. As a research assistant, she also produced a book review for H-Genocide entitled The Figure of the Witness in International Criminal Tribunals: Memory, Atrocities, and Transitional Justice. She has also conducted research on disability justice and the disability rights movement, as well as helped to create a database for future legal scholars about the Russian-Ukrainian war. For her independent research, she investigated the impacts and implications of Agent Orange on collective and legal memory. She is enthusiastic about international peacebuilding and the study of conflict resolution. As an intern for Genocide Watch, she works with the China task force with accountability efforts, as well as write alerts and monitor several countries in Asia. In the future, she intends to get a J.D. and work in international humanitarian, human rights, and criminal law.
Beth Paul
Advocacy & Alliance Division
Podcast Division
Beth Paul is an honors graduate of Western Washington University with a B.A. in Political Science & Government, and a concentration on International Relations and Religious Studies. Beth has a background in local grassroots campaigns and has managed four successful bids for local and legislative office, including the most competitive Washington US House seat. She has worked two sessions with the Washington State Senate and now works at a social impact nonprofit.
Sandrine Irankunda
Advocacy & Alliance Division
Great Lakes Task Force
Sandrine Mugenga Irankunda is a PhD candidate in African Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Her research is centered on genocide and other forms of large-scale violence within the African context, exploring the historical, political, social, economic, and cultural factors that drive these atrocities, and shedding light on overlooked narratives. Sandrine’s written work contributes to the discourse on genocide and memory by examining how societies remember and interpret past traumas, which affects social cohesion, reconciliation, and collective identity.
Beyond her academic pursuits, Sandrine is actively involved with the Rwandan community in the U.S. She initiated the annual commemoration of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Atlanta, Georgia. She has led workshops and panel discussions on genocide education and prevention. She is also a fellow at the International Policy Scholars Consortium and Network, which supports research focused on historically-informed statecraft and policy design.
As a research intern for Genocide Watch, Sandrine monitors and writes alerts on the African Great Lakes Region. She is conducting a research project on genocides on the African continent, aiming to increase understanding, raise awareness, and inform contemporary policy and preventive measures.
Kolby Phillip
Advocacy & Alliance Division
Balkans Task Force Leader
Kolby Phillip is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin in Austin, TX. He double majored in History and Government with a minor in Holocaust & Genocide Studies. Kolby has previously interned at the Texas Law Human Rights Clinic, where he formed a database of countries’ human rights provisions in their governing sports association’s documents. In the Fall of 2024, Kolby volunteered at the Million Lives Genocide Relief Fund, helping to locate and reference Austin-area psychiatrists to help serve survivors of the Rwandan genocide who suffer from PTSD. At the University of Texas at Austin, Kolby has been a writer and editor for the Texas Undergraduate Law Journal, where he has written works that analyze the role of international law in humanitarian interventions. His honors thesis in History examines the role of gender within the Auschwitz concentration camp in the context of Primo Levi’s “Gray Zone” theory. As an intern for Genocide Watch, he is Leader of the Balkans task force and a member of the Research team. He monitors Kosovo, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Hungary.
Gurisha Sahni
Chief Administrator and Business Director
Gurisha Sahni is a Politics, Philosophy, and Economics student at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. She currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Alma Mater Society Board of Directors, overseeing corporate governance and managing a $20 million annual budget. She has previously worked as a Legal Intern at Meridian Credit Union, contributing to ESG strategies and risk mitigation, and as a Business Analytics Associate at HSBC Bank Canada, where she focused on client engagement and corporate research. Outside of her professional endeavours, Gurisha holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts in Kathak, and has performed and taught dance across Canada and internationally.
As Chief Administrator and Business Director at Genocide Watch, Gurisha utilises her corporate training and analytical skills to contribute to the development of effective strategies for genocide prevention and the promotion of human rights. She aims to support research on international criminal law and its role in addressing atrocity crimes, while gaining practical experience in advocacy and policy development within the context of global justice.
With a strong commitment to justice and human rights, Gurisha plans to attend law school to further explore the intersection of legal systems, accountability, and conflict resolution.
Finia Hilmes
Legal Division
Finia is a recent graduate with an LL.M. in Public International Law, specialising in Conflict and Security, from Utrecht University. She also holds an LL.B. in International and European Law from The Hague University of Applied Sciences. During her studies, Finia conducted an applied research project for the law firm Global Rights Compliance, where she assessed the potential legal basis for inferring genocidal intent behind the crimes committed by Russia and its forces against the Ukrainian population. In addition, she worked as an editor for the law journal of the International Law Student Association (The Hague Chapter). Finia also interned with the human rights NGO Global Human Rights Defence in The Hague, where she contributed to the Pakistan Team’s monitoring and reporting efforts, including research on alleged human rights violations against the Baloch population. Her academic and professional work reflect her commitment to addressing the intersections of international justice, accountability, and the prevention of human rights abuses and atrocity crimes. She aims to pursue a career in the areas of International Criminal Law, International Humanitarian Law, International Human Rights Law and diplomacy.
Olivia Cash
Advocacy & Alliance Division
Olivia Cash is a recent graduate in Politics and French (BA) from the University of Bristol, UK. After working for eight months at a local women's association in Senegal, Olivia's international outlook and commitment to women and minorities' rights inspired her to channel her undergraduate degree towards issues of global and social justice. Olivia's academic academic focuses included global health inequality, climate change, the legacies of colonialism, and genocide.
Olivia is interning at Genocide Watch because she fundamentally believe in the organisation's view that human susceptibility towards discrimination, division, and genocide is preventable, rather than inevitable. Recognising the importance of unbiased and well-researched reporting on issues of human rights and mass atrocity, Olivia am keen to help Genocide Watch achieve its mission of awareness raising, advocacy, and genocide deterrence.
Mara Katavić
Advocacy & Alliance Division
Mara Katavić is a master’s student at Sciences Po Paris, where she is developing expertise in international law, human rights, and the intersection of legal frameworks with social justice. Her academic journey has been shaped by her experiences growing up in the Western Balkans, a region deeply influenced by political conflict, fueling her passion for justice and reconciliation. Mara has a foundation in public international law and conflict resolution, which she gained through coursework on peacebuilding and post-conflict justice. Beyond academia, she co-founded the Papillon Academy, a global initiative providing free civics and debate education to girls in over 30 countries. As a member of the Genocide Watch, Mara aims to leverage her legal research and analytical skills to contribute to initiatives combating genocide and advancing international justice. She is eager to engage in projects addressing accountability for mass atrocities, inspired by her commitment to promoting human dignity and the rule of law.
Shannon McMahon
Advocacy & Alliance Division
Shannon McMahon is a current Master’s student in Political Science, concentrating in International Relations at Northeastern University. With nearly four years of experience in genocide studies, Shannon has developed and taught curricula in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Egypt, and Turkey, where she engages students in critical discussions about the long-term effects of genocide and the importance of remembrance. Her research focuses on the international implications of genocide denial, exploring how the distortion or erasure of historical atrocities impacts contemporary global politics. Regionally, she concentrates in the Middle East and post-Yugoslavia.
Shannon is committed to using education as a tool for combating denial and fostering awareness. She plans to pursue a PhD in Political Science, concentrating on genocide studies, with aspirations to continue her work in educational development, creating curricula that address both the history and ongoing consequences of genocide to ensure future generations are equipped to prevent such atrocities.
Kristina Kovalenko
Advocacy & Alliance Division
Kristina Kovalenko holds a degree in Asian Studies from the Higher School of Economics. Currently, she is studying master's program in World Politics and International Relations at the University of Pavia. Fluent in Russian and English, she also studies Mandarin Chinese and Italian. Her work has been published in Global Weekly, Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, and the JET Newsletter. Her primary research focuses on East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania.
Ebonie Kibalya
Advocacy & Alliance Division
Ebonie Kibalya is a Ugandan-Australian peace activist and 2025 Humanitarian Affairs Global Peace Ambassador. Shaped by her lived experiences in conflict zones across Sudan, Côte d'Ivoire, Uganda, and East Timor, she is deeply committed to gender analysis, peace journalism, and decolonisation. She is in her final semester of a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Queensland, with majors in International Relations and Journalism, and minors in Professional Writing and Peace & Conflict studies.
From 2020-2021, she was the Editor-In-Chief of Students for BIPOC, a global youth-run platform committed to amplifying marginalised voices of youth of colour. In January 2025, she represented Australia as a delegate at the 4th Annual Global Peace Summit in Bangkok. Ebonie is the first Youth Asia-Pacific Liaison for the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), leading efforts to engage young feminists in peacebuilding.