Jenna Biedscheid began working with NFA while conducting independent research in Nepal as a Fulbright Scholar in 2022. Under her Fulbright Fellowship, she researched the lived experiences of Nepali security guards during the evacuations from Afghanistan to shed light on the scale of migrant labour used in U.S. military operations. Jenna is a passionate writer and researcher who seeks to contribute to the global effort to end statelessness by amplifying awareness of the issue and the lived experiences of affected persons. With NFA, she has conducted research on the impacts of COVID-19 on stateless persons as well as for the Statelessness Encyclopedia of the Asia-Pacific (SEAP).
Mallika Balami is a graduate of Media Studies from Kathmandu University School of Arts. She is a citizenship-affected individual who actively engages in advocacy efforts related to this cause. She gained valuable experience as an Art Director assistant during her 3-month internship with Katha Haru Production and also served as a Reporting and Communication Officer at Royal Mountain Travel for 9 months. Additionally, she has contributed significantly as a production assistant and the host for the SOS podcast conducted by CAPN, dedicated to advocating and creating public awareness on Statelessness issues. Her dedication to media and advocacy fuels her professional journey.
Shuchi is a lawyer based in India and teaches undergraduate students of law at Jindal Global Law School. She completed her LLM in International Law from The Fletcher School. During her time, she pursued her interests in human rights law and the law of armed conflict, with a particular focus on addressing intergenerational statelessness faced by children in Northwest Syria. Prior to her Masters’, she contributed comprehensively in the drafting of the Securing Citizenship which was a report on citizenship deprivation institutions of India. The report looked into whether citizenship deprivation institutions of India adhered to due-process standards prescribed by international law norms. Her work was recognized by Jindal Global University and she was awarded with the Dean’s Awards on “Outstanding Contribution to Legal Aid Services” and “Outstanding Contribution to Institution Building” in 2021. Her areas of interest predominantly include International Human Rights law, International Humanitarian Law, and Transitional Justice.
Sudir is an accomplished finance and accounting professional with extensive experience in the industry. He studied ACCA and has worked in various roles within the field since then. He has previously worked for AB & Associates as audit manager for three years and as Finance and Accounts Executive at Business Brainz pvt. Ltd. for the past three years and is still engaged in that role. He also has worked and is presently engaged on several other non-profit, trading and service industries, honing his skills in financial management, tax compliance, budgeting, forecasting, and financial reporting.
Melinda Anne Sharlini is a gender justice campaigner who has been actively involved in the Malaysian women’s rights movement for over five years. In her role as Programme Manager at Family Frontiers, she advocates for gender-equal citizenship laws and family-friendly immigration policies for Malaysian binational families. Melinda manages the Malaysian Campaign for Equal Citizenship, contributing to program management, grant-making, strategic planning, campaign development, and stakeholder engagement. She spearheads the advocacy efforts behind the landmark case of Suriani Kempe & Ors v Government of Malaysian & Ors and the #PindaPerkara14 campaign, which calls for a constitutional amendment to achieve gender-equal citizenship rights for Malaysian women.In addition, Melinda is an advisor for two young feminist funding organizations, FRIDA Fund, and Purposeful Fund, contributing her sub-regional expertise towards their participatory grant making processes. Melinda is also a fellow of the Young South-East Asian Leadership Initiative (YSEALI) and the LeadNext Program by the Asia Foundation that have enabled her to hone her leadership skills and strengthen her engagement in civic engagement initiatives. As an intersectional feminist, Melinda remains committed to continued learning and growth, as well as to contributing further to gender mainstreaming and feminist movement building nationally, regionally, and globally.
Subin is a human rights lawyer and researcher based in Nepal. He recently worked as the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Advisor for Mercy Corps. Nepal. Before that he worked for Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD) in Kathmandu as the Programme Coordinator for 4 years and then as the Senior Legal Advisor for a year where his responsibilities ranged from project planning, implementation, advocacy, litigation and research on statelessness, migration and human rights. In particular, he implemented a project on ‘civil documentation’ supported by UNHCR. He has a Master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University where he focused on gender, human rights and migration. He has conducted a number of studies on acquisition of citizenship certificates and statelessness in Nepal. He identifies as a staunch feminist and adopts a strong intersectional feminist lens in all his work and writings.