Meet the 2022 OTT Fellows
Ana María Sánchez Rodríguez holds a PhD in Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts Boston and an MSc in NGO Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is an adjunct lecturer at the ALL Institute at Maynooth University. She has worked in human rights and social development at Mexico’s federal and local governmental levels. She was selected as an Inter-American Grassroots Development fellow for the 2015–16 cycles and the Irish Research Council Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) COFUND Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme (CAROLINE) 2017. She has explored scaling up good practices in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia, focusing on disability and gender and collaborating with multiple stakeholders in Mexico, India, Lao PDR, France, and Ireland. Her research interests are disability, disability postcolonial studies, scaling for social impact, civil society organizations, human rights, gender, and ethics. She is currently the director of Cemefi’s think tank.
Manuel Gustavo Isaac is a philosopher specializing in conceptual engineering. Conceptual engineering is the method for assessing and improving concepts. As a conceptual engineer, Manuel helps people think, talk, and behave in better ways. He combines the models, tools, and processes of conceptual engineering with my communication and reasoning skills to solve tangible problems and deliver workable solutions.
Kan Yuenyong is a co-founder and executive director of the Siam Intelligence Unit (SIU), a private think tank and policy research service on various social, environmental, business and economic issues in Thailand. He is a PhD candidate Doctor of Philosophy Program in Governance and Development (International) at GSPA/NIDA. Kan is specialized in policy, political risk analysis and geopolitics. He provides political risk analysis to notable financial institutes and multinational company customers such as HSBC and various diplomatic circles. He was a co-principal investigator and was responsible for the geopolitics and public policy section on TrendNovation Southeast, a monthly Southeast Asia foresight journal sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation. Moreover, local and global media outlets frequently quoted his analysis of Thai politics, i.e. Reuters, South China Morning Post, Nikkei Asia, Christian Science Monitor, AP and China Radio International.
Sijuola Olanubi is a research economist and policy analyst passionate about macroeconomic, development and public policy issues in advanced and developing countries. Sijuola is particularly concerned about how evidence-based policy evaluation and analysis can inform better policymaking at the sub-national, national, and international levels.
Flavia Schmidt is a Senior Researcher in Public Policy with 8 years of managerial experience at the most prominent Brazilian government think tank. Flavia is passionate about policy research and its inception in policy making. Skilled in project management and partnership building, experience in qualitative and quantitative research, and a deep understanding of public policy affairs. As a high-level manager in a Think Tank, she provided strategic guidance and project management for researchers to meet programmatic goals supporting the organization’s mission. Flavia’s main accomplishments include developing innovative research deliverables, establishing a new research agenda-setting process, balancing emerging opportunities with long-term strategic goals, and matching them to the team’s capabilities.
Marwa Galaleldin is leading the youth portfolio at the UNFPA Sudan Country office. She designs and oversees the execution of strategic programs that contribute to the systematic and meaningful youth-led participation and leadership in sustainable development, humanitarian action and peacebuilding. She is also a poet, screenwriter, producer and creative director at Compass Creative Productions, where she works to utilize artistic expression for social change. During her last research efforts, Marwa explored the methods through which Sudanese resistance committees transformed functionally to serve as the primary space for youth political participation on a grassroots level and the varying tools used across urban and rural contexts.
Chalani Ranwala is a communications specialist with over 7 years of experience in think tank communications, management and public relations. She has designed and implemented communications strategies in public finance, international trade, law and parliamentary research. She has also mentored teams and conducted training on developing communications strategies for local and international audiences. She previously headed the communications team at Verite Research, an inter-disciplinary think tank that provides strategic analysis for Asia in economics, politics, law and media. Chalani also has experience in public relations, having fulfilled the role of Strategic Communications Lead at Adfactors Public Relations Sri Lanka. Chalani has published her insights on research communications and shared her views on international forums. She has a B.A in International Communication Studies from the University of Nottingham and an MSc. in Media, Communication and Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Anna Suberu is currently a communications intern with AfricanLiberty.org. She has long been interested in freedom, peace, and development issues. She has an undergraduate degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics and is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. Her second area of interest is marketing and communications. She has worked for three years in non-profit organization marketing and management as a digital campaigns manager in a civil society organization in Nigeria. Anna has worked in various marketing and fundraising leadership roles and has won awards for her contribution to sustainable development. She is a recipient of the 25 Under 25 iKapture Award in 2020 for young leaders championing change in their community. She was the second runner-up in the Internet for Good Contest, People’s Choice category. She is a 2021/2022 African Liberty Writing Fellow and a member of the Bosch Alumni Network. Anna is passionate about working to make food equity possible in her country and around the world.
Kannanathan Rajganna is an International Relations Researcher and an independent Geopolitical Risk Analyst specialising in the Indo-Pacific region. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Religion and Security Council based in Rome, Italy. His research interests include the role of religious factors in security issues, diaspora studies, and interreligious and intercultural dialogue in conflict resolution and peace-building. He is an advisory board member of the EU SOAR Programme (“Strengthening the security and resilience of at-risk religious sites and communities”) and a KAICIID European Fellow. He holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations.