Danae is a Research Scholar for NYU Law School and Legal Editor of Just Security, a non-partisan law and policy journal that elevates the discourse on national security, democracy and the rule of law, and rights. She was previously an Attorney-Adviser for the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Legal Adviser, where her practice areas included cyber and emerging technology, public international law, complex treaty negotiations, and the Middle East and North Africa. Her prior roles include Counsel for a global pro bono law firm, where she provided legal counsel for the U.N.-led Intra-Syrian Peace Process, advised on ceasefire negotiations in Yemen, supported victim participation in international criminal tribunals, and strengthened the evidence-collection capacity of human rights investigators for criminal accountability purposes. Danae holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, an MSc in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics, and a B.A. in Comparative Literature from UCLA.

Erin is a communications and policy expert specializing in fragile and transitional states, public safety and security, and narratives and strategic communication. Previously she has worked as a technical legal advisor to the Syrian High Negotiations Committee during the Geneva peace talks and the Astana ceasefire negotiations, and as an advisor to over a dozen cities on implementing city-based gun violence reduction strategies. More recently she worked with Metropolitan Group, a public interest strategic communications firm, where she led multi-country, multi-methodology studies into narratives focused on democracy, authoritarianism, and corruption globally. Throughout her work, both domestically and internationally, Erin has helped develop systems designed to promote stability, collaboration, and security in the face of violence and conflict. Erin holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, Certificate in Transnational Law from the University of Geneva, and a B.A. in Politics from Willamette University.

Lisa is an Assistant Professor of Law and Associate Director of the Hugh L. Carey Center for Dispute Resolution at St. John’s University. Lisa joined the St. John’s faculty from Harvard Law School, where she was a Lecturer on Law and a Senior Clinical Instructor in the Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program’s Dispute Systems Design Clinic. Previously, she was Counsel at a global pro bono law firm where she advised on peace negotiations, conflict prevention, transitional justice, and post-conflict democratic transitions, including in Libya, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, and Yemen. She has also served as a Senior Research Scholar for the United States Institute of Peace. Lisa holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Negotiation Law Review, and a B.A. in Political Science and Asian Studies from the University of Tennessee.

Sasha is a practitioner specializing in Track I peace processes with a decade of on-the-ground experience based in Africa and the Middle East. She is currently a member of the United Nations roster of Senior Mediation Advisers and a Distinguished Fellow at Arizona State University’s Leadership, Diplomacy, and National Security Lab. She was previously the Director of Peace Processes at the U.S. Institute of Peace, overseeing the Institute’s work on negotiation, mediation, dialogue, ceasefires, and reconciliation. Sasha joined USIP from the UN, where she served as the Special Assistant to the UN Special Envoy for Syria, and as a political advisor to the deputy head of MINUSCA, the UN’s peacekeeping mission in CAR. Sasha has also served on the ground with the UN teams supporting peace processes in Yemen and Nepal, and as a mediation adviser for HD Centre’s Africa Office. She holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, a Certificate in Transnational Law from the University of Geneva, and a B.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies from UC Berkeley.