As a grassroots think tank, Agora is only made possible as a result of the ideas and energy of countless people. Our thanks go to everyone who has contributed to our project, and we hope that our number will continue to grow as we continue on our journey.
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Pascal Roelcke – Chair
Pascal studied International Relations and Postcolonial Studies in Geneva, Istanbul and London. After his studies, he worked for the Centre for Public Impact before joining Ipsos MORI, where he works as Research Executive in Public Affairs.
[email protected] | @Pascal_Roelcke
John McStravick – Vice-Chair
When not involved with Agora, John is a Political Specialist working on UK and EU politics (with a focus on Brexit and trade). His professional background is in political research, having spent time in the think tank and NGO sectors. He holds an MA in International Relations and European Politics from the University of Bath, and previously studied in York and Regensburg, Germany. His interests include European Union politics, the EU’s relations with its neighbourhood, and geopolitical trends.
[email protected] | @JS_McStravick
Grace McLoughlin – Treasurer
Grace holds a BA in English Studies from Trinity College Dublin, and also spent a year studying politics and German independently in Berlin, where she became involved with Agora’s sister think tank, Polis180. Her research interests include European Union politics, international relations, and the political use of national narrative and language. Outside of Agora, Grace works in diversity and inclusion policy communication.
[email protected] | @Grace_McL
Jack Sargent – Co-Head of Defence & Security Programme
Jack is a graduate of LSE’s History of International Relations MSc programme, where he focused primarily on Middle Eastern security issues. His research interests include terrorism, conflict and nuclear proliferation.
Bingxing Liu – Co-Head of Democracy & Governance Programme
Bingxing holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Anthropology and Law and is currently pursuing an MSc in China in Comparative Perspective at the LSE. Some of her research interests include the political engagement between the state and society, the changing experience of democratic participation, and grassroots political engagement from different states.
Preetbir Pasricha – Co-Head of Democracy & Governance Programme
Preeti graduated from the LSE with BSc in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. Her research interests include belonging, participatory governance, and communities, particularly of the diaspora. She has a background working with education charities. Outside of Agora, she works as a consultant in the government and public sector.
Micheil Page – Head of Energy & Climate Programme
Micheil has an MSc in Global Energy and Climate Policy from SOAS, University of London, where he specialised on climate mitigation policy and the Arctic. He also holds a BA in Development Studies and Geography, also from SOAS. He has worked in policy and research, both at Agora and at the Polar Research and Policy Initiative (PRPI). His current interests are in Climate Diplomacy and bridging the gap between science and policy.
Sian Chatha – Co-Head of Identities Programme
Sian holds an MSc in Gender, Policy and Inequalities from the LSE and a BSc in Economics and Finance from The University of York, where she first became interested in the relationship between economic policy and demography. Her current interests include comparing countries’ responses and strategies surrounding economic planning, specifically the way in which countries serve marginalised sections of the population through welfare programmes. Outside of Agora, Sian works in operations for a start up firm which specialises in housing.
Eva Rana – Co-Head of Identities Programme
Eva is studying Government and History student at LSE. She is interested in the relationship between power and knowledge systems, as well as the politicisation of cultural identities. Her dissertation explores how right-wing political groups in India have co-opted the constitutional discourse of secularism and multiculturalism.
[email protected] | @er_EvaRana
Nina Khamsy – Co-Head of Migration Programme
Nina is a PhD researcher working on migration in the digital age at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, in Geneva. During her studies, she has specialised in anthropology at Oxford University and in Middle Eastern Studies at SOAS, University of London. Nina has managed various projects related to refugees’ integration in the UK and Switzerland for NGOs and charities.
Shona Warren – Co-Head of Migration Programme
Shona holds a Masters of International Relations, where she specialised in security studies, and a BA in French and Politics from the University of Melbourne. She has a background in community outreach and migrant rights policy, having spent a number of years in the NGO sector in Australia and Nepal. Now based in London, Shona works in government relations.
[email protected] | @shonajwarren
Holly Harwood – Head of Outreach
Holly is at the LSE studying a BSc in Politics and International Relations. Her research interests, alongside foreign policy, include international taxation and financialisation, climate policy, and women in the (global) political sphere. Through her involvement with Agora and elsewhere, Holly hopes to develop her research experience and pursue academia further.
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Agora Oxford
Anna-Lina Müller – Co-Head of Oxford Group
Anna-Lina is studying for an MPhil in European Politics and Society at the University of Oxford. Before crossing the Channel, she worked for the Mission of Switzerland to the EU, the University of Zurich, and for various think tanks in Germany and Switzerland. Anna-Lina was head of the Foraus regional group of Zurich and co-founded ‘Discuss it!’, an association aiming to promote political education of young people. She holds a BA in Political Science and History from the University of Zurich.
Noah Sutter – Co-Head of Oxford Group
Noah is pursuing an MPhil in Economics at the University of Oxford (Balliol College). Before becoming involved with Agora, he was part of Foraus, Agora‘s sister think tank in Switzerland, where he organised events on Swiss-China relations and published on Swiss migration policy. He has been a board member of the Young European Swiss, a political advocacy group campaigning for Swiss EU-membership. Previously he worked for the Swiss Central Bank and the UBS Center for Economics in Society at the University of Zurich, where he was a research assistant in economic history. He holds a BA in Economics from the University of Zurich.
Hannah Bowman – Equity Officer
Hannah is reading for an MPhil in Russian and East European Studies at the University of Oxford. She has a BA in European Studies from Trinity College, Dublin and spent a year studying politics at Sciences Po in Strasbourg. Her research focuses on migration and she is interested in power relations and narrative building.
Anna Chirniciuc – Communications, Events, and Research Teams
Anna holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University and is currently studying for an MPhil in International Relations. Her research focuses on the UN Security Council, peacekeeping missions, and political conflict.
Andreas Prenner – Research Team
Andy is studying for a Master’s in Economics at the University of Oxford. After his undergraduate in Vienna he spent a year in Germany, interning at the German central bank and other policy institutions. He is especially interested in international economic policy and macro-development issues.
Jakob Schramm – Communications Team
Jakob is a postgraduate student of International Relations at Oxford. Before coming to the UK, he was active in the Norwegian European movement, representing Norway in JEF, a pro-EU youth organisation. He focuses on conflict management in territorial disputes.
Valeria Silva Gomez – Outreach Team
Valeria is pursuing a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Oxford, where she is specialising in public policy, labour economics, and gender inequality in developing countries. She holds a BSc in Economics from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and has also studied at the University of Warwick. Having worked in diplomacy, consulting, and academia, she found her passion in international politics and development and how these can be used to multilaterally tackle poverty.
Twan van der Togt – Research Team
Twan is currently reading for an MPhil in European Politics and Society at the University of Oxford. Before that, he completed a BA in World Politics at Leiden University College. He has previously worked for Justice and Peace, an NGO specialised in refugee integration, as an intern for the Dutch embassy in Bulgaria, and as a research assistant at Leiden University. His current research focuses on the party politics of climate change in Western European democracies.
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Board of Trustees
Dan Fitter
Dan leads the Defence & Security Programme at Agora. He holds an MSc in International Relations from the LSE and a BA in German and Russian from the University of Bristol. Dan’s research interests include UK-European future partnership policy, CSDP, and Russian foreign policy. Outside of Agora, Dan works in strategy consulting.
Laura Knöpfel
Laura is a PhD candidate and visiting lecturer at King’s College London. She just spent several months in the Colombian coal mining region for her research on the accountability of commodity enterprises. Previously she worked for various human rights organisations in Switzerland and Colombia. She holds a MSc in Law and Anthropology from the LSE, and a BA in Social Sciences and Law from the University of Bern. Laura is a long-time member of Foraus and has published on EU-Swiss relations, Islam in Switzerland, and the Corporate Justice Initiative.
Theebika Shanmugarasa
Theebika is a Research Executive at Ipsos MORI’s Social Research Institute. She primarily works on policies concerning employment, welfare, and skills, which includes research on Brexit. She is also currently part of the evaluation team, conducting research on the refugee resettlement schemes in the UK. She has previously worked in charities, the civil service and the US embassy. Theebika holds an MA in Contemporary European Studies from the University of Bath. She speaks fluent German and Tamil, with a good knowledge of French and Spanish.
Kathrin Wartmann
Kathrin brings several years of political grassroots and think tank experience to Agora. She used to work for Foraus – Switzerland’s first and only grassroots think tank and Agora’s sister organisation in Zurich – and she is a co-founder and former member of the board of Operation Libero, a Swiss political movement with over 1000 members. Today, Kathrin works as an Associate for a consultancy specialising in political, sustainability, and stakeholder risks facing natural resource investments. She holds an MSc in Security Studies from UCL.
Abigail Watson
Outside of Agora, Abigail is a research officer in a charity focusing on defence issues. She has worked in charities and think tanks in London for the last two years. Abigail holds an MA (with Distinction) in Contemporary European Studies, with a trans-Atlantic track, from the University of Bath and a BA in Politics from the University of York.