Pascal Roelcke – President
Before coming to London, Pascal worked in different international organisations and NGOs in Switzerland with a focus on Media Development and Foreigners and Asylum Law. He holds an MA in Postcolonial Studies from SOAS, University of London and a BA in International Relations from the University of Geneva and the Galatasaray University in Istanbul.
[email protected] | @Pascal_Roelcke
John McStravick – Vice-President
When not involved with Agora, John is a Political Specialist working on Brexit. He has a background 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 security, European Union politics, and geopolitical trends.
[email protected] | @JS_McStravick
Kathrin Wartmann – Treasurer
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 analyst for a consultancy specialised in political, sustainability, and stakeholder risks facing natural resource investments. She holds an MSc in Security Studies from UCL.
[email protected] | @KathrinWartmann
Dan Fitter – Head of Defence & Security Programme
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.
Liu Bingxing – 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.
Grace McLoughlin – Head of Europe Programme
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.
Nina Khamsy – Head of Migration Programme
Nina leads the Migration Programme at Agora and is currently reading an MPhil in Social Anthropology at Oxford University, specialising on migration and refugee studies. She holds an MA in Middle Easter Studies from SOAS, University of London and a BA in International Relations from the University of Geneva. In the last few years she worked for the SOAS Education Outreach Programme and managed projects on refugees’ integration in the UK for several charities based in London.
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.
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.
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.
Florian Schaffner – Head of the Oxford Regional Group
Florian is a doctoral student in Politics at Balliol College, University of Oxford. Having been involved with co-founding Agora since 2016, he is currently leading the Oxford Regional Group. Florian holds an MSc in Comparative Politics from the LSE, and a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Zurich. Before starting his doctorate he gained work experience at the Embassy of Switzerland in Australia.
[email protected] | @FloSchaffner
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.
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.