MEET OUR INTERNS

OUR INTERNS
Aniela Barug is a space enthusiast from the Netherlands. Aniela graduated from Leiden University for the Advanced Master Air&Space Law and Master Public International Law. Her interest in legal issues related to activities of States and public private entities in the airspace and outer space has grown during her bachelor study at Leiden University. (Inter)national legislation has to keep pace with space technology that is advancing rapidly. This interrelationship makes it very attractive for her to further specialize in this field and start a challenging career.
Silvia Beghi graduated in Law, Master’s Degree, at University of Pisa in 2017, with a specialization in International and European Law, I attended the Master in Space Institutions and Policies at SIOI, the Italian Society for International Organization, in Rome, followed by an internship at ASAS, the Association for services and applications for space. Currently working for a logistic company, I am a space enthusiast who is looking for a future in the space sector.
Diana Chicas García is from Virginia, USA, and a daughter of immigrants. She earned her undergraduate degree from George Mason University and is currently a second-year law student at Howard University School of Law. Prior to law school, Diana obtained international and local experience in the education sector. Since starting law school, Diana has interned at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. She is currently a member of the Charles Hamilton Houston National Moot Court Team and a student attorney at the Howard Civil Rights Clinic. Her practice areas of interest are space, tech, civil rights, and appellate work.
After completing his LL.B. (Hons.) and LL.M., Sifuzzaman Dhrubo is working as an intern lawyer. His working area include litigating variety of claims in the areas of Constitutional Law, Intellectual Property Law, and International Human Rights Law and he is learning in managing all aspects of litigation and case handling. He is determined to establish my career as a successful lawyer. He is fluent in Bengali and English.
Toby Fadida is a junior Australian lawyer practicing in the area of litigation & dispute resolution. He holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Accounting from Deakin University and a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice. Toby has been a legal research assistant for a seminal Australian constitutional law academic. He was on the team that won ‘best idea’ in the prestigious legal hackathon, LawWithoutWalls-X. Throughout the course of his university studies Toby held paralegal and clerical roles in commercial litigation practices. Toby achieved the highest grade in the cohort for International Commercial Law. He completed an internship at the Australian Institute for International Commercial Arbitration and Australian Disputes Centre and worked at a pro-bono community legal centre. He was a memorial finalist at an international insolvency moot in the first year of his studies and was invited to Uppsala University, Sweden to participate in Winter School on International Arbitration. He is actively involved with Space Generation Advisory Council projects as well as mentoring and volunteering programs. In addition to space and dispute resolution he is passionate about environmental and public health issues.

Alexandra is currently pursuing a B.A. in Economics and Political Science at Wellesley College. She became inspired to explore space sustainability through her fellowship with the Albright Institute where she completed a collaborative research project on space debris and presented her findings with her teammates to Mrs. Suzanna Malcorra, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship of the Argentine Republic (2015-2017). She was a member of the Wellesley College Crew team (2018-2020) and is the current treasurer of Alpha Phi Sigma Lecture Society.

Ujwala Iyengar earned her BA LL.B, with first-class honours, from Gujarat National Law University in 2019. She has assisted policymakers in the drafting of the Space Activities Bill, 2017 at the Indian Space Research Organisation, Bangalore. She has also worked with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) on intellectual property right issues that arise from different kinds of platform systems used to stabilise spacecrafts. At the SGAC Space Law and Policy Working Group she has worked on multiple projects ranging from space resource utilisation to debris mitigation. She is the process of graduating from the Institute of Air & Space Law, McGill University (Montreal, Canada) where she was awarded the N.M Matte Prize for outstanding performance in space law and the MITAC Research Training Award for her thesis titled “Trading of space technology and the role of international cooperation: Achieving sustainable development goals through the global space industry in an inclusive environment”. She has worked as a Research Assistant at the Institute of Air & Space Law focusing primarily on “benefit sharing” as under the Outer Space Treaty. Currently, she is working as a Research Assistant for Dr. Ricky J. Lee.

Jonathan Kaley-Isley (he/him) is completing his Advanced Masters (LLM) in Aviation and Space Law at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He is an experienced legal, privacy, and cybersecurity professional who has spent his career at the intersection of law, ethics, and emerging technologies. He has degrees in english and computer science and a minor in art history from the University of Florida. He got his Juris Doctorate at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and was admitted to the bar in Colorado in 1996. Jonathan was fascinated with Space science from a young age. He grew up watching Apollo and Shuttle launches at Cape Canaveral. He’s interested in ensuring the sustainability of human activities in Earth orbit and on celestial bodies.
Jonathan has headed global programmes for privacy, information governance, and cybersecurity at four of the world’s largest financial firms. He has provided legal, regulatory, and technical leadership on hacking incidents of national and global significance. He has also taught computer science, privacy, data protection law, and cybersecurity at the graduate level.
Jonathan was a youth tennis player, professional actor, surgical technician, and a radio DJ. He has flown small aircraft in the US and UK. He’s also a multi-instrumental musician who attended Berklee music school, and has played recitals in several London venues. He was in a band called the Vulgar Boatmen, who were on a major label and toured in the 90’s and 2000’s, and has appeared on a number of other studio recordings. He has an abiding passion for ethics, fairness, and justice.

Inesa Kostenko is a Chief Research Scientist at the Scientific Research Institute of State Building and Local Government of National Academy of Law Sciences of Ukraine, Assistant of The Department of Administrative Law and Administrative Activity in Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University. Her professional experience includes six years at Administrative court before earning her Ph.D. so that she could pursue her passion for teaching. Her research interests focus on anti-corruption policy, Rule of law, and legal issues concerning space area. Dr. Kostenko’s publications include articles on public administration reform, judicial reform, implementation of the principles of Rule of law, and utilization and appropriation of space resources. Her interest as a scientist and lawyer in the space industry is very high, although it has appeared recently. In addition to her teaching and research, Dr. Kostenko consults organizations and citizens in administrative cases, writes oil paintings, and plays acoustic guitar. Education M.A., B.A. Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University Ph.D., Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
After completing a Masters in Public International Law at Oxford, Josselin Lavigne had the opportunity to do an internship at the United Nations, the year of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. It was during this year that he had the chance to talk to space lawyers who told me about the urgency of the situation: that of a legal framework that is less and less respected, and increasingly present private and state ambitions. It was from there that Josselin decided to become a space lawyer by starting a PhD in space law. It has been over a year since he started this research on the right to self-determination in outer space at the University of Aberdeen. Thus, Josselin has the chance to be part of the Société Française de Droit Aérien et Spatial in Paris, which allows him to attend certain meetings which bring together specialists in the field. It seems to him that the disputes in outer space that humanity will face in the decades to come should not be taken lightly and that we need to increase awareness of space law from a pedagogical angle.
Jacob was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and currently attends American University in Washington D.C. where he is a member of the Global Scholars 3-year Cohort. He is pursuing an accelerated BA/BS double major in International Studies and Computer Science and has conducted research on technology policy domestically and internationally. Jacob has taken particular interest in the rapidly evolving capabilities of human innovation and spacefaring through the lens of international law and technology policy, which often struggles to keep up with scientific advancements. Jacob has gained proficiency in multiple programming languages, AI frameworks and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. After graduation, he plans to begin law school and aspires to become a space/technology lawyer. In his free time, Jacob enjoys mountaineering and backpacking, playing saxophone and traveling.

Pankaj Mehta (He/Him) is pursuing B.A.LL.B.(Hons.) at Dharmashastra National Law University, Jabalpur, India. As a law student he has developed keen interest in the areas such as Gender & law, Public International Law, Human Rights Law, Jurisprudence, Space Law & Policy and IPR Law. Currently, he is working as an Associate Editor for DNLU Student Law Journal.

Stella Ngono Ambassa is an attorney licensed to practice in the state of New York. She earned her first law degree in Cameroon, then she graduated magna cum laude with an L.L.M Master’s Degree from Mississippi College School of Law. Stella is fluent in Russian, French and English and she has experience in civil litigation and immigration law.
Sajal Sharma is a senior Assistant Professor of Law at the School of Law, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, India. He obtained his law degree ( BA LLB Hons) and went on to complete his LL.M with specialization in Intellectual Property Laws from the Department of Law, University of North Bengal. From the days of his graduation, he has a keen interest in the legal policy and legislations governing the emerging areas of technology related laws. He is an accomplished academician having over seven years of teaching and research experience. He developed keen interest in the area of space law since the passing of the US Space Law Competitiveness Act of 2015. This law caught his interest in the context of the developing property rights in space related activities. He is currently pursuing his PhD in the area of the developing commercial rights in outer space activities with special reference to intellectual property rights. At the University, he teaches intellectual property laws, air and space laws, corporate laws among other disciplines of law. He is very passionate about the immense growth that is taking place in space laws and engages himself actively in the research efforts towards a more sustainable growth in space law and policy.

Joey graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in History and Foreign Affairs in 2019, and is currently studying at Florida State University College of Law. A space enthusiast since the age of 6, he always knew he wanted to do something in the field. Joey currently serves as the President of FSU Law’s Aviation and Space Law Society, and has experience clerking for firms specializing in Labor and Employment and Native American Law.

Yana Yakushina is a young lawyer, PhD candidate and dark-sky protection activist. She has obtained my LLB and LLM with Honours at Lomonosov Moscow State University with a special focus on environmental law and sustainable development. She participated in various national and international conferences related to this sphere, successfully presenting research papers on deficiencies of current legal regulations in the field of real estate and environment protection. Currently, she is working on doctoral dissertation at Ghent University. The topic of the research is light pollution as a fast-growing environmental problem.

Upon completion of studies, Yana has worked both in public authorities (the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation; the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, etc.) and in the private sector. Additionally, Yana has completed a number of internships in international legal companies such as Capital Legal Services, White & Case etc.,