About the Team
(Ordered Alphabetically)
David Abrahamson
Masters of International Affairs, Columbia University, SIPA, 2013
BA, Colorado College
From 2009 to 2011, David worked as Project Manager for Intertek in Shenzhen where he developed services and delivered trainings on labor ethics and environmental sustainability to Chinese suppliers and international brands. Prior to Intertek, David worked at Business for Social Responsibility where he assisted with corporate ethics advisory work on Exxon Mobile's natural gas work in Papua New Guinea. David has also served as the Guangdong Program Manager for Concordia Welfare and Education Foundation (CWEF), the Communications and Philanthropy Associate for the Nature Conservancy China Program in Yunnan and has worked with other NGOs including Habitat for Humanity International, WWF China and Daytop Drug Abuse. and Rehabilitation Center.
Elizabeth Herb
Masters of Public Administration in Development Practice, Columbia University, SIPA, 2013
BA International Studies in International Development, University of Washington
Elizabeth has over six years of private and public sector experience engaging stakeholders on four continents. She is passionate about oil and natural gas industry non-technical risk, sustainability, social performance, and energy policy. While at SIPA, Elizabeth conducted applied research in Liberia, Uganda, Georgia, and Mozambique on the intersection between FDI mega-projects and community impact. She is trained in designing business solutions and integrated sustainable development to enhance social license to operate, with a focus in the energy industry.
Justin Jee-Zen Lin
Masters of International Affairs, Columbia University, SIPA, 2013
BA Anthropology, University of California in San Diego
In 2012, Justin served as the Cross-Cutting Issues Intern at the Secretariat of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) of East Africa. He focused on the development of policy frameworks and indicators for transnational issues. Prior to SIPA Justin spent 6 years as the V.P of Marketing for LZI, a Biotechnology Diagnostics Leader, and oversaw its transition to positive earnings. Justin was an Assistant Researcher for UCSD’s Dept. of Anthropology, working with Geographic Imaging Systems and data modeling on Brazilian civil transformations of land ownership rights.
Leena Khan, Esq.
Masters of Public Administration in Development Practice, Columbia University, SIPA, May 2013
JD, University of San Diego
Leena has practiced as an attorney in Washington, DC and New York City in the areas of corporate, immigration and political asylum law. She previously worked in Pakistan and Cambodia on a range of human rights issues, including securing land rights for marginalized communities and analyzing the gender impacts of discriminatory legislation. As a fellow with the Institute of Current World Affairs in Pakistan, Leena monitored and documented a range of human rights violations carried out against women and religious minority groups. She has also worked extensively with rural communities in Northwestern Cambodia, and conducted trainings which focused on educating indigenous women on their land and property rights. Her interests lie in the intersection of law, gender, human rights and equitable development policies.
Alexander LaBua
Masters of International Affairs, Columbia University, SIPA, 2013
BA, George Washington University, Cum Laude
Alex will be graduating from SIPA with a degree in Sustainable Energy Policy. From 2009-2011, he worked in an operations management position for a start-up energy company in California that provided independent power generation across the state. Through his professional and academic experience, Alex has gained a comprehensive understanding of the energy industry and its impact on the environment. He hopes to pursue a career in the clean energy sector.
James Meisenheimer
Masters of Public Administration, Columbia University, SIPA, 2013
BA History, Providence College
This past summer James interned with UNDP and the United Nations Mission in Liberia where he researched governance structures in Liberia’s commercial timber sector and provided recommendations to improve transparency and regulatory frameworks. Prior to attending SIPA, James worked with the Burmese NGOs Arakan Oil Watch and Shwe Gas Movement in Chiang Mai, Thailand. In his work with Arakan and Shwe, James focused on investigating CSR policies of companies investing in Myanmar’s oil and gas resources, global transparency norms, and local human rights abuses that occurred alongside project development in Myanmar.
Maree Newson, Esq.
LL.M., Columbia Law School, 2013
LL.B., Victoria University, Wellington, Hons, First Class
Maree is a Research Associate with Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment and Managing Editor of the Columbia FDI Profiles. Prior to Columbia Law School, she was a lawyer advising clients on a wide range of commercial issues, including trade and investment, financial services, and corporate governance. Maree advised clients on compliance with biosecurity, environmental, and climate change regulation. A highlight of her professional work was advising the Solomon Islands government and the Pacific Islands Forum on development projects, including sustainable fisheries investment and state-owned enterprise reform. Maree has facilitated workshops and presented seminars with practitioners, government officials, and senior law officers from Pacific Island countries.
Carolina Ocampo-Maya
Masters of Public Administration in Development Practice, Columbia University, SIPA, 2013
Global MBA, Tulane University & Icesi University in Colombia
BA Psychology/Philosophy, U. of Massachusetts Boston, Cum Laude
Prior to SIPA Carolina worked for over five years leading CSR and sustainability at Grupo Manuelita, an agroindustrial corporation producing food commodities and renewable energy in Latin America. Her experience includes stakeholder engagement, strategic planning, organizational change, social and environmental reporting, corporate communications, and liaison with all sectors at all levels. During her time at Columbia University she specialized in extractive industries. Carolina joined the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment as a Research Associate focusing on extractive industries and sustainable development. She also worked in Chile with Teck Resources Limited at its Carmen de Andacollo Copper Mine, identifying sustainable development opportunities for the operation.
Paloma Ruiz Gonzalez
Masters of Public Administration in Development Practice, Columbia University, SIPA, 2013
MSc Civil Engineer, Universidad de Politecnica de Madrid, Spain
Paloma is a MSc Civil Engineer with professional experience in the private sector and nonprofits. Between 2011 and 2013 she pursued a masters degree at SIPA, Columbia University, focusing on development while gaining a deep insight into the field of international affairs. As an engineer, she has worked in international infrastructure projects, project finance and public private partnerships in Asia, Middle East, Africa, America and Europe. In the field of development she enjoyed a first experience when volunteering in Guinea Bissau in 2009. In 2012 she worked in Kisumu, Kenya, on a health infrastructure project and, more recently, she was selected to work as a consultant in the field of extractive industries, researching on the opportunities for development in Paraguay and in Mozambique. In both cases she focused her analysis on macroeconomics, competitiveness, and infrastructure-related challenges
Bettina Strickler
Masters of International Affairs, Columbia University, SIPA, 2013
MBA and Art History, University of Zurich, Cum Laude
In 2012, Bettina served as a Research Fellow for Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment, Uganda. She advised the Government of Uganda on economic and legal impacts of petroleum production, attended parliamentary meetings with the Natural Resource Committee, conducted interviews to evaluate transparency frameworks, and commented on enabling legislation for Public Finance Bill 2012. Prior to SIPA Bettina worked as an assistant director in an art gallery in Zurich.
Wei Wei
Masters of Public Administration, Columbia University, SIPA, 2013
B.A. Economics, Capital U. of Economics & Business, China
WEI WEI actively served with Greenpeace China and focused on Climate Change Mitigation and Climate change advocacy. During this time he served as a Participant of the UN Climate Change Conference Represent of China Youth Group. He did his internship in China’s impact investing last summer. His primary focus was environment impact investing. He visited several energy enterprises in North China and drafted several business plans for potential investment opportunities.
Jenik Radon, Esq. (Advisor)
JD, Stanford University Law School
MCP, University of California, Berkeley
BA, Economics, Columbia University
Jenik Radon is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs and Monterrey Tech, Queretaro, Mexico and a practicing international lawyer. From 2000 to 2002 and 2011, Radon was a lecturer at Stanford University. In 2012 Radon was a Fulbright Expert in Uganda. Radon advises public authorities and civil society in number emerging nations around the world, including Cambodia, Ecuador, Nepal, Philippines and Uganda, particularly in respect of the negotiation of extractive industry agreements, especially oil and gas, and sustainable natural resource development, as well as Afghanistan in respect of the prospective multi-nation multi-billion dollar TAPI gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan to Pakistan to India. Radon was Georgia's key foreign advisor and negotiator of the multi-billion dollar oil and gas pipelines from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkey (the BTC). In 2000, he was awarded Georgia's highest civilian award, the Order of Honor.
David Abrahamson
Masters of International Affairs, Columbia University, SIPA, 2013
BA, Colorado College
From 2009 to 2011, David worked as Project Manager for Intertek in Shenzhen where he developed services and delivered trainings on labor ethics and environmental sustainability to Chinese suppliers and international brands. Prior to Intertek, David worked at Business for Social Responsibility where he assisted with corporate ethics advisory work on Exxon Mobile's natural gas work in Papua New Guinea. David has also served as the Guangdong Program Manager for Concordia Welfare and Education Foundation (CWEF), the Communications and Philanthropy Associate for the Nature Conservancy China Program in Yunnan and has worked with other NGOs including Habitat for Humanity International, WWF China and Daytop Drug Abuse. and Rehabilitation Center.
Elizabeth Herb
Masters of Public Administration in Development Practice, Columbia University, SIPA, 2013
BA International Studies in International Development, University of Washington
Elizabeth has over six years of private and public sector experience engaging stakeholders on four continents. She is passionate about oil and natural gas industry non-technical risk, sustainability, social performance, and energy policy. While at SIPA, Elizabeth conducted applied research in Liberia, Uganda, Georgia, and Mozambique on the intersection between FDI mega-projects and community impact. She is trained in designing business solutions and integrated sustainable development to enhance social license to operate, with a focus in the energy industry.
Justin Jee-Zen Lin
Masters of International Affairs, Columbia University, SIPA, 2013
BA Anthropology, University of California in San Diego
In 2012, Justin served as the Cross-Cutting Issues Intern at the Secretariat of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) of East Africa. He focused on the development of policy frameworks and indicators for transnational issues. Prior to SIPA Justin spent 6 years as the V.P of Marketing for LZI, a Biotechnology Diagnostics Leader, and oversaw its transition to positive earnings. Justin was an Assistant Researcher for UCSD’s Dept. of Anthropology, working with Geographic Imaging Systems and data modeling on Brazilian civil transformations of land ownership rights.
Leena Khan, Esq.
Masters of Public Administration in Development Practice, Columbia University, SIPA, May 2013
JD, University of San Diego
Leena has practiced as an attorney in Washington, DC and New York City in the areas of corporate, immigration and political asylum law. She previously worked in Pakistan and Cambodia on a range of human rights issues, including securing land rights for marginalized communities and analyzing the gender impacts of discriminatory legislation. As a fellow with the Institute of Current World Affairs in Pakistan, Leena monitored and documented a range of human rights violations carried out against women and religious minority groups. She has also worked extensively with rural communities in Northwestern Cambodia, and conducted trainings which focused on educating indigenous women on their land and property rights. Her interests lie in the intersection of law, gender, human rights and equitable development policies.
Alexander LaBua
Masters of International Affairs, Columbia University, SIPA, 2013
BA, George Washington University, Cum Laude
Alex will be graduating from SIPA with a degree in Sustainable Energy Policy. From 2009-2011, he worked in an operations management position for a start-up energy company in California that provided independent power generation across the state. Through his professional and academic experience, Alex has gained a comprehensive understanding of the energy industry and its impact on the environment. He hopes to pursue a career in the clean energy sector.
James Meisenheimer
Masters of Public Administration, Columbia University, SIPA, 2013
BA History, Providence College
This past summer James interned with UNDP and the United Nations Mission in Liberia where he researched governance structures in Liberia’s commercial timber sector and provided recommendations to improve transparency and regulatory frameworks. Prior to attending SIPA, James worked with the Burmese NGOs Arakan Oil Watch and Shwe Gas Movement in Chiang Mai, Thailand. In his work with Arakan and Shwe, James focused on investigating CSR policies of companies investing in Myanmar’s oil and gas resources, global transparency norms, and local human rights abuses that occurred alongside project development in Myanmar.
Maree Newson, Esq.
LL.M., Columbia Law School, 2013
LL.B., Victoria University, Wellington, Hons, First Class
Maree is a Research Associate with Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment and Managing Editor of the Columbia FDI Profiles. Prior to Columbia Law School, she was a lawyer advising clients on a wide range of commercial issues, including trade and investment, financial services, and corporate governance. Maree advised clients on compliance with biosecurity, environmental, and climate change regulation. A highlight of her professional work was advising the Solomon Islands government and the Pacific Islands Forum on development projects, including sustainable fisheries investment and state-owned enterprise reform. Maree has facilitated workshops and presented seminars with practitioners, government officials, and senior law officers from Pacific Island countries.
Carolina Ocampo-Maya
Masters of Public Administration in Development Practice, Columbia University, SIPA, 2013
Global MBA, Tulane University & Icesi University in Colombia
BA Psychology/Philosophy, U. of Massachusetts Boston, Cum Laude
Prior to SIPA Carolina worked for over five years leading CSR and sustainability at Grupo Manuelita, an agroindustrial corporation producing food commodities and renewable energy in Latin America. Her experience includes stakeholder engagement, strategic planning, organizational change, social and environmental reporting, corporate communications, and liaison with all sectors at all levels. During her time at Columbia University she specialized in extractive industries. Carolina joined the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment as a Research Associate focusing on extractive industries and sustainable development. She also worked in Chile with Teck Resources Limited at its Carmen de Andacollo Copper Mine, identifying sustainable development opportunities for the operation.
Paloma Ruiz Gonzalez
Masters of Public Administration in Development Practice, Columbia University, SIPA, 2013
MSc Civil Engineer, Universidad de Politecnica de Madrid, Spain
Paloma is a MSc Civil Engineer with professional experience in the private sector and nonprofits. Between 2011 and 2013 she pursued a masters degree at SIPA, Columbia University, focusing on development while gaining a deep insight into the field of international affairs. As an engineer, she has worked in international infrastructure projects, project finance and public private partnerships in Asia, Middle East, Africa, America and Europe. In the field of development she enjoyed a first experience when volunteering in Guinea Bissau in 2009. In 2012 she worked in Kisumu, Kenya, on a health infrastructure project and, more recently, she was selected to work as a consultant in the field of extractive industries, researching on the opportunities for development in Paraguay and in Mozambique. In both cases she focused her analysis on macroeconomics, competitiveness, and infrastructure-related challenges
Bettina Strickler
Masters of International Affairs, Columbia University, SIPA, 2013
MBA and Art History, University of Zurich, Cum Laude
In 2012, Bettina served as a Research Fellow for Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment, Uganda. She advised the Government of Uganda on economic and legal impacts of petroleum production, attended parliamentary meetings with the Natural Resource Committee, conducted interviews to evaluate transparency frameworks, and commented on enabling legislation for Public Finance Bill 2012. Prior to SIPA Bettina worked as an assistant director in an art gallery in Zurich.
Wei Wei
Masters of Public Administration, Columbia University, SIPA, 2013
B.A. Economics, Capital U. of Economics & Business, China
WEI WEI actively served with Greenpeace China and focused on Climate Change Mitigation and Climate change advocacy. During this time he served as a Participant of the UN Climate Change Conference Represent of China Youth Group. He did his internship in China’s impact investing last summer. His primary focus was environment impact investing. He visited several energy enterprises in North China and drafted several business plans for potential investment opportunities.
Jenik Radon, Esq. (Advisor)
JD, Stanford University Law School
MCP, University of California, Berkeley
BA, Economics, Columbia University
Jenik Radon is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs and Monterrey Tech, Queretaro, Mexico and a practicing international lawyer. From 2000 to 2002 and 2011, Radon was a lecturer at Stanford University. In 2012 Radon was a Fulbright Expert in Uganda. Radon advises public authorities and civil society in number emerging nations around the world, including Cambodia, Ecuador, Nepal, Philippines and Uganda, particularly in respect of the negotiation of extractive industry agreements, especially oil and gas, and sustainable natural resource development, as well as Afghanistan in respect of the prospective multi-nation multi-billion dollar TAPI gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan to Pakistan to India. Radon was Georgia's key foreign advisor and negotiator of the multi-billion dollar oil and gas pipelines from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkey (the BTC). In 2000, he was awarded Georgia's highest civilian award, the Order of Honor.
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