Advisory Board
Antonia Bertschinger (PhD in philosophy from the University of Basel, Switzerland): former Human Rights Advisor for the Embassy of Switzerland in Iran, currently Head of Membership & Activism at the Swiss section of Amnesty International. Antonia published a book about Iran in which she seeks to explain Iran’s history and culture to a general public. She has written on Iran and human rights for several Swiss newspapers.
Kamran Hashemi: Director of Risk Management at State Street Bank, with a long history of involvement in charitable organizations related to Iran and the Iranian community. Kamran was founding member and member of the Management Board of Iranian Community Centre (ICC) established in 1983 to provide legal advisory service to the growing population of asylum seekers in London, worked with charities devoted to education and technology in Iranian schools, and is a founding member of United4Iran-London.
Steven Loyst: Specialist in leading international humanitarian responses and organizational transition in conflict, post-conflict and development contexts. Steven Loyst is currently Head of Operations for North Africa with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies based in Tunis, Tunisia and serves as a Guest Lecturer at the American University in Kosovo.
Building on a background in civil-military cooperation, Steven has provided consultancy services to non-governmental organisations, donors and directed the country offices and interventions of the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Kosovo, Pakistan, Indonesia, Madagascar, Niger, Haiti, Russia, Guinea, Serbia and Rwanda. He lived in Iran for three years, from 2004 to 2007, where work with United Nations and interaction among private citizens, civil society activists, journalists, government and diplomatic representatives reaffirmed a profound interest in the country that continues to the present day.
Maryam Pasha: Network and Innovation Manager at the Migrants’ Rights Network. Maryam engages in training and advocacy with overworked, understaffed NGOs, helping them make their voices heard more effectively. She is a founder of Young Professionals in Human Rights and a member of United4Iran-London.
Maryam is also the coordinator of the TedX East End conference: Society without Borders.
