IPI STAFF

Edzodzi Ahiadou is in charge of the collection of information and research on press freedom violations across Africa and supporting the implementation of Africa Project activities and advocacy. Before joining IPI, in 2022, he was a Program Associate at Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA). He holds a Master’s degree in Anthropology from Université de Lomé- Togo, and certificates in International Relations, Global Politics, human rights and project management.

Renan Akyavaş covers violations of journalists’ rights for IPI’s website and social media channels, with a particular focus on Turkey and IPI’s #FreeTurkeyJournalists campaign. She holds a master’s degree in international relations from Central European University (CEU) and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Boğaziçi University, Istanbul. Previously she worked as editor-in-chief of CEU’s Human Rights Journal and as a research assistant at Boğaziçi University while earning her bachelor’s degree.

Igor Çelov works as part of the IPI’s #FreeTurkeyJournalists campaign focusing on monitoring press freedom violations, advocating for media freedom, and supporting quality independent journalism in Turkey. Before joining IPI, he worked in civil society and independent media support in Turkey. Igor holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science and public administration from Middle East Technical University, Ankara. His academic interest revolves around populism and democracy in Russia, Turkey, and Europe.

Scott Griffen joined IPI in 2012 as press freedom adviser focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean and later as director of press freedom programmes. He is the author of numerous IPI reports on diverse topics related to press freedom and independent journalism and has led or participated in dozens of IPI press freedom missions around the world. He comments regularly on issues related to press freedom and media pluralism in international media. He holds degrees from Yale University, King’s College London, and Johannes Kepler University Linz.

Christiane is in charge of IPI’s day-to-day financial management and works closely with the Head of Finances to prepare reports for IPI’s Board and donors and ensure accuracy, transparency, and accountability in financial management. She also attends to other administrative tasks and works across all teams in a supporting role. Christiane has been working with IPI since 1993 with a primary focus on communicating with IPI’s members, as well as providing support and planning advice on congresses, conferences and other IPI activities. Christiane grew up in Mexico City and attended the German school there. She also studied at York University in Toronto and at the University of Vienna.

Ronja Koskinen works as part of the press freedom team focusing on researching, monitoring and covering violations around the world, particularly in Europe. She first joined IPI in 2021 as a Helsingin Sanomat fellow. Ronja has previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Kainuun Sanomat, as a press photographer for Etelä-Suomen Sanomat and as a communications intern for European Youth Parliament Finland. She holds a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from Tampere University.

Martin Leonhartsberger is a certified public accountant and has over 15 years experience in finance and administration working for companies such as GEWISTA WerbegesmbH, PROGRESS Werbe, VerlagsgmbH, Altstoff Recycling Austria AG, Manpower GmbH and more recently Philips Austria GmbH.

Martin ensures the smooth operation of all of IPI’s financial and administrative needs.

Grace Linczer works as part of the IPI Membership Team to coordinate the onboarding of new IPI members and to enhance their overall member experience. She holds a master’s degree in public administration from Central European University and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and international peace studies from the University of Notre Dame. Prior to her time at CEU, Grace worked as Membership Engagement Manager at PEN America where she developed the PEN Across America program, engaging communities across the U.S. in advocacy efforts to defend press freedom and civil discourse.

Javier Luque coordinates advocacy and communication on IPI’s digital platforms. He has worked on online hate against journalists and media organisations since 2014. His research on this topic has been quoted by media worldwide such as The Guardian, The British Journalism Review and Bloomberg News among others. In 2018 he directed A Dark Place, his third film documentary, which premiered at Vienna’s This Human World film festival. He has also worked as a consultant for the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media for their project on Safety of Female Journalists Online. Prior to joining IPI, Javier worked as a broadcast and multimedia journalist for local and international news organisations in the US and Spain.

Maroević brings to this position over 30 years in journalism, media development and press freedom. He developed his passion for journalism and learned the skills, professional standards and values of this profession at the BBC World Service in London. In post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina he worked on the reform of public broadcasting, media regulation and managed donor support for independent media. As the director of the office of the OSCE media freedom representative, he managed responses to numerous cases of media freedom violations in 57 countries that are part of this intergovernmental organization. Just before joining IPI, his work at the Internet and Jurisdiction Policy Network and the Freedom Online Coalition Advisory Network focused on threats to online freedom of expression.

Oliver Money-Kyrle is a media development expert and press freedom activist with over twenty years’ experience defending the rights of journalists in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Turkey. He joined IPI in September 2019 to head up the #FreeTurkeyJournalists campaign. Prior to that he was the Director of Projects with the International Federation of Journalists managing their global programmes and campaigns on journalists’ rights. He holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Bristol and a Graduate Certificate in Project Management from Boston University Brussels.

Jacqui leads IPI’s work on global network strategy and innovation. She is a journalist and editor with deep experience building journalism communities around press freedom and high-integrity journalism, particularly in the Asia-Pacific. She is Senior Fellow for Media Innovation at the University of Technology, Sydney and writes a fortnightly newsletter, The Story, on media startups and innovation in Asia-Pacific. She was founding CEO of Australia’s Walkley Foundation for excellence in journalism, founding Asia-Pacific Director for the International Federation of Journalists and a JS Knight fellow at Stanford University, focusing on media innovation and strategic design.

Teona Sekhniashvili provides support and assistance to IPI’s innovation projects. Before joining IPI, Teona worked as an Editor at The Fix Media. At different times she also worked for Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung South Caucasus Office, Human Rights Center (HRC) in Tbilisi, and Transparency International Georgia. Teona holds a master’s degree in political science from Central European University and a bachelor’s degree in Governance and Social Sciences from the Free University of Tbilisi. Her interests include press freedom, media pluralism, news innovation, and media literacy.

Nompilo Simanje joined IPI in March 2023 as the Africa Advocacy and Partnerships Lead. Before joining IPI, she worked as the Legal and ICT Policy Officer for the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). Nompilo has experience in advocacy and capacity building centred on promoting media freedom and freedom of expression, access to information and the right to privacy both online and offline. She holds a Bachelors’ Degree in Law (LLBS) from the University of Zimbabwe and certificates in African human rights systems and Tech law and policy from the University of Pretoria and the University of Cape Town respectively.