IPI STAFF

In her current role as the Europe Advocacy Officer, Beatrice Chioccioli brings expertise in both human rights and communications. She holds a Master’s Degree in European Studies from the University of Paris III – Sorbonne Nouvelle and another in Development and Humanitarian Aid from the University of Paris I – Sorbonne Panthéon. Beatrice’s professional journey includes managerial positions in European non-profits, as well as experience in the field of journalism. Prior to joining IPI, she served as a Research Editor at Dow Jones.

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.

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.

Javier Luque oversees IPI’s digital media output and spearheads its efforts to combat online attacks and disinformation campaigns targeting journalists. His work includes analysis, training, and research into such attacks, as well as investigative projects. His research has been cited by news outlets such as The Guardian, The British Journalism Review, and Bloomberg News. In 2018, he directed A Dark Place, his third documentary film. Additionally, he has consulted for the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media on the Safety of Female Journalists Online initiative. Before joining IPI, Javier worked as a broadcast and multimedia journalist for both local and international news organizations.

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.

In her current role as Europe Network & Advocacy Officer, Teona Sekhniashvili coordinates IPI’s network project in Central and Eastern Europe as well as IPI’s advocacy efforts in the region. Before joining IPI in 2022, Teona held various positions in media and civil society organizations, including The Fix Media, the Media Institute in Tbilisi, and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung South Caucasus Office. She holds a master’s degree in political science from Central European University, with a focus on human rights, constitutionalism, and political theory.

Dr Marystella Simiyu is a lawyer and an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya. She previously worked as a project officer at the Expression, Information and Digital Rights Unit of the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. In this role, she provided her expertise to projects on digital rights, elections and information ecosystems. She further offered technical assistance to the special mechanisms of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on issues of freedom of expression, access to information and digital rights. Marystella holds a Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree from the University of Pretoria and a Master of Laws (LLM) in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa from the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria.