WHO
WE ARE

Lauren Salim

Manager, Alliance Operations

lsalim@genocidewatch.org

Lauren has a BA in International Development Studies from Dalhousie University and a MA in Human Rights from the University of London. Her research interests include monitoring Uganda, rights to participation, digital rights and access to information. During her undergraduate degree, she spent some time in Uganda where she was inspired by the people and their stories of resiliency. Lauren is also the Leader, Special Projects and the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies where she helps to implement projects on a variety of topics at the intersection of human rights and technology.

Irene Soteriou

Deputy Manager, Alliance Operations

isoteriou@genocidewatch.org

Irene Soteriou is a Junior at the University of Connecticut working to support survivors of armed conflict and develop interorganizational networks and the international infrastructure to predict, prevent, stop, and punish genocide and other severe violations of human rights, particularly within the Middle East.  She serves as the founding director of the Student Coalition for Refugees, a national intercollegiate network of student groups committed to refugee and immigrant solidarity. She also connects remotely throughout the week with Middle Eastern refugees as an English tutor, works with lawyers in the Connecticut state capital to process asylum cases, and has interned at numerous organizations, including the U.S. Department of State. At the University of Connecticut, Irene founded and serves as the President of the UConn Human Rights Symposium, in addition to her position as the Speaker of the Undergraduate Student Senate. She also co-founded the University's Middle Eastern Cultural Programs, and serves on numerous committees and governing bodies, including the  Vice President for Student Affairs Student Leadership Council, the President’s Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility, the University Senate, and the Dean of Students Advisory Board. Most recently, Irene was named a Newman Civic Fellow, a United Nations Millennium Fellow, and a BOLD Scholar. She was also awarded the President’s Commitment to Community Initiative Award, and was inducted into the University of Connecticut's Leadership Legacy Cohort of 2021. Irene’s research interests lie at the intersection of cognitive science and armed conflict, particularly with respect to the application of cognitive research as a means of informing policy with the capacity to effectively prevent and end armed conflict and subsequent displacement.

Kylie Henry

Alliance Coordinator

khenry@genocidewatch.org

Kylie Henry is a senior at the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, where she is pursuing a B.A. in International Affairs and minors in Economics and German Language & Literature. Her studies focus on legal accountability for atrocity crimes as a mechanism of transitional justice. Previously, Kylie worked as the Outreach and Partnership Building Intern at Darfur Women Action Group, a member organization of the Alliance Against Genocide. There, she focused on outreach campaigns to raise awareness about the Darfur genocide and organized a virtual conference on the importance of accountability in genocide prevention. In addition, Kylie recently published a law review note, Impossible to Determine: Inferring Dolus Specialis at the Ad Hoc Tribunals in The George Washington University Undergraduate Law Review. The piece examines how international courts, past and present, determine specific intent in genocide prosecutions and advocates for a more comprehensive understanding of genocidal intent by the International Criminal Court. As an Alliance intern at Genocide Watch, Kylie will be establishing and supporting partnerships with member organizations that are dedicated to creating a world without genocide. She will also be monitoring Bulgaria, Zimbabwe, Sudan, and South Sudan. After completing her undergraduate degree, Kylie hopes to pursue a law degree with a specialization in international criminal law in order to advocate for victims of genocide in court.

Twyla Frid

Alliance Coordinator

tfrid@genocidewatch.org

Twyla Frid is a high school student from Bowen Island, a small island off the coast of Vancouver, BC, Canada. She spent her early years in a rural community of the Yukon, with caribou, boreal forest, and a river out her door. She will be graduating from high school in the spring of 2022. For university, she plans to major in International Relations (with a focus on Global Public Health) and to minor in math.  

As a descendent of Jews who left Eastern Europe barely ahead of the Holocaust, she has a deep interest in genocide prevention. That interest has recently expanded to include public health. Her interest in these topics was catalyzed by her love of reading and constant appetite for knowledge. She hopes to do her part to, in the words of Paul Farmer, “repair the world”. 

Natalie Westrick

Alliance Coordinator

nwestrick@genocidewatch.org

Natalie is a senior at Brandeis University, double majoring in International and Global Studies, and History, with a minor in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. Her studies focus on war and conflict resolution, especially through history. Natalie plans to write an honors thesis next year chronicling the experiences of a small Eastern European town prior to, during, and after the Holocaust. Natalie is a firm believer in the importance of genocide education and looks forward to both learning and teaching others in an effort to prevent future atrocities. After finishing her undergraduate degree, she hopes to earn a doctoral degree focusing on conflict deterrence and resolution, in an effort to prevent conflict before it starts, inspired by Genocide Watch’s emphasis on prevention. As an alliance intern at Genocide Watch, Natalie looks forward to working with member organizations of the Alliance Against Genocide to prevent genocide.

Margaux Dandrifosse

Alliance Coordinator

mdandrifosse@genocidewatch.org

Margaux Dandrifosse is 22 years old and from Belgium, so her native language is French. After graduating from high school in 2016, she spent six months in Vancouver, Canada to learn English in an international school. In the second part of the year, she went to Bali for two months to volunteer as an English teacher in a primary school. In 2017, she started her 3-years Bachelor's Degree in European Studies at Maastricht University, in the Netherlands. Margaux wrote her final thesis on the Guatemalan Truth Commission and its influence on human rights practices in the country. Working on this thesis has deepened her understanding of the Guatemalan Genocide and the politics surrounding genocide. Finally, after graduating with her Bachelor's in June 2020, Margaux started a Master's in International Security at the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals in Barcelona, Spain. During the Master, she has focused on the study of genocide, ethnic conflicts, and state-sponsored mass killing during civil wars. She will finish the Master in September 2021 and continue for a second year in the same institute in a Research Master in International Studies. She is currently writing her final thesis on the relation between the location of natural resources and the likelihood of state massacres during civil wars in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the future, Margaux would like to conduct a Ph.D. on the study of genocide or mass-killing during civil wars.

Krista Jones

Alliance Coordinator

kjones@genocidewatch.org

Krista Jones is a junior studying in the Honors College at Southern Connecticut State University with a focus in Political Science and English. On campus as the new Vice President for the Board of Academic Experience in the Student Government Association and the managing editor for the undergraduate research journal focusing on social justice, Krista strongly believes in the power of using one’s voice. After taking an honors seminar on the artistic responses to genocide that explored the international community’s failure to prevent the genocides of the twentieth century and the subsequent effect it had on the survivors of genocide, Krista became determined to learn more about the far-reaching effects of genocide and contribute to restitution, justice, and the prevention of further harm. Starting last semester, Krista began research on social media’s effect on personal judgment and metacognition, which she hopes to expand in the future to explore its effect on groupthink and the early stages of genocide. Following her graduation in 2023, she wishes to pursue further education in global affairs and international law to cultivate her voice for the service of others. Krista works on the Alliance and Advocacy teams at Genocide Watch, communicating with alliance organizations as a means to further the genocide prevention cause. She will be monitoring China, Togo, Romania, Australia, and Afghanistan. She hopes learn more about and grow in this field at Genocide Watch and contribute to the acquisition of justice and the restoration of the best of humanity.