Peace Fellows

The Peace Fellow position is offered to a few select lawyers and conflict resolution specialists each year in recognition of their continued outstanding achievement and work for the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG). Peace Fellows are generally young professionals who have successfully completed or are almost finished with a rigorous international law program in graduate school. These highly motivated and talented lawyers and conflict resolution specialists take great responsibility for the projects to which they are assigned, often leading and managing a team working on those projects. Peace Fellows are given a great deal of independence to run the teams and to produce a quality work product for PILPG. Biographies of the current Peace Fellows follow.

Catherine Croft is an attorney specializing in public international law, peace negotiations, post-conflict constitutions, and human rights.  She was also recently featured in The Case for Kosova: Passage to Independence, a compilation of work from prominent experts in Kosovo's final status process.  As an attorney with the Public International Law & Policy Group, Ms. Croft led a team supporting the delegation to final status negotiations in Kosovo.  Ms. Croft's legal experience also includes work with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica, the Center for Justice and International law, and the United States Department of Justice.  Ms. Croft received her J.D. from American University's Washington College of Law and her M.A. in International Affairs from American University's School of International Service.

Elisabeth Dallas directs the Public International Law & Policy Group's Sri Lanka program.  Ms. Dallas served as a political and legal advisor to the Montenegrin president and senior delegation during peace negotiations with the Republic of Serbia over the development of the treaty for the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro.  Having worked with PILPG on several international negotiations, she designs initiatives to begin the process of post-conflict reconstruction, democratization, and capacity building.  Prior to serving as PILPG's Sri Lanka Program Director, Ms. Dallas was with the Henry L. Stimson Center in Washington, DC where she focused her work on the restoration of the rule of law in post-conflict settings. Ms. Dallas earned an M.A. in Public International Law and International Negotiation from Tufts University Fletcher School.

Elizabeth Hahn received a J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law and an M.A. in International Affairs from American University’s School of International Service.  Since joining the Public International Law & Policy Group, Ms. Hahn has focused on post-conflict constitutional drafting and political development, and recently created a handbook for drafters of post-conflict constitutions.  She has also worked on projects involving ceasefire and peace agreement negotiations and international water rights.  Before joining PILPG, Ms. Hahn served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala where she worked with women's microfinance groups.

Vanessa J. Jiménez directs the Public International Law & Policy Group’s Sudan program providing legal and policy advice to the Government of Southern Sudan and serving as legal counsel to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in the Abyei Arbitration at the Hague. During 2005 and 2007 Ms. Jiménez also traveled several times to Baghdad to advise the Iraqi government on the drafting, amending and implementing of its constitution. Ms. Jiménez currently represents a number of petitioners with land rights cases filed before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights as well as the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. She formerly worked for the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP. Ms. Jiménez specializes in the drafting and implementing of peace agreements and post-conflict constitutions, indigenous and minority rights, the operations of international organizations, international complaint mechanisms, the negotiations of international human rights instruments, and issues related to self-determination, wealth sharing, and the devolution of power. Ms. Jiménez graduated summa cum laude from from American University’s Washington College of Law.

Sapna Lalmalani is an attorney specializing in public international law, peace negotiations, post-conflict constitutions, and human rights.  She currently works in the Public International Law & Policy Group's Field Office in Colombo, Sri Lanka.  As Senior Research Associate with PILPG, Ms. Lalmalani led a team researching and drafting legal memoranda in support of the Sri Lanka peace process in Washington prior to arriving in Colombo.  In addition to her involvement with PILPG's efforts in Sri Lanka, Ms. Lalmalani spent over a year working closely with the mediators of the Philippine-Mindanao conflict, focusing on the issues of devolution and autonomy.  She has also has worked on projects regarding the plight of the San Bushmen in Botswana and the constitutions in both Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bahrain.

Tamer Nagy Mahmoud is currently an associate at the Washington office of an international law firm.  His work for the Public International Law & Policy Group includes proposals for democracy and elections in Darfur, proposals for Malaysia’s political structures of power-sharing, and research on Arab constitutions as potential models for Iraq. Before joining PILPG, Mr. Mahmoud was a Junior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace where he conducted research on promoting democracy and rule of law in the Middle East.  Mr. Mahmoud received his J.D. from American University's Washington College of Law and his M.A. in International Affairs from American University's School of International Service.

Jennifer Ober is currently a democratization officer with the OSCE Mission in Pristina, Kosovo.  Since joining the Public International Law & Policy Group, she has worked in international law, human rights, and women's rights with a focus on the Balkans.  She is a contributing author to  The Case for Kosova: Passage to Independence, a compilation of work from prominent experts on Kosovo's final status process. Ms. Ober received a J.D., cum laude, from American University's Washington College of Law.  

Bridget M. Rutherford has worked for PILPG for five years, currently as Peace Fellow and previously as an Advisory Council member and Research Associate, an Advisory Council member. Most recently, she has served on PILPG’s co-counsel team representing the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in international arbitration proceedings with the Government of Sudan. During her time at PILPG, Ms. Rutherford has provided pro bono assistance to the San Bushmen in Botswana in their efforts to return to their native lands and has advised several clients on post-conflict constitutional reform and drafting. Previously, Ms. Rutherford was an associate in the New York office of the international law firm Shearman and Sterling LLP. Ms. Rutherford has also worked at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, Austria, and the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training, and has provided pro bono assistance to Lawyers without Borders and the United Nations Global Compact. Ms. Rutherford holds a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law, and a B.A. in International Relations from Tufts University.

Meghan Stewart holds a J.D. from American University's Washington College of Law and a B.A. in Political Science and Anthropology from Brown University. In her work with the Public International Law & Policy Group, Ms. Stewart has provided legal assistance to over half a dozen states on peace negotiations and post conflict constitutions. Most recently she served as legal advisor and primary drafter to constitutional reform negotiations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.   Previously Ms. Stewart worked with the American Bar Association’s Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and the international humanitarian organization CARE in its Office of Public Policy and Government Relations.