The ISLP Team
Sara Lulo - Executive Director
Sara Lulo joined ISLP as Executive Director in October 2019. Her professional background includes 20 years of experience working directly with government ministries, non-governmental organizations, and private sector entities in Latin America, Africa, North America, and Central and East Asia. Sara’s commitment to ISLP’s pro bono model and mission is informed by her experience as both a pro bono lawyer volunteer and client.
Sara started her legal career as an arbitration associate in the New York and London offices of a prominent global law firm, where she worked on sovereign and private sector representations while maintaining an active international pro bono practice. She was recognized for her volunteer work with the firm’s Pro Bono Award. Later, in her capacity as a board member of non-profit organizations in the US and Africa, Sara experienced first-hand — from the client perspective — the transformative impact of pro bono support for civil society organizations.
Directly prior to joining ISLP, Sara served as an Assistant Dean of Yale Law School where she oversaw international law programs and was the founding Director of the Gruber Program for Global Justice and Women’s Rights. Her earlier experience includes serving as the inaugural Executive Director of Cornell Law School’s Avon Global Center for Women and Justice. She also spent a year on secondment to the Ministry of Justice in Tbilisi, Georgia, where she advised on investor-state disputes and law reform efforts.
Sara holds undergraduate, J.D., and LL.M. degrees from Cornell University, as well as a master’s degree in Latin American and Caribbean Studies from New York University. At Cornell Law School, Sara served as Article Editor of the Cornell Law Review. Sara also has served on the fiduciary boards and international advisory boards of several non-profit organizations based in the United States, Africa, MENA, and Latin America. She is fluent in Spanish and English.
Michelle Bellinger - Administrative Assistant
Michelle assists the Executive Director and the Communications and Operations Manager with day-to-day operations at ISLP. She brings over 10 years of experience in the non-profit sector having served in various roles at several organizations in New York City. Michelle is passionate about reproductive justice, prison reform, and access to affordable healthcare.
Katerina Drisi - Director of Programs
Upon joining ISLP, Katerina initially developed the organization’s arbitration and trade programs. As Director of Programs, Katerina oversees our portfolio of projects with government and civil society stakeholders in all programmatic areas. Prior to joining ISLP, Katerina worked as an attorney specializing in public procurement, government contracts, and concessions for large infrastructure projects in Greece and Eastern Europe. Katerina’s experience also includes internships at the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, as well as the European Commission Public Procurement Unit, DG Internal Market.
Katerina holds a Bachelor of Laws from the National University of Athens and Master’s Degrees (L.LMs) from the Sorbonne, Paris I and Fordham University Law School.
Melissa Eustace - Communications and Operations Director
Melissa implements ISLP’s external communications with diverse stakeholders around the globe, and also manages ISLP’s operations. She brings to ISLP an extensive background in research, writing, and program management in a variety of settings, including think tanks, NGOs, the federal government, and political campaigns. Melissa has presided over three not-for-profit advocacy organizations in Westchester County, NY, including the environmental organization EcoPel, of which she is a founder and board member. Melissa also sits on the boards of the Pelham Education Foundation and the New York League of Conservation Voters’ Westchester Chapter, and was previously a member of Pelham’s Climate Smart Communities Task Force.
Earlier in her career, Melissa worked in geopolitical risk assessment and infrastructure project evaluation, primarily in the energy and transportation sectors, in the Eurasia region for the US Trade and Development Agency. She also worked at CSIS, the Council of Advisors to the Parliament of Ukraine in Kyiv, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and a division of SAIC that focused on peacebuilding and developing gaming scenarios for US government agencies to test global security initiatives. While in that role, Melissa did research in the archives of the Office of Net Assessment in the Pentagon.
Melissa has an MA in Russian and East European Studies with a focus on transition economies from the George Washington University’s Elliott School for International Affairs, and a BA in Political Science from McGill University. She speaks French and basic Russian.
Matthew Gallot-Baker, New York Pro Bono Scholars Fellow
Matthew is a 3L at Boston University School of Law, where he specializes in international law and LGBTQ+ legal studies. At BU, Matthew is a participant in the NY Pro Bono Scholars Program, allowing him to gain early access to his legal career.Prior to attending BU Law, Matthew earned a Bachelor’s degree in Professional Writing and Rhetoric from the University of South Florida. During his time at USF, Matthew founded a non-profit organization that focuses on increasing the representation of minority students in legal studies. He continues to advise the organization, which is dedicated to helping students excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact their communities.
Vlada Gurvich, Law Fellow
Vlada is a recent Columbia Law School LLM program graduate. Currently, she is finalizing her first Ph.D. in international law at the University of Regensburg, Germany, and continuing her second Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Vlada brings to ISLP her experience in fundraising, as well as her extensive practical knowledge in business and human rights, particularly within global supply chain management.
During her Bachelor’s degree, Vlada specialized in regional studies, focusing on Asian and African countries with a major in Far East Asia. Vlada received her first law degree – a Master’s Degree in International Human Rights Law – at Kazan Federal University in Russia.
At the beginning of her legal career, Vlada worked as a junior corporate law associate at a law firm. She also worked at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, for the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, and at the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute. She is a co-founder of an NGO in Switzerland where she aims to implement the results of her first Ph.D. research in “The role of NGOs in the elimination of child labor in global supply chains in Asia ad the Pacific.”
Glory Kinyua
Glory joined ISLP in June 2022 as a Program Associate. She works with the Program Director for Sustainable Development and the Senior Legal Program Officer in developing and implementing ISLP’s capacity-building projects for ISLP partners in natural resources management, taxation, investment, trade and public health.
She has diverse experience in the public and private sectors, particularly in Intellectual Property Law, International Trade and Investments Law, Corporate Governance and Mediation. Prior to joining ISLP, Glory worked under the Ministry of Industrialization, Trade, and Enterprise Development with the Anti-Counterfeit Authority of Kenya in the legal and enforcement department. Before joining the public sector, Glory was practicing law full time as an Associate at a prominent law firm where she was working on commercial, real estate and company secretarial projects.
Glory holds a Post-graduate Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Nairobi, a Certificate in IP, and a Certificate in Arbitration and Mediation from WIPO. She is a Certified Public Secretary (CPS-K) from The Kenya Accountants and Secretaries National Examinations Board, and a Professional Mediator from the Mediation Training Institute-East Africa. Glory is currently pursuing LL.M. in International Trade and Investments Law from the University of Nairobi.
She is a member of the Law Society of Kenya, Association of Young Mediators East Africa, Women on Boards Network-Kenya, Institute of Certified Secretaries-Kenya, Mediation Training Institute –East Africa, and Mediation Accreditation Committee –Judiciary Kenya.
Bridget Kamanga-Mafusire - Regional Legal Advisor, Africa
Bridget is ISLP Regional Legal Advisor based in Zimbabwe, where she works on Community Inclusive Development, Media Law, and Impact Investing projects. Prior to joining ISLP in 2018, Bridget was practicing law full time as an Associate at Manokore Attorneys where she was working on public private partnerships and real estate projects. Before joining private practice, Bridget was a legal officer in the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Zimbabwe, she served on the board of Zimbabwe’s national trade promotion agency.
Bridget holds a Postgraduate Diploma In Trade Policy from Lund University and a law degree from University of Fort Hare in South Africa.
Gordon Myers - Senior Advisor and Fellow
Gordon Myers leads ISLP’s Responsible Technology Initiative. He has more than 35 years of experience in corporate and technology representation, including over 27 years with International Finance Corporation. Among other things, Gordon led IFC’s venture, private equity funds, cybersecurity, intellectual property, and data practices, and was instrumental in developing its globally recognized funds investment and cybersecurity frameworks. He also represented IFC in connection with the development of IFC’s Performance Standards and the Operating Principles for Impact Management.
Gordon is a respected thought leader on funds structuring and governance, and technology stewardship issues. He has served on the Legal and Regulatory Council of GPCA (formerly EMPEA) and the Legal Advisory Council of ILPA and speaks often on funds and technology issues. In addition to his, Gordon provides legal representation on technology transactions through his Of Counsel association with Wave Law, and is working with the leadership of ISLP, a nonprofit organization providing pro bono legal assistance to governments, the civil sector, and social enterprises in the emerging markets, to develop a responsible technology program.
Gordon holds an A.B. in economics from Stanford University, an A.B. in Finance from The Wharton School, and a J.D. from the Stanford Law School.
Eniye Ogbebor - Senior Legal Program Officer
She has diverse experience in the public and private sectors, particularly in telecommunications, ICT, oil & gas and construction. She has advised on several high value and complex deals, often with cross border elements, across Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and the UAE. Her areas of expertise include public-private partnerships (PPPs); infrastructure development, public procurement; project finance; intellectual property (IP); international trade & investment; and international arbitration.
Prior to joining ISLP, Eniye was an Oxford Policy Fellow assigned as a legal and policy advisor to the PPP Department of the Ministry of Finance, Zambia. She previously worked as a Group Legal Counsel for Ericsson Sub-Saharan Africa providing legal support for Ericsson’s operations across the region. She was appointed the regional lead for the company’s global reference groups on privacy & data protection, anti-corruption, compliance and sourcing and also received the Ericsson Global CEO award for “High Performing Employee.” She also practiced law full-time in Lagos, Nigeria specializing in corporate/commercial law and commercial litigation.
Eniye holds an LL.M in International Business Law from the University of London, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Benin and a Certificate in IP from the WIPO/University of Geneva joint IP Program. She is also an IP3 certified professional.
She is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators UK, a member of the International Bar Association; Nigerian Bar Association; and International Association of Contract and Commercial Management.
Gregory D. Sheehan, Fellow
Greg Sheehan is a retired partner of the global law firm, Ropes & Gray LLP, where he had a 40 year career representing clients in the asset management industry. Greg served as chair of the firm’s investment management group from 2002-2009, and was a member of the firm’s Policy Committee (management committee) from 2009 to 2019.
Following his retirement from Ropes & Gray in December 2020, Greg has worked on numerous pro bono matters for the firm. In addition, he has served as an adjunct professor of law at Boston College Law School, where he designed and teaches a course on asset management law.
Pedro Villegas - Regional Legal Advisor, Latin America and Kapp-Essaye Fellow
Pedro joined ISLP in November 2018 as the Kapp-Essaye Fellow and works with the Community-Inclusive Development team. Before joining ISLP, Pedro was the LL.M. Fellow at the Center on Sustainable Investment of Columbia University and served as a legal extern for the Permanent Mission of the Marshall Islands to the UN.
Prior to moving to New York, he worked as a legal advisor to the Ministers of Environment and Housing and Development of Colombia where he helped formulate and implement the water and sanitation policy for rural areas, the national development plan, and the regulatory framework for investments in water and sanitation. Pedro has also worked as a senior associate attorney in Colombia in the environmental and public utilities sectors.
Pedro received an LL.M. as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar from Columbia Law School and holds a Law Degree. He also holds a Masters in Public Law from University Externado the Colombia, where he ranks first in his class.