Sub-Committee

John BRENNER

DIRECTOR OF ETHICS & POLICY

John Brenner holds a BA in Philosophy from Wayne State University, United States (2015-19) and recently completed his MSc in Philosophy and Public Policy at the London School of Economics (2021-22). John's areas of interest lie in applied ethics, feminist philosophy, and political philosophy, with a focus on the intersection of ethics and public policy.

Before joining the LSE, John completed the New York Service and Justice Collaboration Fellowship in New York City, followed by one year of working in homeless outreach. While at LSE, John completed the Effective Altruism Fellowship in Fall 2021.

A queer non-binary individual, John is passionate about equity and justice for marginalised communities and has decided to work in policy to build towards positive socio-political change. Presently, John is a Legal Assistant with the Settlement Housing Fund in New York, United States.

​

Zahra HANIFI

DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Zarah Hanifi holds a BA in Philosophy from the University of Tehran, Iran (2017-21) and is currently pursuing her MSc in Philosophy and Public Policy at the London School of Economics (2021-22). Alongside her studies in Iran, she was also an English tutor at the KISH Institute of Science and Technology to empower students from marginalised backgrounds, whilst creating social impact.

With her extensive experience as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Tehran (2020-21), Zahra professionally assisted in teaching courses such as European Philosophical Texts and Philosophy of Ethics in Western Thought. Presently, her LSE Dissertation aims to analyse how economic sanctions negatively affect the collective self-determination of the targeted people. 

​

Women’s rights are severely restricted in Iran, to the point where women are even forbidden from watching men's sports in stadiums and get arrested for not covering their hair. Bringing her vast International Relations and Policy experience, Zahra joined Rising Gaea to create development initiatives that don’t treat women as mere recipients of global interventions but actually influence and reveal the effectiveness and sustainability of the solutions.

​

Zahra is also familiar with a plethora of languages- English, Persian, Azerbaijani, Classical Arabic, German and Latin and with her research areas spanning International Relations, Health Policy and Gender Equality, she is passionate about her role as the Director of International Relations at Rising Gaea.

Scarlet POON

DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Scarlet is a final year Law undergraduate at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) (2020-2023) and will commence her training contract with a magic circle law firm in Hong Kong starting September 2024. Apart from pursuing a robust career in Commercial Law, Scarlet has always been passionate about contributing to social causes, in particular, that of Gender Equality. Prior to joining Rising Gaea, Scarlet has been on the advisory board of multiple youth empowerment non-governmental organisations including Luminate Network and FlippED.

The Covid pandemic has exacerbated the issues of gender inequality and truly highlighted the severity of how such problems can directly impact the health outcomes of individuals. Ms. Poon is, therefore, motivated to apply her legal knowledge and advocacy skills through
promoting the causes of gender parity and health for all as the Director of Human Rights with the rest of the Rising Gaea team.

Joyee BHATTACHARYA

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Ms. Joyee Bhattacharya holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Miranda House, University of Delhi. She also completed a PG Diploma in Broadcast Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai, India after which she worked as an Assistant Producer at CNN-News18 for over two years. Currently, Joyee is pursuing an MSc in Global Affairs from King’s College London with a focus on developmental politics and public policy in non-Western nations.

​

Ms. Bhattacharya is passionate about politics, policy, development, sustainability, and communications strategy. Her passion projects include studying stock markets and global cinema. She has also covered student politics during her time at Delhi University, along with partnering with a Mental Health collective in their Research & Development department. Joyee believes that effective communication and in-depth research are key factors in creating a holistic roadmap towards achieving sustainable development. After all, the only way to bring change is to listen to stifled voices by passing the mic to them.

Maaz ABDUR REHMAN

LEGAL CONSULTANT

Mr. Maaz Rehman pursued his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of London (external program) and recently completed his Bar at Law from City University, while being a member of the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, one of the four Inns of Court in London.  As someone who has a law-based background, the law has been a major part of Maaz’s life for quite some time now. One-month mini-pupillages at Irfan & Irfan and Shaukat & Shaukat respectively, allowed him to understand the aspects of law as a profession. 

Additionally, Mr. Rehman has carried out legal research with Dr. Ali Qazilbash, PhD from Notre Dame in Human Rights. While working with Dr. Ali Qazilbash, he truly understood what it meant to transmute the legal system in much fairer terms. Thus, he wants to practice law to help people who get downtrodden by the system.

During his time at Pakistan College of Law, Maaz was enthralled by his studies inside the classroom but yearned to understand how his education would apply in the real world. Presently, he is based out of London and pursuing his LLM in International Dispute Resolution from Queen Mary University of London.