Page context
Secretariat
Stefan Schlegel, Director
Stefan Schlegel (*1983) is a jurist. He was research assistant to Prof Walter Kälin and Prof Alberto Achermann at the University of Berne and obtained his doctorate in 2017 with a thesis on migration law. In 2015 Stefan Schlegel completed a research stay at the University of Toronto, and from 2016 to 2018 he worked at the Max Planck Institute for the study of Multi-ethnic and Multireligious Societies in Göttingen. From 2019 to 2021, he was a senior research assistant at the University of Berne. Since 2021, he has been working on a habilitation project on the scope of protection of the property guarantee and new forms of property, which is sponsored by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Stefan Schlegel studied at the University of Zurich and the Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University.
In addition to his scientific work, Stefan Schlegel has always been strongly involved in civil society. During his time as a research assistant, he was a member of the legal group of Amnesty International Switzerland, where he was particularly involved in conveying the value of the European Convention on Human Rights. In 2009 he co-founded the foreign policy think tank "foraus" and set up its migration programme. In 2014 he helped found the political movement "Operation Libero" and has been on its board ever since. With the commencement of his duties as Director of SHRI, he retired from the board.
Stefan Schlegel grew up in the St Gall Rhine valley and now lives in Berne.
Languages: German, French, English, basics in Spanish
Laura Knöpfel, Head of Research and Consulting
Laura Knöpfel is a lawyer and legal anthropologist. Born in 1991, she graduated from King’s College London (2021) and conducted research at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá (2017, 2019) and at the European University Institute in Florence (2020).
From 2023 to 2024, she was Senior Assistant for civil procedural law at the University of Lucerne and has been a lecturer in environmental law at the University of Bern since 2024. Laura Knöpfel studied law, social sciences and anthropology at the Universities of Bern, Fribourg and the London School of Economics and Political Science in London.
In addition to her academic work, Laura Knöpfel is committed to the observance and protection of human rights in Switzerland and abroad, as part of civil society engagements and independent mandates. In 2022, she was a human rights delegate for the International Caravana of Lawyers and Judges to Colombia and, also since 2022, has been advising NGOs on the topics of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), human rights protection in foreign direct investments and climate litigation.
Languages: German, English, Spanish, French
Judith Kopp, Research and Consulting Officer
Judith Kopp (*1987) is a social scientist. She completed her PhD in political science at the University of Kassel in 2022 and then worked as a research assistant on various research projects until early 2025. Judith Kopp studied cultural studies and sociology in Lucerne, Geneva and Frankfurt am Main. Her previous academic work focused on European migration and refugee policy, global inequality and the regulation of transnational value chains.
From 2011 to 2018, Judith Kopp worked in the European department of the human rights organization Pro Asyl in Frankfurt am Main.
Languages: German, French, English, Spanish
Samantha Atia, Office Manager
Samantha Atia (*1984), was responsible for setting up SHRI as Interim Administrative Director from August 2023. She is currently Office Manager and responsible for coordinating and organizing administrative processes.
She holds a commercial education and a bachelor's degree in social anthropology and German as a foreign language. Additionally, she has extensive expertise in the areas of secretariat management, event organization and general administrative management.
She gained valuable experience on human rights related topics during her last position at the Integration Office of the city of Zurich.
Languages: German, English, French, Arabic
Noémi Manco, Communications Manager
Noémi Manco (*1989) joined the SHRI in May 2024 as Communications Manager. she joined the team after working for over 11 years in human rights communications, both in Switzerland and abroad. She has worked for a number of NGOs, including in the former Yugoslavia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nepal and Colombia.
Thanks to a wealth of experience in digital communications and editorial project management, she has specialised for the last seven years in institutional communications: positioning, identity, public image and media relations.
A graduate of Sciences Po Lille (France), she also holds a BA in International Relations and an LLM in International Criminal Law from the University of Kent (UK).
Languages: French, English, Italian, Spanish, German
Nina Peier, intern
Nina Peier (*1996) has been working as an intern at the SHRI since June 2024. Building on her Bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Social Sciences at the University of Bern, she completed a Master's degree in Human Rights Studies in Lund, Sweden. During her studies, she worked as a teaching assistant and tutor in philosophy as well as a research intern in the field of international human rights politics. Moreover, she gained work experience in a cantonal administration in the area of political rights, where she was particularly involved in the organisation of popular votes and elections.
Languages: German, English, French
Rubina Lanfranchi
Rubina Lanfranchi (*1997) is a jurist and has been working as an intern at the SHRI since September 2024. She holds a master's degree in international and european law from the University of Geneva, specialising in human rights and environmental law. She subsequently gained experience in various human rights-related topics, particularly in relation to the rights of sex workers and in the areas of racism and discrimination.
Languages: Italian, German, French, English