Kelly Blank

Grant Development & ABM Coordinator

Valentina Canepa

WAVE Office Intern

Valentina holds a Bachelor´s degree in Modern languages from the University of Venice and a Master´s degree in International Relations and Diplomatic Affairs from the University of Bologna, where she recently graduated with a thesis on the prevention and contrast of domestic violence in the context of international human rights law. She´s passionate about human rights, women´s rights and migrations, and has volunteered in other Italian non-profit organizations in the field. As a former teacher, she also strongly believes in the power of education to bring social change and to eradicate gender stereotypes.

Katie Clarke

WAVE Office Intern

Katie is a student at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Canada, studying Psychology and Contemporary Studies as a LORAN scholar. Passionate about women’s rights and mental health, she uses poetry and playwriting as a medium for activism. In her spare time, Katie is currently on the National Youth Council for Kids Help Phone (a Canadian mental health support line), she runs the Oxfam Society at Dalhousie University, and she volunteers as a literacy tutor at the Burnside prison in Halifax. Katie does freelance work as a technical writer and editor for a company in Victoria, Canada.

Anca Ciupa

Membership & Legal Project Coordinator

Anca Ciupa has a Bachelor’s Degree in Law at the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania and a Master’s Degree in European and National Business Law also obtained in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Babes-Bolyai University. Additionally, Anca has obtained a postgraduate diploma in International Relations at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna in June 2014. Before working at WAVE, Anca was a co-author on a research project, “Analysis of the draft law to permit the Rosia Montana mining proposal”,

Andrada Filip

Data Manager & Analyst

Andrada Filip joined the WAVE office in September 2015. She did her BA in International Politics at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom, and her MA in Political Science at the University of Vienna in Austria. She is also affiliated to a think-tank, the Human Security Centre, and to the Academic Council on the United Nations System. At the WAVE Office, Andrada has been working on the 2015 edition of the magazine FEMPOWER,

Elena Floriani

Communications & Research Officer

Elena Floriani holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cultural mediation and a Master’s degree in Comparative international relations. After study and work experiences in Italy, France, Germany, Tanzania and Austria, she joined the WAVE office as Communication and Research Officer in May 2019. In the last years, Elena made of her interest in feminism and women’s rights her area of research and work. Following an experience in the field of development cooperation in Tanzania, she decided to focus her Master’s thesis on the legal protection of women’s rights in Africa, conducting a research on the recent developments of the African Union’s human rights system in the protection of women’s rights.

Stephanie Futter-Orel

Executive Manager

Stephanie is passionate about fighting Violence Against Women and has a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Vienna as well as a Master’s degree in Development Management from the London School of Economics. Austrian by birth, she has lived in London for the past 9 years and worked for over 7 years in women’s specialist organisations dedicated to fighting Violence Against women (frontline roles as well as Senior Management).

Maria Knaub

Office Administrator and Project Assistant

Maria has a Bachelor’s Degree in East Asian Studies and is currently finishing her Master’s in Development Studies at the University of Vienna. She is passionate about feminism, gender equality and social justice. Previously, she has worked in a variety of positions and industries, spanning from algorithm research to editorial offices. As WAVE’s Office Administrator and Project Assistant, she is looking forward to putting her prior experiences into social use for ending gender-based violence.

Beverly Mtui

Youth Engagement Consultant

Beverly Mtui is studying Transcultural Communications with working languages German, English and French as well as Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Vienna. She did an exchange program with the Université de Genève in Switzerland, before volunteering at the Austrian Network for Refugees to teach German and English. In 2018, she interned with one of our Members “Work With Perpetrators European Network – WWP EN” for half a year. One of her main fields of interest is combatting human trafficking.

Lina Piskernik

Digital & Social Media Coordinator

Lina Piskernik is Digital & Social Media Coordinator, ensuring that WAVE’s many projects and achievements are as visible as possible across several social media networks. She is also Communications Coordinator for the Erasmus project DIS.CO & UN Women project CSSP, and assists the WAVE Step Up! campaign. She has a Bachelor degree in International Affairs & German from Florida State University as well as a Master of Science in International Relations & Environmental Technology from

Elizabeth Spouse

Office Administrator & Project Assistant

Elizabeth Spouse has a degree in Communications and Political Science from the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. She is passionate about volunteering and supporting social projects within her community and has experience volunteering in shelters for homeless women in the Seattle area. She joined WAVE in June of 2017.

Katarina Višnar

Campaign Coordinator