Meet the team

Administration

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Juliette Malfaisan

Executive Director & Founder

Juliette is a French lawyer. She holds two master’s degrees in property law and environmental law from the University of Lyon and successfully passed the French bar exam in 2017. She has previously worked as a lawyer in the French Bar Association of Lille. 

Since 2018, Juliette has been working as a coordinator and legal counsel for projects based in Greece, providing legal assistance to asylum seekers. 

In 2019, she founded Equal Legal Aid as a continuation of her previous work in Greece. Since then, Juliette has been the director of the organisation. In this role, she oversees the overall strategy and the implementation of the programme, advocacy and communication efforts.

Bianca Valperga

Project Officer and legal Advisor
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Bianca holds a law degree from the University of Turin in Italy and a Master degree in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science in London.
 
She has been working for the last 5 years in the migration sector in London, at the AIRE Centre and Here for Good Law amongst others.
 
Bianca first joined ELA as a volunteer lawyer in September 2024 and has been the ELA coordinator since February 2025.
 
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Héloïse Mussard

Finance and Communication Officer

Héloïse holds a Master of International Media from Université Paris VIII, France. 

Héloïse had worked in different French companies as communication officer. 

Before joining ELA, Héloïse were studying journalism in USEK University in Lebanon, and have worked in an art gallery in Beirut. More recently, she volunteered as a PR media officer in Tirana, Albania, where she led a project on inclusion through photography.

Juliette Tassy

Fundraising and data specialist

Juliette is involved with ELA’s fundraising , donor relations and MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Analysis and Learning) activities.

She holds a Master of Humanitarian Action and Law from the University of Aix-en–Provence, France.

Before joining ELA, Juliette worked in program and donor relations in Athens and volunteered in different organisations in Athens and Northern Greece.

Sofi Sazo

Fundraising and Advocacy Officer

Sofi holds a law degree and a master’s in Political Science from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and is pursuing a second master’s in Human Rights and Migration Studies at the University of Macedonia.

She worked for five years with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Greece, focusing on Protection Assistance for the SMS/HARP project. Her role included field operations in Northern Greece and the Samos CCAC, as well as being part of the protection coordination team in Thessaloniki. For the past two years, she has participated in international missions with IOM in Qatar, Germany, and Belgium.

Sofi joined ELA in February 2025.

Legal staff


Efstathia Laina

Lawyer
Since June 2021

Efstathia is a lawyer from the Thessaloniki Bar association. She supports the association by providing help to applicants of international protection. 

She has been working for the past 20 years as  an Human Rights lawyer and an NGO field worker.

Before joining ELA, she was a Lawyer at Thessaloniki Solidarity Center of “Solidarity Now”.


Athina Kalogridi

Lawyer
Since October 2021

Athina is a lawyer from the Thessaloniki Bar Association.

She has been working as a field lawyer for refugees and migrants the last 7 years.

Before joining ELA, she was a lawyer at Thessaloniki Solidarity Center of “Solidarity Now” for 5 years and before that she worked as a lawyer in the Shelter for Unaccompanied Minors asylum seekers of “ARSIS” in Oraiokastro, Thessaloniki.


Eleni Papageorgiou

Lawyer
Since February 2022

Eleni is a lawyer at the Athens Bar.

She has been working with refugees in the field for 6 years.

Before joining ELA, she worked as a lawyer at the Thessaloniki Solidarity Center “Solidarity Now” and before that she worked with the UNHCR in several camps in northern Greece.


Luna Salinas

volunteer trainee-lawyer Since January 2025

Luna is a French trainee lawyer at the EFB (Ecole de formation professionnelle des barreaux) and holds a master’s degree Human Rights.


She previously worked with refugees in a community centre in Ioannina and volunteered with Utopia 56.
In parallel, she is specialising in the defence of victims of domestic and gender-based violence.

Luna is currently volunteering at ELA as a lawyer volunteer. 


Adele Kohler

volunteer trainee-lawyer Since February 2025

Adele holds a Master Degree in Fundamental Rights Litigation from the University of Grenoble Alpes. 

She got involved as a legal volunteer in several organisations. She then specialized in Foreigners law and Asylum law and worked in those field in the administrative sector, acting as a contractual civil servant.

During four years before joining ELA, Adele worked as a Protection Officer for the French Office for Refugees and Stateless Persons in Val-de-Fontenay.

Adele is currently volunteering at ELA as a lawyer volunteer. 

Former Team members and volunteers

Alexandros Tzenos
Project Officer and legal Advisor
February 2023 to February 2025

Simon Appriou
Volunteer lawyer
July to December 2024

Mariem Laaribi
Volunteer lawyer and cultural mediator
November 2023 to November 2024

Anne Bonitz
Volunteer lawyer
April to October 2024

Christos Martinis
Volunteer lawyer
January to September 2024

Valia Charalampopoulou
Lawyer
September 2023 to July 2024

Isaline Ernoud
Volunteer jurist
January 2024 to April 2024

Helena Baeck
Volunteer jurist

October 2023 to March 2024 

Simon Decoster
Volunteer jurist
September 2023 to December 2023

Elisabeth Lutz
Volunteer jurist
June 2023 to October 2023

Pierre Kreins
Volunteer jurist
January 2023 to July 2023

Domitille Nicolet
Coordinator and co-founder
2020 to 2023

Farhad Alizadeh
Cultural mediator

2021 to 2023

Leonie Passler
Volunteer jurist
July 2022 to February 2023

Aurore Vigouroux
Volunteer jurist
September 2022 to January 2023

Matteo Russo
Volunteer jurist
February to August 2022

Claire Didisheim
Volunteer jurist
October 2021 to July 2022

Maelys Guillaume
Volunteer jurist
October 2021 to March 2022

Priscille Duflos
Project management intern
June 2021 to January 2022

Stella Pitsilidou
Communication officer
September 2020 to May 2021

Valia Charalampopoulou
Trainee lawyer
October 2020 to July 2021

Irene Villani
Volunteer jurist
October 2020 to June 2021

Chrysanthi (Sandy) Stavrou
Trainee lawyer
May 2021 to October 2021