About Us

Hadi is the Managing Director of Mnemonic and the founder of the Syrian Archive. Hadi has worked since 2011 to collect, verify, and investigate citizen-generated data as evidence of human rights violations. Hadi previously worked with Tactical Technology Collective to support journalists and human rights groups in securing their data, devices and communications online. Hadi worked as a part-time open source investigator with Human Rights Watch and Bellingcat. He also worked as a consultant with the UN International, Impartial, and Independent Mechanism. Hadi is a fellow at Ashoka, and the Centre for Internet and Human Rights. He was selected for the 2021 #TIME100NEXT list, the FastCompany's Most Creative People in Business list for 2021, and as one of Wired UK's 2021 list of changemakers.

Friedhelm oversees and supports all programmatic work of Mnemonic, including the Archives, Research, Policy and Advocacy. After beginning his career as a journalist, he spent the last decade working on human rights documentation methodologies, developing open source software tools and co-creating organisational security approaches. Most recently, he served as Executive Director of HURIDOCS, where he steered a diverse and distributed team to grow its programmatic footprint to the largest it has been in the organisation’s 40 year history.

Maria has 10 years experience in international criminal law, specialising in documentation of atrocity crimes through technology. At Mnemonic, she leads its work on content moderation, engaging with social media platforms, NGO coalitions, and other stakeholders on content over-removals and preservation. Previously, Maria worked at eyeWitness to Atrocities, an initiative of the International Bar Association, leading their documentation capacity-strengthening work, collaborating with activists using documentation technology for accountability. She holds an M.Sc. in international relations and diplomacy from Leiden University, and an LL.B. in international law from Dresden University of Technology.

Kelly joined the Rapid Response team in 2022 as the project manager. As the team is the entry point of emergency requests on archiving digital content, Kelly has been setting up, developing, and overseeing different projects before they evolve to fully stand-alone programmes, including projects related to Ukraine, Iran, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Palestine. Meanwhile, she also runs training on open source data collection, preservation, and processing. Prior to joining the team, Kelly has been a journalist for more than eight years with various outlets. She holds an M.A. in Human Rights from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg where she studied International Human Rights Law and Politics, and a B.A. in Cultural Studies.

Will is the Senior Researcher with Mnemonic, where he supports the team of Investigators in producing fact-based, impactful, innovative materials for publication and legal partners. Previously Will served as Director of Research at an innovative human rights investigation NGO, where he supported desk-based researchers and project teams in enhancing analysis of human rights abuses in conflict-affected areas, verifying ground-sourced materials and reviewing products for distribution to accountability mechanisms. Will holds an MA in International Relations.

Haneen is a Research Coordinator with Mnemonic. With over 8 years of experience in journalism and open source investigation, Haneen has previously worked as a journalist with many outlets, including Enab Baladi. Alongside conducting investigations, she runs trainings on open source investigations. Haneen studied Communicational Engineering at the University of Damascus.

Gregory Waters is an Investigator with Mnemonic. Greg researches security forces, primarily utilizing open source research to assess the capabilities and structure of Army and allied militias. Gregory is a non-resident Scholar at the Middle East Institute and works as a research analyst at the Counter Extremism Project.

Kayla Koontz is an Investigator with Mnemonic. She graduated from UC Berkeley’s Global Studies MA Program and former researcher at the UC Berkeley Human Rights Center. She received her B.A. in International Relations with a minor in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies from San Francisco State University in 2016. Her work has been published by the Middle East Institute, and Bellingcat.

Mohamad is a researcher with Mnemonic, mainly working on quality control of the archiving process with the Syrian Archive program. He also volunteers with Refugee Voices Tours and finishing a Master's in Humboldt University in political science.

Mustafa is an investigator of the Syrian Archive. He is a Syrian researcher, writer and editor based in France collaborating to a number of Arabic newspapers and digital publications. Winner of Samir Kassir award for the best investigative article category.

Nataliia Gladkova joined Mnemonic in June 2024 as the Ukrainian Archive Programme Manager. With over a decade of experience in human rights, international migration, and democratization, Nataliia has led teams and managed programme portfolios for several international NGOs, including Civil Rights Defenders, ERIM, and Democracy Reporting International. In addition to her research and teaching experience at Maastricht University, Nataliia has extensive field experience with international organizations such as UNHCR and IOM. In her current role, Nataliia leads the development and management of the Ukrainian Archive and supports the team in their archiving, investigative, and advocacy efforts. Nataliia holds a Master's degree in European Studies from Maastricht University and a Master's degree in Political Science from the Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies in Kyiv. She is proficient in English, Ukrainian, Russian, and French.

Libby is a lawyer specializing in digital evidence archives, litigation support, and open source investigations into international crimes and human rights violations. Previously, Libby worked with the Video as Evidence program at WITNESS and the Project on War Crimes and Mass Graves at the Columbia Law School Human Rights Clinic.

Eugene joined Ukrainian Archive in October 2023 as Open-Source Investigator. As an Open-Source Investigator, he monitors human rights violations, developments on the ground, possible war crimes, and violations of international humanitarian law in Ukraine. In addition to conducting open-source investigations, Eugene supports public-facing workstreams of the program. Prior to joining the Ukrainian Archive, Eugene worked as a Consultant at WITNESS as well as a lecturer in Russian and Ukrainian languages and cultures at the University of Michigan, Slavic Department. Eugene holds a Master’s degree in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies from the University of Michigan.

Nadia joined Ukrainian Archive in January 2023 as a Legal Advisor – Ukrainian Archive. Nadia advises the Ukrainian Archive team on investigative matters in the framework of international human rights, humanitarian and criminal law, and accountability efforts. Prior to joining the Ukrainian Archive, Nadia worked at Amnesty International, Council of Europe, Mississippi Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel. She is the founder of the Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group (ULAG), focusing on monitoring and analysing Ukraine's legal landscape, litigating strategic cases, and advocating for legislative and institutional changes. In 2022 Nadia was a recipient of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) Human Rights Award for her outstanding commitment to human rights and the rule of law in Ukraine and internationally. She brings a comprehensive knowledge of international humanitarian law and criminal law in Ukraine. Nadia holds LLM in International Law from Oxford Brookes University and was called to the Bar of England and Wales, and she is a practicing international lawyer in Ukraine.

Roberta is Mnemonic’s Admin & Finance Manager. With more than 15 years of experience as project and programme manager in the field of development and cooperation, Roberta previously worked as project manager for MiCT, country representative of No Peace Without Justice in Gaziantep, Turkey, and local project manager at the Italian Cooperation in Jerusalem. Roberta has a Masters degree in Cultures, Institutions and Languages of the Mediterranean area from Ca’ Foscari University, Venice. Roberta is also part of the SyriaUntold media project.

Sarah works as a Grant Writer at Mnemonic and has five years of experience in research, development, migration and education. Recently, she has worked in Nablus, Palestine advancing psychosocial development of children and women at Tomorrow’s Youth Organisation. Previously, she worked under the Government of Canada as an English teacher for refugee and immigrant integration. Sarah holds a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia with certification in International Participatory Development upon completing fieldwork in Bolivia, and a Dual MA in Public Policy from Sciences Po and Hertie, with certification in the Sustainable Development Goals through a successful research consultancy based in Senegal.

Tareef is the Tech Lead at Mnemonic and oversees the technical infrastructure of all archival projects, creating development plans and setting up schedules for tech team to reach its goals. Tareef has worked with Mnemonic since 2017 as a researcher then a web developer before leading the tech team. Tareef worked as a project manager with Hsoub which is a group of Internet businesses that operates the largest two Arabic freelancing platforms. Tareef holds a bachelor degree in computer science from UoPeople.

Baraa is Research and Data Coordinator with Mnemonic’s Yemeni Archive project. She previously worked in the social and humanitarian field. Most recently, she worked on project design, initiation and implementation for the Ayounkoun project, providing eye care for Syrians and Lebanese in need, funded by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Baraa studied political science at the American University in Beirut.

Giovanni is a System Administrator with Mnemonic where he primarily works on system administration. He is responsible for the installation and maintenance of all the IT systems, including data collection, archival, and storage. Giovanni has a background in political activism, has collaborated with human rights groups and journalists on topics of investigation and online security. He also worked on community infrastructure projects.

Carol is the Grant Specialist at Mnemonic, with over five years of experience in grant and project management roles in the humanitarian and development sectors, focusing on the MENA region. She has previously worked at Terre des hommes multi-country delegation of Jordan and Palestine, Mercy Corps - Iraq, and Democracy Reporting International, where she supported projects in Tunisia and Libya, and has fieldwork experience with UNHCR Jordan. Carol holds a MA in Public Policy from the Central European University in Budapest, as well as a Double Bachelor's degree in Political Science and Middle East Studies from McGill University in Montréal.