Our Team
Marine Lercier
Founder & Executive Director
Director of Legal Research & Advocacy
Marine is an advocate for the intertwined causes of human and animal rights, committed to driving meaningful and systemic change. As a PhD candidate in Global Animal Law and a Researcher at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, she combines academic research with practical application to advance legal frameworks that protect and enhance the welfare and rights of animals.
Marine is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Animal Rights Law, and the Founder, Executive Director, and Director of Legal Research and Advocacy of the International Centre for Animal Rights and Ethics (ICARE). She is also a Board Member of the Culture and Animals Foundation (CAF).
Her doctoral research pioneers the concept of ‘Animal Labour Law’©, exploring avenues to grant labour rights to non-human animal workers. Using racehorses as a case study, she aims to address gaps in their protection and safeguard racehorses’ fundamental interests, including through a legal right to retirement beyond their racing careers.
Marine graduated with high honours from a Master’s in Animal Law and Society from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She completed the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law Lecturers’ Workshop, regularly lectures on Animal Law and has organised and judged speed moot courts on human rights and animal rights. She also taught Animal Law and Roman Law at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She has coordinated numerous international and national academic conferences, symposia, roundtables, and book talks, both in person and online.
Known for her collaborative spirit and leadership, rigour, hard work, and reliability, Marine frequently advises and collaborates with other educators, researchers, lawyers, advocates, and NGOs, and is always ready to help.
She has been a Junior Fellow (2020-2022) and a Fellow (2022-2023) of the Animals & Biodiversity programme, which she launched at the Global Research Network Think Tank, where she contributed her expertise to a community of like-minded individuals and mentored Junior Fellows, and organised a diversity of successful projects during her time there.
She also ran for the Animalist Party in France's parliamentary elections (2022) and contributed to revising their national and European political programmes, underscoring her commitment to legal, institutional, and policy reforms.
Silvina Pezzetta
Legal Expert & Social Media Content Creator
Silvina Pezzetta is an Argentine CONICET researcher in Animal Law and Ethics. She has been working on animal rights legal theory and animal ethics for the last 10 years, while also participating as an Amicus curiae in relevant national and international court cases. She has taught animal ethics at the Law School of Buenos Aires University (Argentina). She won a Culture & Animals Foundation Grant in 2020 and the Tiny Beam Foundation Fellowship in 2021. She was a visiting scholar at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Law and International Public Law (Heidelberg, Germany) in 2019 and 2023. She was a Visiting Fellow at the ALPP Harvard Law School during the academic year 2023-2024.
Shreya Upadhyaya
Online Events Coordinator
Shreya is a dedicated animal welfare advocate whose vegan journey has fuelled her commitment to creating a world where animals are respected, not consumed.
Drawing on her background in marketing and events management, she channels her professional skills to strengthen the movement.
She believes effective outreach and community-building are powerful catalysts for transforming compassion into lasting impact.
Gweimen Fen
Digital Engagement Analyst
Gweimen Fen is a freelance researcher, academic tutor, and digital content creator with a strong interdisciplinary focus spanning artificial intelligence, STEM education, public health, ecology, and societal justice. With a background in biology and a passion for curriculum development and inclusive education, Gweimen brings a unique perspective to his work—one that bridges the gap between science, technology, and advocacy.
He hails from the Nok ancestry—one of the oldest civilisations in Nigeria; and is currently based in Abuja. His work is deeply influenced by a sense of collective responsibility and a reverence for both human and non-human life.
Gweimen believes that fairness, justice, and sustainability must extend to animals, plants, and the environment to ensure true progress. At ICARE, he brings his experience in digital communication and community engagement to support the movement for animal rights and ethical living.
Ophelia Senfter
Video Editor
Ophelia is a communications specialist based in Amsterdam with a BA in Film and New Media and a MA in Communications with a focus on activist and social movement communication.
She has always been fascinated by how dominant narratives continue to shape the world and seeks to disrupt them by promoting effective messaging for animal rights organisations.
Valéria Jacobovicz
Legal Researcher, Animals in Disasters
Valéria is a Brazilian attorney currently pursuing an LL.M. in Environmental and Energy Law at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Passionate about animal protection, she has been actively involved in rescuing animals from mistreatment in her home country and has volunteered with wildlife in Namibia.
In addition to her practical experience, Valéria has also contributed to the academic field by writing articles on Animal Law. During her LL.M., she has been deepening her studies to strengthen environmental and animal protection through legal mechanisms, combining her legal expertise with a commitment to sustainability to drive positive impact.
Katarína Kubovicová
Legal Researcher, Animals in Disasters
Katarína is an EU legal and policy expert with a decade of experience in international and European law. Passionate about sustainability, environmental protection, and animal welfare, she actively engages in advocacy and research initiatives.
She has volunteered with animal shelters and organic farms and continues to expand her expertise in animal rights law and advocacy.
Madelon van Hoek Ostende
Researcher, Political Representation of Animals
Madelon is an MA graduate in Human Rights and Democratisation at the Global Campus of Human Rights. During her studies, she gained experience in the fields of Environmental Law, the Rights of Nature, and Animal Law. She is also deeply committed to animal welfare and animal protection, and is especially interested in the topic of legal representation of animals.
Faith Gakii
Researcher, Political Representation of Animals
Faith is a researcher in animal rights. She has conducted research on the intersection of Rights of Nature and animal rights, exploring how these frameworks can work together in practice to effectively address large-scale systemic harms such as industrial animal agriculture.
She is a 2025 Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law Research awardee for her work on how Rights of Nature could provide an alternative conceptual pathway to advancing legal recognition of animal rights in African countries, building on the constitutional anthropocentric human right to a healthy environment and the concept of transformative constitutionalism.
Outside of her research, Faith volunteers with the Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (KSPCA), supporting rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming efforts.
Prithviraj Pahwa
Researcher, Political Representation of Animals
Prithvi is a dedicated data scientist with a strong passion for animal rights and ethical practices. With a solid academic foundation and a commitment to social impact, he is eager to apply his expertise in research and technology to support the recognition and protection of animals’ fundamental rights.
Kristina Drogu
Researcher, Political Representation of Animals
Kristina is a Research Master’s student in European Studies at Maastricht University, pursuing a double degree in Political Science in Cologne. Her thesis examines how the EU addresses marine protection in the Arctic and Mediterranean, particularly when environmental objectives conflict with political interests.
A lifelong animal lover, she has always been passionate about animal welfare. This has led her to volunteer with various organisations, including the horse rescue Progetto Islander in Italy, allowing her to broaden her perspective beyond academia.
Jon Friedman
Legal Researcher, Wildlife Trafficking & Wildlife Crime
With 38 years of wildlife conservation experience across Africa, Jon has dedicated his life to a single, unwavering cause: the welfare and ethical treatment of animals.
Currently in Cape Town, South Africa, Jon is leading frontline efforts to protect the welfare of Cape Town’s embattled chacma baboons — one of the continent’s most politically and ethically charged human-wildlife conflicts.
Thalia Puente
Fernandez
Researcher, Political Representation of Animals
Thalia Puente Fernandez is a law student with a passion for social impact and community building.
She has experience creating digital content, running campaigns, and supporting organisations that align with her values.
François Mullan
Legal Researcher, Wildlife Trafficking & Wildlife Crime
After researching illegal wildlife trade during a BSc in Environmental Management from Technological University Dublin and an internship with Ecojust, Francois pursued an MSc in Environmental & Climate Law at University College Dublin to understand the role and importance that legislation plays in combating environmental crime.
His current dissertation focuses on developing a theory of change to address bird of prey persecution in Ireland, and he recently joined ICARE’s wildlife crime team as a legal researcher.
Flavia Manieri
Legal Researcher, Animals in Disasters
Flavia is a passionate communicator and researcher with an extensive background in the environmental humanities and social sciences, dedicated to exploring and fostering connections between people and nature. Based between Sweden and the UK, she works in academia as a researcher and lecturer, teaching courses in environmental law, political and historical ecology, and disaster risk management. She mentors students and conducts international, interdisciplinary research on human–nature interactions.
Flavia actively contributes to non-profit organisations promoting conservation and animal welfare. She works with Faunalytics, translating complex research into accessible insights for evidence-based advocacy; writes feature articles for Ubuntu Magazine spotlighting conservation initiatives; and serves as Community Advocates Coordinator at WildHub, driving strategic communications and leading initiatives that connect and empower conservation practitioners worldwide.
Flavia loves to connect with animals and truly puts her commitment to animal welfare into action. She has volunteered at rescue centres and sanctuaries worldwide for almost 20 years and provides force-free training to organisations rescuing equines, supporting their emotional rehabilitation and improving their chances of finding safe, loving homes.
Yareli Alfaro
Legal Researcher, Wildlife Trafficking & Wildlife Crime
Yareli Alfaro is a dedicated professional from New York who recently graduated with a Master of Arts in International Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
With a strong background in client support and research, she has effectively managed public assistance programs and contributed to various legal and academic projects. Yareli is fluent in Spanish and is committed to advocating for community welfare and ethical practices.