Meet the team
Administration
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
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 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.
Simon Bertrand
volunteer lawyer since April 2025
Simon holds a law degree from the University of Saint-Louis Brussels in Belgium and a certificate in international humanitarian law.
He has been working with displaced people since 2016, initially in the field as a project manager. Amongst other projects, he has worked with Amnesty International and founded his own organisation before becoming a full-time lawyer.
Before joining ELA, he worked for three years as a lawyer in a reception center for asylum seekers in France.
Simon joined ELA as a volunteer lawyer in May 2025.
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