New Interns

PeaceWomen is pleased to work with Ariel Mekler, Sharna de Lacy and Sofie Saterhäll for Fall 2012.

Ariel Mekler
Ariel is currently enrolled in the Master of Science program at NYU Center for Global Affairs. Her primary research interests focus on the intersections between LGBTQ human security, rights-based principles, gender identity, queer theory, peacebuilding, and advocacy. Ariel previously obtained her MA in Humanities and Leadership from the New College of California, where she examined cross-cultural influences of gender with Judeo-Christian mythology and its implications on current political rhetoric. In 2008, she served as the Program Coordinator for the Jerusalem Open House Pride and Tolerance March, while simultaneously continuing her research on gender fluidity and multiculturalism at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. She recently became a co-director for Lysistrata, a Gender Working Group at the Center for Global Affairs and actively seeks opportunities to further advance the rights, security, and capacities for peace of LGBTQ communities through her research and advocacy.

Sharna de Lacy
Sharna graduated from her Masters of International and Community Development at Deakin University in 2010. Sharna specialized in democratization processes and security sector reform, and in particular, the reform of military institutions in transitional democracies. An interest in the role of the military and the militarization of political systems led her to feminist critiques of these issues and in 2011 she joined WILPF and co-founded the Australian Y-WILPF section. Since this time, Sharna has worked on the Women, Peace and Security agenda in Australia, taking part in the NGO consultations on Australia's National Action Plan and building a work program with Y-WILPF that focuses on making young women more visible within the peace and security discourse.

Sofie Saterhäll
Sofie is currently studying a Master's in International Administration and Global Governance at Gothenburg University in Sweden. She holds a Bachelor's degree with a double major in Political Science and Environmental Science. For her undergraduate thesis, Sofie performed a field study in Southern India that focused on the possibilities and obstacles for women's political agency in local governance. She is also currently a board member and secretary at WILPF's Gothenburg section.