our advisory board.

Steven Finizio

Steven Finizio is a lawyer who focuses on international dispute resolution. He is recognised as one of the leading lawyers for international arbitration by Chambers and the Legal 500, as a “Thought Leader” by Global Arbitration Review’s Who’s Who in International Arbitration, and as a leading public international lawyer by Legal 500. He has advised parties regarding disputes under the rules of most of the well-recognised international arbitration institutions and governed by the laws of jurisdictions in Europe, Asia, Africa and the US, as well as under bilateral and regional investment treaties. He has appeared as counsel in a number of regional courts, including the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the European Court of Human Rights. His recent publications include “Small States and Integration: An Introduction,” in Integration and International Dispute Resolution in Small States (Springer 2018). Steven is a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP’s international arbitration group.

Dr. Johanne Fischer

Since 1998, Johanne occupied senior positions within international organisations, first as Deputy Director of the European Global Ocean Observing System (EuroGOOS, at the time based in Southampton, UK), followed by the role of coordinator of the European Directory of the Initial Ocean Observing System (EDIOS, University of Hamburg, Germany); then, from 2003, as Executive Secretary of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) in Canada (Halifax, Nova Scotia); from 2009 as Senior Fishery Resources Officer at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Italy (Rome), and finally, from 2014 to 2018 as Executive Secretary at the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO) in New Zealand (Wellington). Johanne now works as a free-lance consultant and coach from Berlin, Germany.

Over the years, Johanne’s work experience and publications covered diverse subject matters, e.g. international fisheries management, fish ecology, the ecosystem approach to fisheries, fishers’ ecological knowledge, species identification, endangered species (CITES), conservation and management of sharks, IUU fishing and others. Johanne is passionate about music and for many years taught concert flute at a municipal music school in Berlin while studying biology, literature and linguistics. During this time, her interest in development policies and conservation led to longer study stays in Somalia and Ghana, where she explored topics such as desertification control and links between culture and environment

Guy Hewitt

Guy Hewitt is the former High Commisioner of Barbados in London. Hewitt has been a strong advocate for the Commonwealth of Nations and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).