Find out about our Experts
Kelly Bishop
FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, PhD in Law
Kelly is a human rights lawyer and feminist researcher specialising in gender equality, socio-economic justice, and governance. Her doctoral research at the University of Bern framed gender-based poverty in urban areas as a human rights issue, enriched by a year-long fellowship with the Socio-Economic Rights Project at the Dullah Omar Institute in South Africa.
She brings expertise in research, advocacy, and policy development, alongside a strong track record in project management, stakeholder engagement, and legal education.
Ximpulse Ltd
Ximpulse stands for Expertise and Impulse.
Ximpulse is a team of independent expert consultants. We work in developing and transition countries as well as Switzerland and the EU. We support stakeholders in reform and peace processes, often in conflict-affected and fragile contexts. Our core areas of expertise are constitution building and power-sharing, governance, access to justice and human rights as well as mediation and conflict transformation.
Collaboration Partners
Jessica Lobo
EXPERT CONSULTANT, Lawyer
Jessica is an Australian lawyer and disability practitioner. Her focus is on building the capacity of disability service providers (from frontline staff to CEOs) to understand, implement and improve practices which safeguard the rights of the people they support. She has experience designing and delivering evidence-based training programs in collaboration with people with disability and was responsible for the statewide-roll out of Zero Tolerance, a reflection-based training program.
She has worked at the grassroots level with non english-speaking communities in Australia as a caseworker and on community development projects, taking an intersectional approach in her work. Jessica undertook policy and advocacy work where she developed strong analytical skills as well as in the disability-inclusive development space on the board of Australian Disability and Development Consortium.
She brings experience in youth engagement and civic-education programs, underpinned by a solid theoretical foundation in feminist approaches and positive masculinities. Jessica currently lives in Zurich, Switzerland.
Paula Knipe
EXPERT CONSULTANT, Lawyer
Paula is a legal researcher, public policy advocate, and interdisciplinary development professional dedicated to promoting social inclusion, rights-based governance, and systemic change. Her doctoral research investigates malnutrition and non-communicable diseases among women in South Africa, proposing a gender-responsive rights-based framework for state accountability and collective responsibility in realising the rights to food and health.
With over six years of experience in research, advocacy, and development, she has worked at the intersection of human rights, gender, food systems, and public health, engaging with academics, civil society, and government to drive evidence-based, equity-driven solutions that improve people's lives.
Vijitha Veerakatty
EXPERT CONSULTANT, PhD in Law, Attorney-at-Law
Vijitha Veerakatty is an Attorney at Law and holds a PhD in international humanitarian law and a CAS in Peacebuilding. She is a legal advisor at the Swiss Federal Office of Justice in the field of European law and Schengen/Dublin. She provides a wide range of expertise, from local governance and federalism to international human rights protection and peacebuilding.