2024-2025 IFD Fellows
Vedik Reddy Chittamuru
European Bank for Resconstruction and Development
Vedik is an LL.M. candidate in Corporation Law at NYU School of Law. He earned his B.B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) degree in 2024 from Jindal Global Law School, one of India’s leading law schools, where he graduated with a strong academic record.
During his time in India, Vedik interned at several prominent law firms, gaining experience with general corporate work and investment fund matters. He also served as a teaching assistant and research assistant on projects related to green finance, corporate governance, and financial regulation. Additionally, he completed an independent research project examining alternative investment fund regulations in India, Japan, and Singapore.
At NYU, Vedik serves as a Graduate Editor for the NYU Journal of Law and Business. His coursework includes Investment Banking, Corporate Finance, Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions, and Securities Regulation. Qualified to practice law in India, he plans to sit for the New York Bar Examination in 2025.
Aside from his academics, Vedik has demonstrated a strong commitment to public interest work. He served as Research Coordinator for People for Animal Wellbeing during law school in India and currently volunteers with the NYC Bankruptcy Assistance Project.
As an IFD Fellow, Vedik will join the Office of the General Counsel at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, where he will contribute to legal and policy initiatives across emerging markets.
Aashima Bhatia
International Finance Corporation
Aashima Bhatia is an LL.M. candidate in Corporation Law at NYU School of Law, where her coursework includes Corporations, Restructuring, Cross-Border M&A, Information Privacy Law, and Environmental Transactional Law. She serves as a Staff Editor of the NYU Environmental Law Journal and as the LL.M. Representative for the Law & Business Association.
Prior to NYU, Aashima spent four years practicing corporate law at premier Indian law firms consistently ranked among the top by global legal directories. She advised on high-value private equity, M&A, and venture capital transactions across sectors such as renewable energy, infrastructure, electric mobility, and education. Her experience spans the full transaction lifecycle—from structuring and strategy to due diligence, negotiation, and execution.
Aashima earned her B.B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) from Symbiosis Law School, Pune, one of India’s leading law schools. During her time there, she held leadership positions and received multiple accolades in national and international moot court and Model UN competitions. She also gained early exposure to corporate transactional work through internships at top-ranked Indian commercial law firms.
She is admitted to practice law in India and plans to sit for the New York Bar in July 2025. As an International Finance and Development Fellow, she will work with the International Finance Corporation in Fall 2025.
Abhishree Manikantan
International Institute of Sustainable Development
Abhishree earned her BBA-LLB (Hons.) degree from Symbiosis Law School, Pune, where she was awarded the semester topper scholarship for the examination season of April 2022. An avid mooter and oralist, she led her team to finish runners up at the world rounds of the Stetson International Environment Law Moot Court Competition 2021. She also served as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Constitutional Law Review, where she oversaw the publication of three editions of the journal.
Qualified to practice law in India, Abhishree worked with the disputes team of a law firm in New Delhi for two years before her LL.M. She represented corporations in the infrastructure sector in high-stakes civil litigations and commercial arbitrations before the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts. Side by side, she volunteered with a Delhi-based environmental rights and advocacy NGO and assisted them in a research capacity.
At NYU, she has pursued the LL.M. in International Business Regulation, Litigation and Arbitration, while focusing on building her interest at the intersection of international trade and sustainable development. Her coursework has included Investment Treaty Arbitration, International Trade Law, International Environmental Law, and a seminar on the Challenge of Changing Energy Markets. She also served as a Graduate Editor with the NYU Journal of International Law and Politics.
Gabriela Sanchez
International Finance Corporation
Gabriela Sanchez is a Colombian attorney with robust experience in infrastructure, public procurement, and government contracts. She is pursuing an LL.M. at New York University School of Law, where she has been awarded the Dean's Graduate Award in recognition of her academic excellence. At NYU, she is deepening her expertise in corporate law and finance, with coursework in cross-border M&A, investment banking, capital markets, and secured transactions.
Before moving to New York, Gabriela worked as an Associate at Duran & Osorio in Bogotá, Colombia, where she advised public entities, private companies, and multilateral organizations on complex infrastructure projects. Her role involved legal due diligence, the design of transaction structures, negotiation of concession and PPP contracts, and coordination with technical and financial teams. She played a central role in high-stakes transportation, healthcare, and environmental projects, including the structuring of Colombia’s first railway public-private partnership and several multimillion-dollar toll roads and hospitals.
Gabriela’s professional background also includes legal internships at Microsoft Colombia, where she focused on regulatory issues in technology, and at the National Agency of State Legal Defense, where her research contributed to Colombia’s successful defense in a $320 million international arbitration case.
She holds a Law degree from Universidad de los Andes and a specialization in Corporate Finance from Colegio de Estudios Superiores de Administración (CESA), where she conducted a valuation of a private company as her graduation project. Gabriela is admitted to practice law in Colombia and plans to sit for the New York State Bar Exam.
Gabriela is fluent in English and Spanish. In her free time, she enjoys tennis, swimming, and running.
Shreya Dutt
International Monetary Fund
Shreya Dutt earned her B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) from Symbiosis Law School, Pune, India, in 2019, graduating with notable academic and extracurricular achievements. During law school, she was offered a position at a leading disputes and litigation firm in New Delhi, where she began her legal career under the mentorship of the Senior Partner—whom she later followed into private practice.
Over the past five years, Shreya has gained experience on both sides of the courtroom, in prosecution and defense, shaping a balanced perspective on the enforcement of financial crimes that is grounded in practical realities. She has worked closely with federal investigative agencies in India, assisting in the prosecution of several high-profile cases of national significance. These matters involved complex, multi-jurisdictional offenses—including corruption, money laundering, and serious fraud—implicating senior public officials and large corporations across borders. In recognition of her prosecutorial work, she received a Letter of Appreciation from the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2023.
On the defense side, Shreya has advised and represented corporations and high-net-worth individuals in white-collar and commercial litigation matters. She has also acted pro bono in cases involving serious criminal charges such as murder, assault, sexual offenses, domestic violence, cheating, and forgery. Her courtroom practice spans from trial courts to the Supreme Court of India. She has also contributed to legal reform by drafting investigative manuals and training modules for government investigative and enforcement agencies in India.
At NYU School of Law, Shreya pursued her LL.M. with a focus on corporate crime, compliance and criminal law. During this time, she interned with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, where she gained experience in the prosecution of a wide range of felony and misdemeanour cases, and assisted in their investigation and criminal trials. She also served as a Research Assistant and Associate Blog Editor for the Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement, NYU.
As an IFD Fellow with the IMF’s Anti-Corruption and Financial Integrity Unit, Shreya endeavours to contribute to the evolving global framework on anti-corruption and anti-money laundering, and to help strengthen international cooperation in the fight against financial crime.
Elena Hernández
International Energy Agency
Elena Hernández is an LL.M. candidate in Energy, Environmental and Natural Resources Law at NYU School of Law. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City and is admitted to practice law in Mexico.
Before joining NYU, Elena practiced energy law at Cacheaux, Cavazos & Newton, LLP in Mexico City for eight years, where she advised international and domestic clients on regulatory compliance, permitting, and contractual matters related to the electricity sector. Her work focused on the development of utility-scale and on-site renewable energy projects and included participation in administrative litigation and arbitration concerning energy regulation.
At NYU, Elena is focusing her studies on the energy transition and the regulatory and policy frameworks needed to promote sustainable energy development. Her academic work centers on the role of critical minerals in the energy transition and their significance for energy security — the subject of her current thesis research. To complement her legal background, she completed a course on energy technologies and policy at the School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, which provided technical context for the energy transition.
In addition to her academic and professional interests, Elena is committed to promoting gender equality in the legal profession and the energy sector. She is an active member of Abogadas MX, a Mexican association that supports the professional development of women lawyers and participates in NYU Law Women’s Development Committee.
Mamadou Saidou Bah
World Bank Legal Vice Presidency
Mamadou Saidou Bah completed his Bachelor of Laws (Honors) in May 2017 at the Faculty of Law, University of The Gambia, graduating in the top four percent of his class. During the 2016-2017 academic year, he served as the Research Minister of the Law Students’ Association at the university. After completing his undergraduate studies, he enrolled at the Gambia Law School in October 2017 where he earned his Barrister -At- Law Certificate. He was called to The Gambia Bar in February 2019 and because of his distinguished performance at the Gambia Law School, he received the award for the best student in Company Law and Commercial Practices.
From October 2018 to February 2019, Mamadou worked as a legal officer at Semega Chambers, a private law firm. In this role, he was responsible for preparing court pleadings, interviewing clients, attending courts’ proceedings, preparing contracts and assisting in the administration of the chambers.
In February 2019, Mamadou moved to the Judiciary of The Gambia where he works as a Senior Legal Researcher at the Court of Appeal of The Gambia. His responsibilities include drafting legal opinions, conducting extensive research for judges of the courts, proofreading court judgments and rulings and doing subject matter indexing of the judgments of the court. Prior to his promotion to the Court of Appeal in February 2023, he was a Legal Researcher at the High Court of The Gambia where he drafted court rulings, judgments and opinions and conducted extensive legal research under the supervision of a judge. He was also instrumental in the day-to-day administration of the court’s chambers and the Judiciary at large. Fundamentally, he contributed to the organization of training and workshops for Judges, Magistrates and judicial support staff including courts Clerks and Registrars. He was enrolled as a Legal Practitioner in The Gambia in November 2020.
Currently, Mamadou is pursuing an LL.M. in International Legal Studies at NYU School of Law, where is the recipient of the Podell Global Graduate Legal Scholarship, which is given annually to one student who has accumulated a record of superior academic achievement. His coursework included International Law; International Trade Law; International Humanitarian Law; Commercial Sales Law: National and International; Law Business and Human Rights; and Transitional Justice. He is also a Transitional Justice Scholar, and his Transitional Justice seminar paper was on the ‘Participation of Victims as civil parties in the prosecution of human rights abuses.’ The paper explored the rise of support for victims’ participation and critiqued the inadequacies of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other international tribunals to provide for victims' participation.
Notably, Mamadou was among four LLM students accepted in the United National Diplomacy Clinic. Students in the Clinic were sent to the Permanent Missions of Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) at the United Nations (UN) to serve as Legal Advisors. He served as a Legal Advisor to the Mission of Solomon Islands, representing the Mission in various UN Committees, drafting diplomatic statements, conducting thorough research and submitting a paper to the International Law Commission regarding the state practices in relation to sea level rise (SLR). Additionally, he analyzed the voting patterns of the Solomon Islands across the different UN Committees over the past twenty-five (25) years and authored a paper on countries which unilateral coercive measures are being applied/ imposed on.
Mamadou eagerly anticipates starting his Fellowship at the World Bank Legal Vice Presidency, where he hopes to use his experience to immensely contribute towards the advancement of research in international development and leverage his experience to significantly contribute to the Bank’s mission and vision.
Reeneth Santos
World Bank’s Legal Operations Policy Group
Reeneth holds a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Communication degree (cum laude) from the University of the Philippines and a Juris Doctor degree (with honors) from the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law, where, as a consistent scholar, her study focus was on international human rights law and the intersection of business and human rights.
She is set to complete her Master of Laws in Competition, Innovation and Information Law in NYU Law as a Dean’s Graduate Award scholar, specializing in data law and the regulation of digital corporations. She is also a Student Fellow at the Information Law Institute in NYU.
Before joining NYU, Reeneth has been practising law in the Philippines. She clerked in the Supreme Court of the Philippines, and has worked as an associate in prominent Philippine law firms for which she was acknowledged as a standout and well-regarded associate in the technology, media and telecommunications practice and a key lawyer in the corporate and M&A practices by a globally recognized legal directory and rankings firm. She also spent some time in an adtech startup as its legal counsel and data protection officer and as a researcher for the Center for AI and Digital Policy. Reeneth has research work in the areas of women’s rights and labor and employment, which she believes are critical components of digital and tech regulation.
As an IFD Fellow, she will be joining the World Bank’s Legal Operations Policy Group, Technology & Innovation.
Katharina Graf
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
Katharina Graf is an LL.M. candidate in Public International Law at NYU School of Law, where she is a Salzburg Global Cutler Fellow and a research assistant to Professor José Alvarez. A fully qualified lawyer in Germany, she is pursuing a doctorate at Bucerius Law School on the attribution of state responsibility in international law. Her professional experience includes roles at the German Federal Chancellery and the Foreign Office’s Human Rights Division, where she worked on bilateral agreements, humanitarian law, and the German response to the Afghanistan evacuation. She also trained in international arbitration and public international law at Latham & Watkins and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Passionate about legal advocacy and education, Katharina participated in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court and later continued to support the team at Bucerius. She currently serves as Legal Counsel to the Climate Clinic e.V. and intends to sit for the New York Bar in 2025.
Yujia Wu
World Bank, Legal Vice Presidency
Yujia Wu graduated as valedictorian from Xiamen University in China, where she earned dual Bachelor’s degrees in Law (LL.B.) and Mathematical Finance. She was awarded the National Scholarship twice for academic excellence. She also holds a Master of Laws degree from Renmin University of China, with a focus on the intersection of technology and international financial law. She is qualified to practice law in China.
During law school, Yujia represented Xiamen University in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, advancing to the international rounds. She also studied as an exchange student at Maastricht University with a full scholarship awarded by the China Scholarship Council.
Prior to her studies at NYU, Yujia practiced law for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Organizing Committee. In this role, she advised on complex cross-border legal issues related to international law, data compliance, commercial law, and ethics. She earned the Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe (CIPP/E) certification in 2022. Yujia also served as in-house legal counsel at a major commercial bank, where she focused on financial regulations, banking operations, and secured transactions. In her spare time, she had experience acting as a judge in the Jessup national and global rounds.
At NYU, Yujia specialized in International Legal Studies as a recipient of the Dean’s Graduate Award, focusing on international organizations, law and development, banking and technology law. She was awarded a position as a Research Assistant for the Transformative Justice Project. She was also one of five students chosen for the Guarini Externship program, through which she worked with a leading NGO contributing to global technology governance and international development. In addition, Yujia served as a Graduate Editor for the NYU Journal of Law and Business, a student fellow with the Privacy Research Group, and an LL.M. representative for Financial Regulation Society.
Yujia truly looks forward to commencing her fellowship at the World Bank Legal Vice Presidency, eager to pursue her passion in international development and leverage her experience to meaningfully contribute to the organization’s mission.
Eliecer Lu
International Development Law Organization
Eliecer Lu earned his LL.B., magna cum laude, from Universidad Santa María La Antigua in Panama City in 2021, graduating in the top 10 of his class. A seasoned oralist, he represented Panama at the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, ranking among the Top 100 Oralists globally and placing 9th in the European Friendly Rounds. At NYU, where he is a Dean’s Graduate Award Scholar, Eliecer is pursuing an LL.M. in International Legal Studies, focusing on economic development and its intersection with human rights, environmental governance and financing mechanisms.
Before NYU, Eliecer worked at the British Embassy in Panama City as its Environment and Economic Policy Officer and Acting Head of Sustainable Development. In this role, he led the Embassy’s lobbying agenda on transparency, climate, and economic policy, drafted legal and policy briefs, and advised the Ambassador on engagements with ministers and senior officials. He supported the UK’s priorities at multilateral forums including Latin American and Caribbean Climate Week, and the Conferences of Parties to the UNFCCC, CBD, and UNCAC. He helped negotiate and implement UK-funded initiatives on climate and ocean protection in Panama, including the Global Plastic Action Partnership and the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor (CMAR).
Eliecer previously served as Chief Legal Officer at Fundación Iguales, where he drafted motions and prepared litigation strategies to push for LGBTQ+ rights in Panama and collaborated with regional networks to advance equality across Latin America. He also contributed to anti-corruption research for Transparency International Panama, presenting findings before the Organization of American States on Panama’s compliance with the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption.
As an IFD Fellow at the International Development Law Organization in Rome, Eliecer will advise on a broad range of legal issues involving internal governance, contracts, international agreements, and privileges and immunities. He is passionate about using international law and multilateralism to build just, inclusive societies and fostering sustainable economic development.
Daniella Ferrari
World Bank, Legal Operations Policy Group
Daniella earned a Bachelor and Master of Laws from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), where she was the recipient of a Brazilian federal government scholarship and a researcher at the Human Rights Center. After several years in private practice as in-house counsel for the Coca-Cola Institute Brazil and associate attorney at renowned Brazilian law firms, she specialized her practice in law and technology. Daniella worked at the Wikimedia Foundation as a Privacy Fellow specializing in the Latin American region, where she contributed to data protection compliance projects, global product counseling and advocacy work regarding online platform regulation.
At NYU, Daniella received the Dean's Graduate Award and pursued a traditional LL.M. with a focus on Technology Law and Compliance. She was a Research Assistant to Professor Sunoo Park and a member of the Digital Trust and Information Law Lab, where she collaborated on several projects with Computer Science PhD students and co-wrote an article on the regulation of Artificial Intelligence models. At the World Bank, she will join the Operations Policy Group to work on efforts related to technology and innovation.
Khaled Elbeih
World Bank Legal Vice Presidency
Khaled Elbeih holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Cairo University, where he graduated among the top of his class (Very Good with Honors), and a Master’s degree in Public Law from Ain Shams University. He is qualified to practice law in Egypt. Khaled began his legal career at a leading Cairo-based law firm, focusing on dispute resolution and project finance for major infrastructure projects involving multinational corporations.
Following a highly competitive selection process, Khaled joined the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as one of the youngest diplomats in his cohort. As a legal advisor, he has advised on Public International Law issues, particularly in relation to host country and headquarters agreements for international and regional organizations operating in Egypt, including their privileges and immunities. He also reviewed bilateral and multilateral funding agreements prior to their signature and advised on Egypt’s obligations under international human rights mechanisms.
At NYU School of Law, Khaled is an LL.M. candidate in the International Legal Studies Program and a Dean’s Graduate Award Scholar. His coursework has included Public International Law, International Humanitarian Law, Investment Treaty Arbitration, International Trade Law, the History and Theory of International Law, and Legal Imagination and International History. He looks forward to commencing his fellowship at the World Bank Legal Vice Presidency, where he hopes to contribute his legal and diplomatic experience while gaining deeper insight into the legal and institutional dynamics of international development finance.
Kenneth Paa Kwesi (K.P.K.) Agyir
International Monetary Fund
Kenneth earned a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) Law School, and a Qualifying Certificate in Law (QCL) from the Ghana School of Law (GSL), culminating in his admission to the Ghana Bar in 2020. At GIMPA Law School, Kenneth was a Research Assistant in International Law, and served in leadership and extracurricular roles with the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), Students’ Representative Council General Assembly, among others. Pursuant to his professional law training at GSL, Kenneth clerked at the Supreme Court of Ghana.
As an Arthur T. Vanderbilt Scholar and a Starr Foundation Global Law Scholar at NYU, Kenneth’s LLM studies explored Development Finance, Compliance and Risk Management, Banking and Modern Finance, Law and Development, Energy and Environmental Law, and Business and Human Rights. He also served as Staff Editor for the NYU Environmental Law Journal; and an Executive of the Public Interest Law Students Association.
Before NYU Law, Kenneth was an Associate Attorney in a leading Ghanaian law firm, where he gained experience in Dispute Resolution, and Transactional and Compliance Advisory. Notably, he was part of a legal team that represented a multinational firm in a cross-border competition matter at the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) Regional Competition Authority (ERCA). He has undertaken Fellowships with the African Center of International Criminal Justice (ACICJ), and the Center for Transnational Environmental Accountability (CTEA). He was a Speaker at the 2023 Africa Development Conference at Harvard University, and is affiliated with the American Branch of the International Law Association, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
His interests lie at the intersection of Law, Sovereign Finance, Natural Resources Governance, and Sustainable Development, in the Global South.