Jekaterina Saveljeva, Founder and Workshop Facilitator
Jekaterina Saveljeva is the founder and workshop facilitator at femLENS. Jekaterina is a photographer and photo editor, with a BA in media and communication who started her professional career as a freelancer in Dublin, Ireland working with small and large publications, including The New York Times, Metro Eireann and others, later having her works later used by AP, REUTERS and Irish Times. Having worked and travelled on three continents, she realised the lack of diversity of voices and visions in documentary photography. In 2015 Jekaterina organised the first series of femLENS workshops, which provided photography training to women, with the guidance of members of other civil organisations. 

Maria Vesselko, Co-Founder and Administrator
Maria Vesselko was born in Estonia (Narva), and now lives in Ireland (Dublin). Studied psychology and social-science. Her main interests are research and human studies. She works on promoting women’s rights and gender equality.

Elena Palaiorouta, Researcher
Elena Palaiorouta is a postgraduate of Stockholm University in Sweden where she received her Master’s degree in Social Anthropology. She is originally from Athens, Greece currently based in Zagreb, Croatia. She has dedicated her career working in institutes and organisations who advocate towards equality and aiding the underrepresented to be heard and elevated. She found that in femLENS she is able to combine her interests: gender equality, female empowerment and research. At the end of the day, she believes that as long as there is solidarity there is still hope for a better future.

Ghinwa Daher, Workshop Facilitator
Ghinwa Daher started her career in 2009 as a freelance filmmaker and photographer in Lebanon, her home country, working in both fiction and documentary, until 2015 when she started travelling to document stories from around the globe. Since then she has travelled to over 40 countries, photographing, filming, editing and producing stories about women, medical actions, maternal health, employment, artists, climate change and more. Throughout these years she understood the need for people to document and tell their own stories instead of those being told by a foreign and distant eye.
In search for more authentic storytelling, her passion for offering documentary photography workshops grew, which drew her to femLENS, whose work with smartphones made the most sense in order to make the visual storytelling tools accessible to everybody in a world where smartphone cameras are getting better by the day, and where documenting and journalism are now mediums not just for professionals but for anyone who cares to share and tell their stories.
Liselotte Carmelino Kah, Project Assistant

Liselotte Carmelino Kah is a communications specialist based in Narva, Estonia.

Advisory Board

Irina Tolkki, Digital Marketing & Communication specialist
Irina Tolkki is a passionate traveller, who gained her experience in marketing and communication within three countries Russia, Germany and South Africa. She studied Public Relation at her home city, Saint-Petersburg (Russia) and later graduated in M.A. Business Communication in Berlin, where she currently lives.  Her interest includes human rights and equality, global development – the impact of technologies on society.
Daniela E. Miranda, Ph.D.

Daniela E. Miranda is a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Universidad de Sevilla Department of Social Psychology Department and the Center for Community Research and Action (CESPYD). Her expertise included community-based participatory action-research approaches with the aim of ensuring that the voices of racialised/ethnic women and girls are disseminated in research agendas, policy recommendations, and public debate. She is especially focused on reviewing and re-imaging Photovoice linked to advocacy and reproductive justice.

Varaidzo Magodo-Matimba
Varaidzo Magodo-Matimba has six years’ experience working in human rights with a focus on women’s rights, youth rights and achieving gender equality through capacity building. She is a sustainability enthusiast and has gained experience fundraising for feminist non-profit organisations. She is well versed with legislative process following and analysis, notably having worked as a Gazetted Marriages Bill consultant. She has experience gained from working for international organisations namely World YWCA, in developing and designing feminist methodology for gender sensitive research that responds to the needs of women with a focus on young women under 30. A lawyer by profession, her range of experience includes stakeholder mapping and liaison, grant management, human rights education, community education and workshop facilitation.
Sophie Standke, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion professional
Sophie Standke is an International DEI leader and is passionate about creating workplace inclusivity, enhancing cross-cultural collaboration and developing equitable solutions for everyone. Sophie started her career as a Marketeer in the consumer goods industry working across Germany, United Kingdom and Spain until stepping into the role of leading Diversity, Equity & inclusion for Beam Suntory International. Sophie is focussed on bringing more diverse female voices and under-served communities to the forefront. She is also part of a global women in web3 community because she believes in emerging technologies and its opportunity for more social, economic and financial inclusion. She is passionate about removing entry barriers for women in tech and creating more gender diversity in tech leadership through education and networking.