Valerie Thomas, Portugal

Ms Thomas is the President of the Regulatory Institute ASBL, Brussels. She conducts legislative research, writes articles at www.howtoregulate.org, coordinates freelancers and comments on draft regulations. Ms Thomas has 15 years experience working in policy and programme management, both as a federal policy officer and as an adviser to the Timor-Leste government. She holds Degrees in Law (Honours) from the University of Canberra (Australia) and in Politics, Sociology and Philosophy from Murdoch University (Australia). Her Masters Degree in International Relations is from Deakin University (Australia). She was previously licenced to practice law in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. Ms Thomas is a native English speaker and also speaks Portuguese.

Sarra Nsir, Tunisia

General Manager of the Regulatory Institute, researcher and representative of the Regulatory Institute for Africa and the Middle East, Ms Nsir has an excellent academic background and rich experience in civil society. Currently, Ms Nsir is working towards her PhD on “Dispute Settlement Mechanism under the AfCFTA” at the Faculty of Judicial, Political and Social Sciences of Tunis, where she also teaches Property Law. Ms Nsir interned with the National Democratic Institute in the Tunisian parliament over 2020 to 2021, where she made amendment proposals, assisted in meetings with government members and analysed bills discussed in parliamentarian committees. She completed both her Masters Degree in International Commercial Law (2021) and her Law Degree (2018) at the Faculty of Judicial, Political and Social Sciences of Tunis (Tunisia). Ms Nsir is an Arabic native speaker and speaks French and English fluently.

Bernadine Sengson, Philippines

Ms Sengson is the Chief editor of the Regulatory Institute. She currently works at the Legal Affairs Department of the House of Representatives in the Philippines. She previously worked as a staff of one of the Members of the House of Representatives where she drafted and analysed bills, proposed amendments to existing laws, attended discussions with various stakeholders including NGOs, and assisted in legislative committee meetings. She completed her Law Degree at the University of the Philippines in 2017 and became a member of the Philippine Bar in 2018. She also has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology (2013). She is fluent in English and Filipino is her first language.

Yurii Bilozor, Ukraine

Mr Bilozor assists the Manager with research and other projects of the Regulatory Institute. He previously worked in legal translation and currently works in international legal compliance. Mr Bilozor holds a Masters Degree in Law from the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (2020, Ukraine). He is fluent in English and Russian, and Ukrainian is his first language.

Fabiola Zambrana Pardo, Bolivia

Fabiola Zambrana Pardo is the representative of the Regulatory Institute for Central and South America. She is a lawyer and political scientist, and she currently works in international trade. She started her career working in social projects financed by the European Union. In addition, she has 8 years of experience in Bolivian Public Administration, during this time she assumed positions of great responsibility as legal advisor to the Vice-Presidency of the Legislative Assembly of Santa Cruz, proposing draft laws that sought to achieve an Open Government and reducing the inequality gap in the region. She was also an advisor to the Special Commission in creating the Metropolitan Region of Santa Cruz. She worked as a legal advisor in the Senate, concentrating on anti-corruption initiatives. She was the National Director of Gender in the National Government of Bolivia, where she proposed cross-cutting public policies to reduce the rates of gender violence in Bolivia. Fabiola has taken leadership and effective communication courses in the United States, Spain, Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico, and Ireland. Spanish is her native language, and her second language is English. She has studied Guarani as an indigenous language. 

Manisha Katyal, India

With a career grounded in research and policy analysis, Manisha has led large-scale projects and provided strategic legal counsel on criminal justice, corporate law, and environmental policy. She has played a key role in producing influential reports that have shaped justice system reforms, particularly in areas of prison administration and criminal law. Manisha’s hands-on legal experience extends across the judiciary and corporate sectors, where she has worked alongside top-tier advocates, delivering in-depth legal research, case analysis, and drafting of high-profile legal documents. Her research spans across criminal laws, digital rights, and environmental justice, bridging the gap between legal academia and its practical application in the corporate world. As an advocate for environmental conservation, Manisha has been instrumental in working with various NGOs, contributing her legal expertise to advance environmental causes and develop legal frameworks that support sustainable practices. She is fluent in English, and her first language is Hindi.

Krizza Lei Masangkay, Philippines

Researcher and representative of the Regulatory Institute for East and Southeast Asia, Mrs Krizza is a legal professional specialising in regulatory compliance, legislative research, and consultancy. As a Legal Consultant at RMTM Customs Brokerage, she provides strategic counsel, regulatory guidance, and tailored legal solutions to support business goals. Her expertise includes contract review, compliance management, and legal advisory. Previously, she was an Energy Regulation Officer II at the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Philippines, where she led legal research, policy development, and regulatory initiatives, contributing to key frameworks and compliance strategies.
Her experience also includes serving as Legislative Staff at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Occidental Mindoro, supporting law drafting, stakeholder engagement, and legislative processes, alongside freelance work in legal writing and research. She holds a Juris Doctor (JD) from San Sebastian College – Recoletos de Manila and a Bachelor’s Degree in Development Communication from the University of the Philippines Los Baños. She is fluent in Filipino and English and skilled in legal consulting, drafting, policy analysis, and compliance.

Ajda Mihelčič, Belgium

Ms Mihelčič made the Regulatory Institute operational in 2016 and 2017. She now serves as a Board member of the Regulatory Institute ASBL, Brussels. She holds a law degree of the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) and an Advanced Masters in Human Rights of the St. Louis University (Belgium). Ms Mihelčič is fluent in English, French and Slovenian is her first language. She understands Spanish and Dutch.

Manfred Kohler, Belgium

Mr Kohler holds two German state examinations in law and a French degree of public management (ENA). He started his career with the UNHCR and then went on to be the director of a German political asylum NGO, before joining the European institutions. In June 2001, he became the Head of the German press department of the European Parliament in Brussels and in parallel, responsible for environmental legislation. Since April 2004 he has been working for the European Commission, first by coordinating the positions of his Commission colleagues and of Member States in the UNECE forum for vehicle legislation and representing both the EU and its Member States. At that time, he revised over 100 UNECE regulations and improved the overall architecture of the regulatory system. Subsequently, he worked on the improvement of the EU law on medical devices, including new regulations. In 2018 he worked as team leader and pen-holder on a new Construction Products Regulation. For close to two decades he has contributed to dozens of other pieces of EU legislation, including some with horizontal application such as the the Market Surveillance Regulation, the Whistleblowing Directive, the General Product Safety Regulation, the Environmental Crime Directive, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and the Raw Materials Regulation.

In parallel to his assignments, Mr Kohler inventoried the regulatory techniques used in EU legislation. From late 2010 to early 2014, he trained over 300 colleagues in regulatory techniques and provided support for their regulatory projects. He also developed a working method for lawmakers. In 2014 he formalised the training manual he had used for training his colleagues by integrating good practices from other jurisdictions – this became the 1st edition of the Handbook. In 2015 he created howtoregulate.org and in 2016 the Regulatory Institute immediately took over the responsibility for howtoregulate.org.

Since March 2023, Mr Kohler works as an independent consultant for lawmaking and regulation. He continues his fundamental research on regulation and provides methodological input to the Regulatory Institute, namely by enlarging its knowledge-base. Moreover, he contributes to the model laws of the Regulatory Institute. Since the end of 2023, he serves also actively as our Chief Consultant. Mr Kohler is fluent in English and French, understands Spanish and German is his first language. He can be contacted via the Regulatory Institute, via his LinkedIn profile or by phone: +4915206610320.