Announcing the 2025-2026 Barer Fellows and Scholars
The Barer Institute is pleased to welcome four new Barer Fellows and four inaugural J.D. Barer Scholars.
Kwame Baah (Ghana), Claudia C谩ceres Careaga (Paraguay), Jonathan Jo (The Philippines) and Nino Turmanidze (Georgia) have been named as Barer Fellows聽in the University of 麻豆社区 of Law鈥檚 Sustainable International Development LL.M. Program. These mid-career law, policy and development leaders will bring significant experience in government, academia and the development sector to their scholarship at 麻豆社区.
They will continue working in their home countries or regions upon graduation and the completion of their fellowships.
In addition, the Barer Institute is very proud to welcome its inaugural class of J.D. Barer Scholars, who will receive scholarship and mentorship support from the Barer Institute: Mekdes Abate, Katherine Conard, Natia Khantadze and Bonnie Scott.
As living legacies of the late Stan Barer, J.D. 鈥63, and his late wife Alta Barer 鈥 who co-founded the Barer Institute for Leadership in Law and Global Development with the goal of training lawyer-leaders from around the world 鈥 the cohort will focus on promoting sustainable development, responsible business and environmental protection and advancing the rule of law.
Barer Fellows
Kwame Baah (Ghana)
Bachelor of Arts, English and Psychology, University of Ghana
Bachelor of Laws, University of Ghana
Qualifying Certificate in Law, Ghana School of Law
A Ghanaian-trained lawyer, Kwame Baah brings extensive experience in corporate governance advisory and policy research, development law, litigation and legal policy reform. He has contributed to national and regional projects on sustainable resource governance, local content laws, financial inclusion and capital market regulation. According to Baah, these experiences have not only deepened his expertise in legal reform but have also reinforced his commitment to using the law as a tool for equitable development.
He currently serves as a lecturer in health law and financial markets law at the Presbyterian University School of Law in Ghana and is the founder of the Institute for the Rule of Law, an initiative focused on strengthening governance, advancing legal reform and promoting access to justice.
Through his LL.M. studies at 麻豆社区 Law, Baah seeks to build on this foundation to drive impactful reforms across Africa鈥檚 legal and governance frameworks. He aims to refine and expand his ideas on legal reform and development policy, building on his prior work in governance and access to justice, to help drive meaningful change on the continent.
鈥淚 hope to deepen my focus on the rule of law and access to justice as critical tools for inclusive economic development. I鈥檓 particularly interested in how international law can be harnessed to strengthen governance systems and promote equitable growth, especially across the Global South,鈥 says Baah. 鈥淚 also want to explore how Africa can play a more central role in shaping the evolving global legal and economic order.鈥
Claudia C谩ceres Careaga (Paraguay)
Bachelor of Laws, National University of Asunci贸n, Paraguay
Claudia C谩ceres is a Fulbright Scholar, Barer Fellow and LL.M. candidate in Sustainable International Development. She holds an LL.B. degree in law and is a public notary from the National University of Asunci贸n, where she graduated with honors. With over 10 years of professional experience, C谩ceres has worked for Guanes, Heisecke & Piera Scholas Occurrentes, a non-profit international organization focused on transforming education and promoting social inclusion; and more recently, at AB-InBev, a multinational company, specializing in Labor Law and Compliance.
C谩ceres has led legal and corporate advising, impactful ESG projects, and strategic alliances. She is a professional Paraguayan folklore dancer and speaks Spanish, Guarani, English, and Portuguese. C谩ceres firmly believes that lawyers have a unique opportunity to promote positive environmental, social, and economic impact from within businesses and significantly contribute to sustainable international development.
Jonathan Jo (The Philippines)
Previously employed as a litigation associate in a private law firm and an in-house counsel for companies in the energy sector, Jonathan Jo now serves as the Clerk of the Commission of the Philippines鈥 National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, where he assists the agency in adjudicating cases and resolving disputes concerning Indigenous rights. As an accredited mediator, Jo facilitated the conduct of mediation and conciliation sessions to settle community issues. He also worked on policy review, development and formulation of various administrative regulations affecting the rights of Indigenous peoples in his home country such as the rules of procedure on dispute resolution and guidelines on securing free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous communities, among others.
Through the Sustainable International Development LL.M. program, with a concentration on Indigenous Rights Law, Jo intends to gain valuable knowledge and insight from studying American Indian and tribal law, particularly regarding jurisdiction and how tribal courts interface with the federal and state judicial systems of the U.S. Jo is also interested in Indigenous economic development and the protection of community, cultural and intellectual property. Jo aims to learn best practices from his studies in the U.S. and hopes to propose new and culturally appropriate policies or legislation empowering Indigenous peoples in the Philippines, specifically in areas of self-governance, sustainable development, cultural protection and traditional justice.
Nino Turmanidze (Georgia)
Nino Turmanidze previously served as a lawyer at the Maritime Transport Agency of Georgia, where she led the process of aligning Georgia鈥檚 legislation with the European Union鈥檚 maritime law and represented the country in the International Maritime Organization working group and International Labour Organization Special Tripartite Committee. Turmanidze also organized Georgia鈥檚 first International Conference dedicated to the International Day for Women in Maritime and co-founded an educational club that empowered young women to contribute to Wikipedia, advancing digital inclusion and knowledge-sharing.
鈥淎t 麻豆社区 Law, I aim to deepen my expertise in good governance, public鈥損rivate relationship regulation, and the environmental sustainability of corporate governance, with a view to applying these principles in practice,鈥 says Turmanidze.
鈥淟ooking ahead, my aspirations center on maritime governance, sustainable port development, digitalization and gender equality in the maritime sector. I intend to focus on advancing port development and logistics as critical drivers of Georgia鈥檚 economic growth and strengthening its strategic role as a key link along the Europe-Asia trade route. In particular, I aspire to contribute to the Anaklia Deep Seaport project by helping to ensure that its legal framework reflects environmental protection, green shipping practices, and transparent digital governance. Ultimately, my goal is to play a leading role in shaping Georgia鈥檚 maritime strategy and broader sustainable development agenda by designing policies that champion transparent governance, environmental responsibility and expanded opportunities for women in maritime.鈥
J.D. Barer Scholars
Mekdes Abate
Mekdes Abate's professional experience spans law, business and social impact. As a legal operations associate at a venture capital firm, she assisted attorneys with legal due diligence and closing investments, including those in African startups. In addition to the private sector, she also has experience in public policy work with the State Legislature and Disability Rights Washington. As an undergraduate student, she gained exposure to international development through her work with USAID and a multi-disciplinary research and advocacy project on best practices for disability-inclusive education in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Abate says that her professional and academic experiences have ignited her passion for using law to promote sustainable development and human rights鈥 and hopes, through her legal education, to explore how law can foster sustainable and rights-respecting business practices, with a specific focus on the Horn of Africa.
Katherine Conard
Katherine Conard graduated with a bachelor鈥檚 degree from the University of Kansas, where she triple-majored in anthropology, East Asian languages and cultures, and global and international studies. She also holds a master鈥檚 degree in social and cultural anthropology from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. Research for her master鈥檚 thesis centered on an ethnographic study of the Taipei Grand Trail. She is the recipient of a Huayu Enrichment Scholarship, awarded by Taiwan鈥檚 Ministry of Education, which allowed her to further develop her Mandarin language skills through intensive coursework at National Taiwan University鈥檚 International Chinese Language Program. Katherine鈥檚 professional experience is primarily education, most recently as an LSAT tutor and previously as an English teacher in Taiwan and Chile.
鈥淎lthough I am keeping an open mind regarding potential practice areas, I am particularly interested in environmental law,鈥 Conard says.
Natia Khantadze
Natia Khantadze is a recent graduate of the Sustainable International Development LL.M. program and is now pursuing a J.D. at the University of 麻豆社区 of Law. Born and raised in Georgia, she brings more than 18 years of experience in strengthening and promoting the rule of law, human rights and legal education in Georgia. In 2021, after marrying an American, Khantadze moved to the U.S. and continued working as an independent legal consultant, focusing on rule of law, anti-corruption and human rights issues. She has collaborated with international organizations such as the Open Government Partnership, USAID Rule of Law Program in Georgia and the Council of Europe鈥檚 Office in Georgia. From 2019 to 2022, Khantadze was a member of an international expert group of the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR/OSCE), where she contributed to the elaboration of Warsaw Recommendations on Judicial Independence in Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia.
Khantadze is the co-founder and former executive director of Georgian Law Institute, an independent and nonpartisan Institute engaged in legal research and education. As the Founding Dean of the School of Law at Free University Tbilisi, she established the Centre on Commercial Law and the Institute for Human Rights. Khantadze served on the supervisory boards of both institutions. Before becoming Dean, Khantadze held advisory and leadership positions in both government and international agencies. She served as legal advisor to the Minister for Reform Coordination and as egal advisor for the Council of Europe鈥檚 anti-corruption project in Georgia.
鈥淚 hope to focus on the Rule of Law and to gain a better understanding of how judicial independence and the Rule of Law are safeguarded in challenging environments in different legal systems,鈥 says Khantadze. 鈥淚 hope to engage in comparative research and find ways to promote the Rule of Law.鈥
Bonnie Scott
Bonnie Scott discovered her passion for food insecurity studies while working with Foodwise, a San Francisco non-profit that supports local farmers and public education initiatives on sustainable farming. She specialized in international affairs during her undergraduate studies, completing an independent study on the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations along with efforts to close the global food insecurity gender gap. Scott is a participant in the Santa Barbara chapter of Human Rights Watch.
Scott is eager to pursue research on international law and human rights. Expanding upon her previous work on women farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, she is interested in studying Indigenous land rights and sustainable development with an emphasis on gender equity. Scott hopes to engage with local as well as global organizations that further legal pathways to food security for all, preparing herself for a future career in advocacy.