PSI Team

The PSI team brings together researchers from across the space sector, from engineering and planetary science, to policy and law.

What unites us is a shared commitment to reimagining space as a domain for justice, sustainability, and liberation.

Sahba El-Shawa

Founder and Managing Director

Sahba El-Shawa is the Founder of the Palestine Space Institute (PSI) and the Jordan Space Research Initiative (JSRI). An award-winning space and sustainability researcher, she bridges engineering, ethics, and policy to reimagine how space exploration can serve justice, people, and the planet.

She holds a BASc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia, an MSc in Space Studies from the International Space University, and a PhD in Sustainable Development and Climate Change from IUSS Pavia in Italy. Her research integrates emerging technology applications with the ethical and policy dimensions of sustainability and climate action. She has previously worked with the European Space Agency’s Clean Space initiative and Φ-lab, and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).

At PSI, Sahba leads efforts to confront the intersections of space, colonialism, and militarization through research, advocacy, and education. Guided by a decolonial and justice-centered vision, she works to ensure that space technologies contribute to liberation and sustainability rather than exploitation and control.

Divya Persaud

Research Manager

Dr. Divya M. Persaud (she/her) is a planetary geologist, writer, composer, and speaker. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in geology and music composition and a Ph.D. in Mars imaging.

Her extensive research has focused on both innovating remote sensing techniques to better understand Earth and planetary surfaces, and materialist approaches to understanding the political contexts of the space industry. Dr. Persaud has spoken, written, collaborated, and advised internationally on the politics of space, including as co-founder of the award-winning conference, Space Science in Context.

At PSI, Divya leads development, research, and implementation of the Space and MIC Database, and manages new research partnerships and collaborations.

Giuliana Rotola

Fellowship Coordinator

Dr Giuliana Rotola is a space law and policy specialist whose work spans sustainability, governance, Indigenous methodologies, and post-colonial approaches to space regulation.

She holds a law degree from the University of Trento, a Master of Space Studies from the International Space University, and a PhD in Sustainable Development and Climate Change from the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, where her research addresses the governance of outer space resources, ecosystems and non-traditional regulatory frameworks, including Indigenous perspectives.

At PSI, she serves as Fellowship Coordinator, where she leads the design and delivery of the Institute’s fellowship programme

AJ Link

Human Rights and Policy Lead

AJ Link (he/him) is openly autistic. He earned his B.A. in Philosophy from the University of South Florida, JD from The George Washington University Law School, and his LL.M in Space Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law.

He is an adjunct professor of space law at Howard University School of Law. AJ serves as a research director for the Jus Ad Astra project and the Space Law and Policy Chair for Black in Astro. He previously served as an Accessibility Team Lead for AstroAccess and has contributed to several journals, papers, and other projects focused on creating a more justice and equitable future in space and on Earth.

AJ’s work across the space and disability fields has been recognized nationally and internationally, including several awards. He is the human rights and policy lead for the Palestine Space Institute and the steward of The Potter’s House DC, a nonprofit bookstore and café in Washington, D.C.

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