AWID STAFF

Increasingly diverse and global-minded in our staffing, AWID staff work out of our Toronto, Cape Town or Mexico City offices, while our translators, moderators of our e-newsletters and other staff are located everywhere from Lomé to Rosario and from Shanghai to Bangalore.

Cecilia Alemany - Strategic Initiative Manager, Influencing Development Actors and Practices for Women’s Rights
Cecilia is a PhD candidate on Multidisciplinary Studies of the Latin-American Societies (IHEAL - University Paris III Sorbonne La Nouvelle since 2004). She has a Masters of International Forecasting (Paris V, Sorbonne) and an M.A. in International Relations, University of the Republic of Uruguay. Before joining AWID, she was Head of the Networking team of the international secretariat of Social Watch (2005-2007), the representative of the Latin-American Association of Development Organizations/ALOP in Europe (2004-2005). She has worked for several regional networks and been a consultant for international organizations (UNDP, UNESCO, OAS, IDRC, European Commission, SNV, FES, etc.). Cecilia also teaches "local participatory planning", "planning and formulation of local and regional policies", and "regional forecasting" at the Centro Latinoamericano de Economía Humana - CLAEH (since 2002); and is a member of the Academic Board of the Master on Integration and Mercosur - CLAEH (since 2004), the Academic Board of the Polo Mercosur initiative (since 2006), and the Experts' Board of Celare (Latin American Centre for the European Relations, since 2006).

Lydia Alpízar Durán - Executive Director
Lydia is a Costa Rican feminist activist who lives in Mexico City. She has been the Executive Director of the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) since 2007, and was the manager of the Where is the Money for Women’s Rights and Building Feminist Movements and Organizations Strategic Initiatives of AWID from 2003-2006. Lydia is co-founder and advisor of ELIGE - Youth Network for Reproductive and Sexual Rights (Mexico), and she is also co-founder of the Latin American and Caribbean Youth Network for Reproductive and Sexual Rights. She is on the Board of Directors for the Global Fund for Women and is a member of the International Council on Human Rights Policy. Lydia is a member of the Board of Directors of the Central American Women’s Fund. She is also a graduate from the Human Rights Advocacy Training Program at the Center for the Study of Human Rights in Columbia University in NYC. Lydia has extensive experience in advocacy and training on women's human rights, particularly in sexual and reproductive rights and violence against women.

Srilatha Batliwala - Associate Scholar, Building Feminist Movements and Organizations
Srilatha Batliwala is an India-based Civil Society Research Fellow at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Harvard University, where her work focuses on transnational civil society, but she is best known for her work on gender equality and women’s empowerment. She is Chair of the Board of the Women’s Environment and Development Organization, and a member of the Board of PLAN International and Gender at Work.
Srilatha has over 35 years’ experience as a grassroots activist, gender equality advocate, and women’s studies teacher and researcher in India and internationally. She is well known in South Asia for her leadership of large-scale empowerment movements (such as SPARC and Mahila Samakhya) that mobilized and empowered thousands of the poorest women and communities in both urban and rural areas in India. Srilatha has published extensively on a range of women’s issues, including the widely translated and used “Women’s Empowerment in South Asia – Concepts and Practices.” Since 1997, Srilatha has moved into the arena of transnational civil society and global governance issues, as a Program Officer at the Ford Foundation in New York and than at the Hauser Center. She has just published, with co-editor L. David Brown, an edited volume entitled “Transnational Civil Society: An Introduction” (Kumarian Press, August 2006) and is currently working on her second book, on transnational grassroots movements. She also does a good deal of freelance work in program and organizational evaluations, gender and organizational change, and helping practitioners generate new concepts and theories to challenge dominant discourses.

Jessica Bokhout – Forum and Events Coordinator
Jessica graduated from the University of Toronto with a BA in International Development Studies. As part of her degree requirements, she spent a year-long internship in Zambia with Care, focusing her efforts on helping to organize Zambia’s first Civil Society Conference for people with HIV/AIDS and fundraising for local community schools to ensure orphans and vulnerable children are able to attend class regardless of their ability to pay school fees. This opportunity, along with experience working with the Toronto International Film Festival, has instilled in her a passion for the challenges of international event organization. Jessica holds a great love for travel, good cheese and people who strive towards a more just world.

Lucía Carrasco – Program Associate, Where is the Money for Women's Rights?
Lucía Carrasco was born under cancer’s sign, a quarter of century ago in Oaxaca, Mexico. She graduated from Sociology in the University of Rennes 2, France where, convinced that art is an essential tool for human development, to lead happier lives and above all, to change the world, she co-founded an NGO aiming to promote education and preservation of the environment through the artistic creation. Lucía also holds a Postgraduate degree in Law and Gender from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), and is passionate about urban planning and gender. She considers herself a 5 star and 4 moon chef, a voracious reader, a loving sister and a tenacious gardener. She believes in magic as much as she believes in causality and enjoys spending time in Tarot Coffee Shops, in company of her Wizard-partner, reading and sharing the evenings with a number of witches and druids.

Cindy Clark– Director of Operations and Programs
Cindy has over 10 years of experience as a trainer/facilitator, researcher, evaluator, and strategist, primarily on women’s rights advocacy, organizing andmovement-building. Prior to joining AWID she was the Program Coordinator for Just Associates (JASS), an international network committed to increasing women’s voice, visibility and collective organizational power. Cindy also worked with Women, Law and Development International, where she coordinated multi-regional capacity-building programs in women's human rights advocacy. She lived in Chile for several years where she worked with PARTICIPA, an NGO dedicated to promoting participatory democracy. Cindy has an M.A. in Human and Organizational Development, specializing in the study of change and learning processes in organizations.

Massan d'Almedia - Moderator, Carrefour
Massan is a Togolese women's rights activist based in Lomé (Togo). She holds a Masters Degree in Sciences of Education, a Master Degree in English Linguistics and a Bachelor Degree in French. She is the Founder and the President of three women's rights organizations: AFARD Togo, the Togolese branch of the Association of African Women for Research and Development (AAWORD; ReTOP Genre (Réseau Togolais pour la promotion du Genre) : a national network that aims to promote women's access to decision making bodies; and ROFAF (Réseau des Organisations Féminines d'Afrique Francophone), a regional network of Francophone women's rights organizations, whose daring mission is to raise sufficient funds for women's rights work in Francophone Africa. Massan has extensive experience in the fields of research, training and fundraising. She has published several articles, undertaken much research work and organized various training sessions on issues related to gender, women's rights and development, and has several years of experience in the non-profit sector.

Gabriela De Cicco - Moderator, enLACes
Gabriela lives in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina. She is a writer, journalist and lesbian feminist activist. She teaches European Literature as a student assistant at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Since 1993 she has been promoting women's human rights by broadcasting programs and articles. Since 2000 she has co-coordinated the Argentinian Women's Information Network. Gabriela has also published 4 books of poetry. You can learn a little more about her work and activities at: http://www.gabrieladecicco.com.ar.

Verónica Delgado - Administrator, Mexico Office
Veronica is a Mexican citizen with more than eight years of experience in civil association administration. She is the Administrator and responsible for the accounting at Elige –Red de Jóvenes por los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos, A.C. and she is in charge of bookkeeping at Consorcio para el Dialogo Parlamentario y la Equidad, A.C. She studied Business Administration and has a special diploma in tax management.

Bailey Duller –Office Administrator - Toronto Office
Bailey is a recent graduate of the Collaborative International Development Studies program at the University of Guelph, where she was recognized for her contributions in the Gender and Development area of emphasis. While completing her degree Bailey was able to publish part of her undergraduate thesis on the networking functions of the Bolgatanga basket weaving industry (in Ghana). She also has a keen interest in other forms of labour organization and the creation of transnational solidarity movements. Her international experience includes a placement at the Centre for Sustainable Development Initiatives, a gender-based NGO in the Upper East Region of Ghana. She has also been involved in other shorter- term research and volunteer work in South America and the Caribbean.

Shareen Gokal - Strategic Initiative Manager, Resisting and Challenging Religious Fundamentalisms
With over 10 years experience in the not-for-profit sector, Shareen worked with Canadian refugee-sponsoring organizations in the area of capacity-building and refugee legislation and has developed and managed programs for recently immigrated Afghan women to Toronto as part of her work with the Afghan Women's Organization. Shareen also spent several years in the Dominican Republic working with Haitian migrant workers and in marginalized neighborhoods in Santo Domingo. Since joining AWID in 2001 Shareen has held several positions in the organization- she was the Forum Manager for the 2002 Forum held in Mexico, the Programme Manager for the Women's Human Right Net website and resource and is presently the Strategic Initiative Manager for 'Resisting and Challenging Religious Fundamentalisms'. She holds a degree in International Development Studies and is presently also completing her masters in Sociology and Equity Studies at the University of Toronto.

Lina Gomez - Forum & Events Manager
Lina joined the AWID team in 2004 and has been involved in the planning and organizing of numerous AWID meetings and events, highlighted by the 2005 and 2008 Forums in Bangkok and Cape Town. Before joining AWID, Lina worked for various non-for-profit initiatives and development organizations in South, Central and North America, focusing on gender equality initiatives. She holds a magna cum laude MBA from ICESI University in her native Colombia as well as an honours degree in International Project Management from Humber College in Toronto, Canada. Her work has taken her to many countries around the world including El Salvador, through a CIDA Internship with SalvAide, partnering with local grassroots community development organizations.

Fernanda Hopenhaym - Strategic Initiative Manager, Where is the Money for Women’s Rights?
Fernanda is a Uruguayan who lives in Mexico City. She holds a degree in sociology and a Master’s degree in Latin-American studies. She has vast experience in quantitative and qualitative research, and has also been a teacher in social analysis, research methodology and statistics. Before joining AWID, she worked at the UNESCO Centre of Montevideo as researcher and coordinator of the Cultural Diversity Section, doing projects around cultural rights and gender equality. She also has experience in working with youth movements and was a member of the Youth Network for Peace Building. Her areas of interest are culture & arts, science & development, and women’s rights.

Andrea Imada – Director of Finance and Administration

Andrea has been involved with Canadian-based social change and environmental organizations for almost two decades in areas spanning finance, administration, communications and research. Prior to joining AWID, she spent several years managing financial and operational matters for an agency serving immigrant women in Toronto. Despite pragmatic work habits, Andrea is an idealist who is motivated by contributing to the struggle for women’s rights and social justice, as well as helping to create healthy, sustainable workplaces and movements.

Allison Jack - Executive Assistant
Allison has a BA in Cultural Studies from York University, where she focused on art history and film theory from a feminist perspective. She is inspired by avant-garde feminist artists and filmmakers, and is motivated by those who engage with public spaces in creative ways. She is passionate about grassroots and do-it-yourself feminist and social justice activism, and has been involved with several such organizations, including Safe and Sound, Riot Grrrl Brampton and Squad 416 Radical Cheerleaders. She is currently part of the organizing collective for Ladyfest Toronto, an annual arts and music festival that seeks to incite dialogue and build community among Toronto’s feminist artists, activists and academics.

Kathambi Kinoti - Moderator, Resource Net "Friday File"
Kathambi is a Kenyan feminist living and working in Nairobi. A lawyer by training, she has extensive experience in the field of women's rights. Kathambi is a co-founder of the Young Women's Leadership Institute, an organization that works towards the holistic empowerment of young women.

Michèle Knab - Program Assistant, Influencing Development Actors and Practices for Women’s Rights
Michèle was born in Mexico City to a Belgian mother and American father. She was raised in Mexico City, New York, Cape Town and Tel Aviv. Social justice and multiculturalism were everyday elements of Michèle’s childhood and they continue to play an important role in her adult life. Michèle has a master’s degree in International Development and Cooperation, from the Instituto de Investigaciones José Maria Luis Mora in Mexico City with a specialization in gender violence and the feminization of HIV/AIDS. Previous to joining AWID, Michèle completed her graduate fellowship at UNAIDS in Panamá and then participated in and wrote for the Gender Equality Working Group for the Mexican Agenda for International Cooperation and Development.

Mindy Lee – HR/Operations Coordinator

Mindy graduated with an HBA degree in Women and Equity Studies from the University of Toronto, completed a Human Resources Management Certificate from Ryerson University, and obtained a Certified Human Resources Professional Designation from HRPA (Ontario). She loves to travel.

Ghadeer Malek – Program Assistant, Young Feminist Activism Program
Ghadeer is a Palestinian feminist activist who is currently residing in Toronto, Canada. She attended the University of Toronto where she completed a double major in History and Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations along with a minor in Political Science. She worked with many progressive groups on campus to promote anti-racism, anti-oppression and anti-occupation values. She developed a strong passion for feminism at an early age, and committed herself to fighting for women’s rights as she witnessed first hand the effects of religious fundamentalism and patriarchy on women’s rights. Ghadeer was also on the editorial board of the Undergraduate Journal of Middle East Studies at the University of Toronto and has worked as a Research Assistant in a health and women's rights project.

Lejla Medanhodzic - Moderator, Resource Net "Announcements"
Lejla holds an HBA degree in Political Science from the University of Toronto and is currently completing her Master's in East European Studies in Berlin, Germany. She is originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina and lived in numerous countries before moving to Canada and starting at AWID. Lejla is specifically interested in issues related to trafficking of women, and has a passion for literature, music and travelling.

Nadine Moawad – Program Coordinator, Young Feminist Activism

Nadine has been actively involved with gender equality in Lebanon since 2006 and has organized many youth-led grassroots initiatives to address sexual and bodily rights in the Arab world, including the Feminist Collective. She has published work in queer and gender studies and sits on the board of IndyACT – the League of Independent Activists. She is also an active member of the Coalition of Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies and her research has focused on sexuality and the use of ICTs. Nadine is currently an advisor to the Global Fund for Women for the MENA region. She completed her BA in English Literature and is finishing her MA in Philosophy at the American University of Beirut.

Masum Momaya - Moderator, Resource Net "Friday File" Masum is a South Asian American feminist and has been a women’s rights activist for more than 15 years. She sees herself as translator, not between spoken tongues, but across different types of knowledge and expression – artistic, embodied, collective, intellectual and political. Aside from her role at AWID, Masum is also Curator at the International Museum of Women, is part of organizing the feminist media community in the United States and most recently served on the board of the Third Wave Foundation, a feminist foundation supporting progressive youth activism and leadership. Dedicated to bringing together theory and practice in accessible and effective ways, she has an honors bachelors degree from Stanford University in Public Policy and Feminist Studies and a masters in education and doctorate in Human Development, both from Harvard University.

Sanushka Mudaliar – Strategic Initiative Manager, Building Feminist Movements and OrganizationsSanushka Mudaliar is a South African-Indian Australian who has been living in Asia since 2004. Through her work with the Oxfam International Youth Parliament Sanushka has experience in building and developing youth networks, designing training programs, and working with young people to catalyse change in their communities. Sanushka previously worked in Cambodia with Womyn’s Agenda for Change (WAC), an NGO that promotes the rights of Cambodian women through grassroots empowerment activities. WAC also engages in research and advocacy about the conditions facing rural communities and women workers in the local garment and sex industries. Sanushka holds a BA (Hons) in international relations and civil society studies, and a law degree from the University of Sydney. She is a board member of the Human Rights Council of Australia.

Karen Murray - Program Assistant, Building Feminist Movements and Organizations
Karen recently completed her bilingual (French/English) BA degree in International Studies with a focus on Latin America and gender equality from York University. She also completed a certificate in Law and Social Thought from York University and a Certificate in French from Université Laval. Karen has worked in Peru in the area of gender equality and education, organized the symposium Across Borders: Diverse Perspectives on Mexico, completed field research in Mexico and Guatemala on the influence of Latin American music on social movements, and acted as a consular liaison for the Glendon Symposium Committee with the Mexican Consulate of Toronto. She also has experience in event planning with the Government of Canada. Karen is trilingual in English, French and Spanish.

Natalie Raaber – Research Associate, Influencing Development Actors and Practices for Women’s Rights

Natalie holds an MSc in Philosophy and Public Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a BA in Psychology and Gender, Race and Ethnicity Studies from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining AWID, Natalie worked with the International Women’s Tribune Centre in New York, the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) in London and various other NGOs. She has also worked for government and the private sector, addressing topics ranging from healthcare to salmon farming. Natalie is a big fan of coffee, Anna’s ginger thins and walking. She is based in New York.

Sarah Rosenhek - Interim Manager, Where is the Money for Women's Rights?
Before joining AWID, Sarah worked for the National Council on Ethics in Human Research (NCEHR) in Ottawa Canada, an organization working to advance the protection and well-being of human participants in research. Sarah holds a B.A. and a Master's degree in Philosophy (specializing in gender and ethics). Other interests that propel Sarah to remain active in her own community include issues related to disability rights and violence against women.

Anne Schoenstein - Program Associate, Influencing Development Actors and Practices for Women’s Rights.

Anne recently completed a training course on Monitoring Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. Prior to joining AWID, Anne worked as project officer at WOMNET Gender and Global Governance in Bonn, Germany. She has also worked in the field of market and social research, as abstractor for Eldis - The Gateway to Development Information and as program evaluator for INSIST, the Institute for Social Transformation, in Indonesia. Anne holds a Masters in Gender and Development from the Institute of Development Studies in the UK, a German degree (Diplom-Betriebswirtin) in Business Administration with specialization in Market and Communications Research and has spent exchange semesters at the Hiroshima University of Economics in Japan and the Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia. Anne is based in Germany.

Ritu Sharma- IT Manager
Ritu has over fourteen years of experience as an IT professional in NGO sector. Having completed Masters in Computer Applications from a reputed institute, she has handled a unique blend of projects in software development, Intranet & KM (knowledge management), remote access, website administration, database applications, and capacity building. She has also participated in the projects involving email and networking set-up, software development for ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system and various other key projects for not-for-profit sector.

Kim Sterne - Administrator, Cape Town Office

Kim has a BA in political science, english and sociology from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. She also holds a post-graduate diploma in HIV and AIDS management from the same institution. Kim is committed to HIV and AIDS issues in South Africa as well as spending as much time as possible on the beach.

Anna Turley – Information and Communications Director
Anna has been involved in women’s rights works for 15 years. Prior to joining AWID, Anna was the Coordinator of the Women's Programme at WACC, an international NGO working on communication rights and media for development. As part of her work at WACC, Anna coordinated the Global Media Monitoring Project - a grassroots media research project in 76 countries - and organised the first ever global campaign on gender representation in the media 'Who Makes the News?'. Anna has also previously worked with refugee women in London and grassroots women's organizations in Santiago de Chile. Anna is from the UK and holds a BA (Hons) in Latin American Studies from the University of Liverpool and a MSc in Development Studies (specializing in gender) from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.

Veronica Vidal - Research Associate - Where is the Money for Women´s Rights?

Verónica was born in Argentina and raised in neighboring Uruguay. She has been living in Mexico City for the past 5 years. She holds a M.A in International Cooperation for Development from the Instituto Mora in Mexico City and a B.A. in International Relations from the University of the Republic in Uruguay. Her experience, before joining AWID in July of 2009, encompasses a broad range of responsibilities, from conducting research to overseeing fundraising as well as organizational development. Veronica has almost 10 years of both ample and diverse experience in the development, nonprofit sector with specific focus on social and human rights issues in Uruguay and Mexico.

Zhanna V. Zhanabekova - Moderator, Resource Net "Jobs"
Zhanna holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Economy (Brandeis University) and a Master’s degree in Economics (University of Toronto). Prior to joining the AWID team, she worked at the Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan as civil society programs coordinator. Zhanna also served as Central Asia Advisor to the Global Fund for Women, and interned at the Central Asian-American Enterprise Fund in Washington, DC, and the United Nations Development Programme. She is currently pursuing doctoral studies in Economics at Columbia University.

Saira Zuberi - Program Coordinator, Resisting and Challenging Religious Fundamentalisms

Prior to joining AWID, Saira ran her own consultancy, working with public and non-profit clients in the areas of diversity management and strategic communications. She has previous experience in the fields of research, advocacy, communications, and management and administration in private, non-governmental and academic sectors. Saira has an academic background in Islamic law and women's rights from the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London). Saira is an active volunteer in her community, including current affiliations with the board of Women's Health in Women's Hands and the Toronto Grants Review Team of the Ontario Trillum Foundation.