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 Research and Advocacy Coordinator at AWID and 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 participated actively in youth organizing and mobilization around the Earth Summit process in 1991-1992 and worked for several years as coordinator of the Youth Programme of the Earth Council. She facilitated the participation of young women from Latin America in the Beijing 95 process, coordinating an international project called "Our words, our voices: young women for change. Young women’s voices beyond Beijing '95". 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. Since 1996, she has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Committee for the Peace Council. She is member of the Advisory Council of the Global Fund for Women and has recently become a member of the International Council on Human Rights Policy, based in Geneva. In 2000, Lydia was the Latin American regional representative to the International NGO Committee for Beijing +5. She participated for several years in the Campaign "Stop Impunity: No more murdered women", a national Mexican initiative to put an end to the killings of women in the US/Mexico border city of Ciudad Juárez. Lydia is a Sociologist and a former participant of the 2003 Human Rights Advocates Training Program of the Center for the Study of Human Rights, at Columbia University. She has extensive experience in advocacy and training on women's human rights, particularly in sexual and reproductive rights and violence against women.
Click here to read an interview with Lydia about her women's rights activism

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.

Lindiwe Bardill- Research Associate, Young Feminist Activism Program

Lindiwe has tutored and taught undergraduate Gender Studies at UCT as well as designed and implemented various local NGO and academic research projects. Her most recent activist work has been focused on supporting contracted cleaning and catering workers (largely women) at UCT in their stand for improved conditions of work and ultimately re-employment by the University. Lindiwe has just completed her Research Masters degree in 'Gender and Transformation' through the African Gender Institute (AGI) at the University of Cape Town (UCT). Her Masters thesis was focused on the lived experiences of men and women outsourced labourers working in the South African higher education system in the context of post-apartheid efforts to increase equity in the system.

Jessica Bokhout – Events Assistant
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.

Lia Brewer – Events Assistant
Lia graduated from York University with a BAHons in Political Science and International Development Studies. Through her experience with independent travel and volunteer work in Costa Rica, Mexico, and Panama along with her exposure to alternative opinions throughout her education, Lia developed a passion for social justice activism. She has worked with multiple organizations on social justice issues, and is genuinely committed to the concept of change. She enjoys exploring alternative forms of media, thought, and expression. Lia feels a special connection to music of every kind, loves to travel and really wants to own a Zack Morris cell phone.

Zazil Canto - Executive Assistant
Zazil is Mexican and she holds a BA degree in International Relations. She has also studied Political Science in Barcelona. Zazil has recently completed a postgraduate program in International Cooperation at the Uniersitat Oberta de Catalunya and is currently finishing another postgraduate program in public policy and children’s human rights. Zazil has worked as a consultant on issues related to extreme poverty in Mexico. She also worked for Oxfam in the advocacy campaigns division.

Lucía Carrasco – Program Assistant, 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– Strategic Initiative Manager, Where is the Money for Women's Rights & Building Feminist Movements and Organizations
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 - Event and Logistics Coordinator
Lina has over five years experience in the non-profit sector in South, Central and North America, focusing on gender equality initiatives. She holds both an MBA from ICESI University in her native Colombia as well as a Post-Graduate Diploma in International Project Management from Humber College in Toronto, Canada. Lina completed a CIDA Internship with a Canadian NGO partnering with grassroots community development organizations throughout rural El Salvador. A love for photography tops Lina's varied and sundry list of passions, along with enjoying Afro-Cuban rhythms, and spending time with her partner Alex.

Fernanda Hopenhaym - Associate Researcher, 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.

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.

Rochelle Jones - Moderator, Resource Net "Friday File"
Rochelle has years of combined experience in business, government and non-government and holds a BSc in Psychology, a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies, BAHons in International Relations and an MA in International Development Studies. Rochelle lived, worked and studied in Bangkok for two years before returning to Australia where she worked in research and policy development for the Queensland Government Office for Women. Rochelle is passionate about women's human rights, global justice and writing, but she also loves travelling, literature, nature and sustainable living.

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. Michèle lives in Mexico City with her husband Ricardo, 2 year old son, Shai and her two Labradors, Bala and Neron.

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.

Sanushka Mudaliar – Strategic Initiative Manager, Young Feminist Activism Program
Sanushka 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.

Samantha Mundeta – Membership Coordinator
Samantha graduated from Rhodes University in South Africa with a Bachelor of Social Sciences and Bachelor of Laws. She worked at Lawyers for Human Rights in Pretoria, South Africa before joining AWID’s Cape Town office. She was oriented into the field of women’s human rights while working for the American Friends Services Committee Nationwide Women’s Program in Philadelphia and also through her involvement with Oxfam International Youth Partnerships.

Karen Murray - Program Assistant, Building Feminist Movements and Organisations
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.

Sarah Rosenhek - Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator
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.

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.

Caroline Sin - Forum Manager
Caroline Sin has worked in the not-for-profit sector for over 10 years, first as a teaching assistant and lecturer in English and Women’s Studies at McMaster University, then later as Executive Director of the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, Projects Manager for the Writers’ Union of Canada, and Director of Communications at the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy. She was also a member of the Editorial Collective of Fireweed, a feminist literary magazine, and has published numerous articles, papers, presentations, and reviews on feminism, literature, and nonprofit management.

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 – Strategic Initiative Manager, Women's Rights Information
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.

Marilyn Wigglesworth - Director of Finance
Marilyn brings to AWID over 20 years of experience in Accounting and Finance in non-profit and other organizations. Marilyn holds an Accounting and Finance diploma from Humber College and B.A. in Women's Studies from York University in Toronto, Canada.

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.