LEGISLATIVE PROCESS & GOVERNANCE Class I Fellow Profiles
Adriana Pevarello Bacci Brazil
Carina Angélica Brito Reyder Brazil
• Expertise: Public Health, Advocacy • Home Organization American Cancer Society, Brazil Breast Cancer Action (BBCA) • Host Organization: Hope Cancer Resources • Host City: Springdale, Arkansas
• Expertise: Government Relations, Legislation • Home Organization: State Secretariat for Civil Affairs and Institutional Relations-Minas Gerais • Host Organization: Travis County Office of Intergovernmental Relations • Host City: Austin, Texas
Ms. Adriana Bacci works as the Program Manager for the Brazil Breast Cancer Action (BBCA) in conjunction with an independent consultancy at the American Cancer Society in Brazil. BBCA aims to prevent breast cancer by raising awareness on the importance of early detection. As Program Manager, she is responsible for several projects that encourage participation and dialogue among all sectors of society, i.e. the government, NGOs, public health institutions and councils, and the media. Prior to holding this position, Ms. Bacci was a community programs coordinator at the Albert Einstein Institute, specializing in health, education, arts and culture, and sports and recreation, among others. She also holds experience in human resources, organizational development, and social responsibility.
Ms. Carina Reyder has been a career civil servant since 1999 working at the State Government of Minas Gerais. Currently, she makes up a part of the Legislative Technical Advisory at the State Secretariat, in which her responsibilities include: offering support to the State Governor on the elaboration of laws and decrees; conducting studies on improving the quality of legislation and its impacts; strengthening the institutional relationship between the executive and legislative branches, as well as deepening relations with the judiciary branch on law interpretation. With two Bachelor’s degrees in Public Administration and Law and a current working Master’s degree in Law with a focus on Legislation Science,
For her fellowship, Ms. Bacci will be working with the Hope Cancer Resources and learning about their work in cancer awareness and prevention, as well as in providing access to health care to underserved communitiess in northwest Arkansas.
Ms. Reyder plans to utilize her fellowship experience to build upon her on-going research on legislative best practices, which would ultimately provide her with greater content to a book that she is writing on legislation drafting, implementation, and evaluation.
LEGISLATIVE PROCESS & GOVERNANCE Class I Fellow Profiles
Danielle Todeschini Lermann Brazil
Leticia Mariano Zenevich Brazil
• Expertise: Law & Legislation • Home Organization: Todeschini Law Firm • Host Organization: Legislative Services Agency, Indiana State Government • Host City: Indianapolis, Indiana
• Expertise: LGBT Rights, Advocacy • Home Organization: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - NUPSEX • Host Organization: Immigration Equality • Host City: New York, New York
With expertise in civil law and public law, Ms. Danielle Todeschini works as a senior lawyer at Todeschini Law Firm, whose main clients include the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) and state legislator, Mr. Lucas Redecker. In her current role, she drafts and analyzes legislative proposals; provides legal opinion on issues of transparency, public control, and finance; informs the populations on their basic rights; and even teaches law to clients and ordinary citizens. Furthermore, she provides pro-bono legal advice, as she believes that it is an integral part to social collaboration and the fulfillment of the Brazilian constitutional right to access to justice. Ms. Todeschini previously worked at the Internal Revenue Service, assisting the prosecutor in lawsuits which involved taxes and fees.
Ms. Leticia Zenevich is a lawyer with experience working with LGBTT* rights in Latin America, mainly in Brazil. Currently, she is a Research Assistant at the Center for Research on Sexuality and Gender Relations (NUPSEX) at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), where she developed and presented an award-winning project that examined and analyzed LGBTT* policy in Brazil with a concentration in transgender issues. She is also a member of the Brazilian Lawyers’ Commission for Sexual Diversity, whose goal is to advocate for the passing of legislation for LGBTT* rights. Ms. Zenevich has been deeply involved in LGBTT* advocacy in past years, participating in a series of international seminars and forums and publishing related research and articles, and she intends to continue her involvement and work within civil society to advance LGBTT* rights through advocacy and specialized research.
Ms. Todeschini continues to enhance her skills in bill drafting and the preparation of legal opinions through a U.S. professional experience, which will be explored through her fellowship with the Legislative Services Agency at the Indiana Legislature.
She will be working with the policy department of Immigration Equality in its work to monitor the LGBTT* and immigration landscape in the U.S., and to advocate for rights of said communities.
LEGISLATIVE PROCESS & GOVERNANCE Class I Fellow Profiles
Catalina Paula Andrea Caicedo Garzón
Maria Paulina Domínguez Hernández
• Expertise: Media, Public Leadership • Home Organization: Revista GENTE, Editorial C&P – Televisa • Host Organization: Youthrive • Host City: Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Expertise: Human Rights, Citizen Participation • Home Organization: Corporación Excelencia en la Justicia (CEJ) • Host Organization: Due Process of Law (DPLF) • Host City: Washington, D.C.
Ms. Catalina Caicedo is a journalist for GENTE magazine, where she primarily reports on current events in Colombia, especially regarding human rights violations that occur within the country. She also writes articles commending the work and community involvement of outstanding individuals in order to portray the humane side of Colombia to foreign readers. Through in-depth investigations and proper coverage, she hopes to bring her audience closer to the public arena and encourage participation on important issues that affect them. Before GENTE, Ms. Caicedo wrote for Asosalitre, a local bi-weekly newspaper that publishes up to 30,000 copies and informs communities on local topics and cultural events.
Ms. Paulina Domínguez is a lawyer interested in public policy centered on justice administration. Currently, she is a Research Assistant at Corporación Excelencia en la Justicia (CEJ), a non-profit institution that seeks to improve the efficiency of the justice system in Colombia through research, public dialogue, and monitoring & evaluation of current policies and practices. At CEJ, she tracks legislation related to the judicial and criminal law system, the latter of which she monitors the implementation of law reforms.
Colombia
Ms. Caicedo holds an interest in working with communities, especially with youth, and intends to use her experience as a journalist to become a multiplier and empower others. Through her fellowship with Youthrive, she will learn how to engage young people in the areas of citizen participation, leadership, and public accountability.
Colombia
For her fellowship, Ms. Domínguez would like to continue to expand on her knowledge in justice administration with a focus on criminal justice policies, particularly in incarceration, due to Colombia’s extreme use of detention to minor offenders. She will be working with DPLF to learn about and observe best practices that make for a more efficient and timely justice system, so that she can compare and contrast the judicial systems of the United States with the existing system in Colombia.
LEGISLATIVE PROCESS & GOVERNANCE Class I Fellow Profiles
July Lorena López Suárez
Lauren Janeth Lozano Altamiranda
Colombia
Colombia
• Expertise: Human Rights, Citizen Participation • Home Organization: Procuraduría General de la Nación • Host Organization: DC Office of Human Rights • Host City: Washington, D.C.
• • • •
Ms. Lorena López has been involved in the human rights field since her university years, first as a researcher in the Human Rights Department, and now as a public servant. Currently, she works as a Legal Adviser on Human Rights and as Coordinator of the Justice and Peace Group. Her main tasks in the Office of the Defense of Human Rights are the investigation and monitoring of humanitarian law violations by members of the armed and paramilitary forces against civilians. Ms. López also enjoys being involved in her community, and so she volunteers for New Democracy, a non-profit organization aimed at educating citizens about their role in the government decision-making process and voting wisely. Through this, she participates in workshops with students on electoral responsibility and helps to promote the idea within the community.
Ms. Lauren Lozano is a Communications and Project Coordinator for Fundación Germen de Paz, a non-profit organization that promotes peace and conflict resolution at the community level by providing social relief services and support to victims of violence. Her responsibilities range from managing mass media efforts and communications strategies for the Foundation’s projects to ensuring program and event implementation.
Ms. López hopes to utilize her experience at the DC Office of Human Rights to supplement her background in humanitarian law and more importantly, to gain an insight into civil societygovernment collaboration.
Expertise: Community & Youth Development Home Organization: Fundación Germen de Paz Host Organization: Youth Bridge Host City: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Having never been to the U.S., Ms. Lozano hopes that her fellowship will provide her with the professional experience she seeks to increase her knowledge in community development and citizen participation, specifically within children and youth. She will be working with Youth Bridge in developing a strategy to involving the Latino population in northwest Arkansas into the organization’s programs.
LEGISLATIVE PROCESS & GOVERNANCE Class I Fellow Profiles
Ana Margarita Cabrera Vidal Dominican Republic
Liddy Aida Kiaty Figueroa Dominican Republic
• Expertise: International Law, Trade/Commerce • Home Organization: Attorney General’s Office • Host Organization: Office of the Indiana Governor Mike E. Pence • Host City: Indianapolis, Indiana
• Expertise: Public Health • Home Organization: Fundación Paréntesis 20.11 • Host Organization: Community Clinic - NWA • Host City: Springdale, Arkansas
Ms. Ana Cabrera is an attorney at the Office of the Attorney General of the Dominican Republic, where she works in the area of disciplinary actions against judges, attorneys, and notaries. Her work places her in a position where she is involved in providing feedback to the legislative branch on matters of crime prevention and national defense and security. Previous to her current position, Ms. Cabrera worked as an assistant to an Appeals Court Judge, and later worked for Fermin & Taveras as a paralegal, in which she worked in the Commercial and Intellectual Property Department. Recently, she developed an interest in economic development and trade, and therefore, is studying towards a specialty in Commercial Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Dr. Liddy Figueroa is a licensed medical practitioner who has taken a leap into the nonprofit sector with the establishment of her own organization, Fundación Parentesis 20.11, that is devoted to improving the health of children and adolescents in communities along the eastern region of the Dominican Republic. She currently works as a clinical instructor for the Global Health Program through the University of Texas Medical Branch, where she leads a clinical research project focused on sanitation in vulnerable communities. Dr. Figueroa was nominated as “2013 Woman of the Year in the Dominican Republic”, and she has won in local competitions in 2013 and 2014 for the National Youth Award in the area of social welfare due to her community service work in her city.
Ms. Cabrera will be working at the Indiana Governor’s Office and learning about their work to promote and reinfore the economic development of the state.
Dr. Figueroa will be working with Community Clinic in observing and learning about the different approaches to developing and implementing public health programs in impoverished communities, so that she would better able to grow and manage her organization, as well as promote the work that it does.
LEGISLATIVE PROCESS & GOVERNANCE Class I Fellow Profiles
Juan Carlos Saladín Bonilla
Luis Alberto Santiago Arias
• Expertise: Youth Entrepreneurship, Leadership • Home Organization: Fundación Crecimiento Espiritual Motivado al Servicio (Funcreemos) • Host Organization: Youthprise • Host City: Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Expertise: Open Data, Government Transparency • Home Organization: Dirección General de Ética e Integridad Gubernamental (DIGEIG) • Host Organization: Webitects - Open Data Institute • Host City: Chicago, Illinois
Mr. Juan Saladin is the Planning Manager at Funcreemos, a non-profit organizaiton that works with Dominican youth to improve their quality of life through social development, particularly in building personal and moral values. He is responsible for the organization’s long-term plans, including the maintenance of the strategic plan’s objectives and development of internal processes.
Mr. Luis Santiago is an entrepreneur and international consultant, specializing in ICT, e-government, and project management. He currently serves the Information Technology Advisor for the Directorate General for Ethics and Integrity, the lead government entity on matters of ethics, transparency, anti-corruption, open government, conflicts of interest, and public access to information for the Executive Branch. There, he is working on the implementation of “SIGeEl-DIGEIG”, an integrated strategy and electronic management system. Mr. Santiago is a co-founder and CTO of Dominican Space Agency (DOXA), and the founder and CEO of Yissaskar, whose vision is to create and sustain a global innovation center in the heart of the Dominican Republic.
Dominican Republic
Through his fellowship, Mr. Saladin will gain an insight into the operations of a locally-based youth-focused organization in the U.S. that works with both the private and public sector. By having a comprehensive understanding of and experience in the successful development and management of an organization such as Youthprise, he would be able to return to Funcreemos and better serve the youth of the Dominican Republic.
Dominican Republic
At his host organization, Mr. Santiago will be looking at current on open governance and citizen engagement-related web platforms utlized by Webitects. His fellowship will also him to learn governments and civil society organizations use such platforms to enhance engagement.