In this role, Yanitza works to design and implement innovative programs to build the capacity of human rights activists in Latin America.
Yanitza initiated her legal path by working as a lawyer in Cuba, mainly focusing on civil law, criminal law, and disputes. She also practiced law in Ecuador, working as a legal advisor for the local Government of Pichincha (GAP) in Quito. Her work focused on enhancing law to protect people’s rights in a human mobility context, designing local immigration public policies, and developing advocacy strategies towards the local and national level institutions. She also actively participated in constructing the Organic Law on the Human Mobility process in Ecuador. Continuing her legal career in the U.S., she was part of the Human Rights Clinic (HRC), in Miami Law’s Human Rights Program, as a student fellow to gain experience in human rights litigation and advocacy at the local, national, regional, and international levels.
Yanitza has a law degree from the “Oscar Lucero Moya” University in Cuba. She received her second law degree, an LL.M/J.D. in International Law from the University of Miami School of Law in Florida.
