Otávio Zucoli Zanardi
Otávio is the consultant for the LGBTI Program in Brazil. He assists, in collaboration with our LGBTI partners, in strengthening their capacities and also in strategic litigation in the Inter-American Human Rights System.
Otávio’s long standing passion for human rights has culminated in his interest to conduct legal studies on challenging contexts of human rights violations and intersectional justice. Throughout his professional experience, Otávio has completed internships and volunteered in institutions such as Amnesty International, TODXs, the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria and the G20 Youth Summit. In the academic field, he has dedicated to South-South cooperation projects for the protection of children and adolescents in Brazil, Angola, and Mozambique.
He is a lawyer graduated (LL.B) from the State University of Londrina. zanardi@raceandequality.org
Adolfo Lara
Adolfo is a consultant to the Legal Program for Latin America. He supports legal and strategic actions before the Inter-American Human Rights System and the United Nations System.
Prior to joining Race and Equality, Adolfo worked at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for almost five years on the merits, supervising compliance with judgments, provisional measures and an advisory opinion. Prior to that, he worked at the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica in the processing of protection, habeas corpus and constitutionality actions.
His experience also includes internships at the Electoral Advisory and Promotion Center of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights and at the Attorney General’s Office of Costa Rica.
He holds a law degree from the University of Costa Rica and has studies in International Public Law from The Hague Academy of International Law, in Politics and Democracy from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences and in Human Rights from the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights.
Marcelo Azambuja
Marcelo is a Latin America Legal Program Officer. He works on advocacy and strategic litigation actions before the Inter-American Human Rights System, the Universal Human Rights System, and International Financial Institutions. Before joining Race and Equality, he worked with the Inter-American Development Bank, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the UN International Law Commission, and the Center for Justice and International Law. He also worked as a lawyer, representing Brazilian civil society organizations and social movements before international and national forums. Marcelo holds a Master’s degree in International Human Rights Law and Humanitarian Law from American University Washington College of Law (USA), a Master’s degree in Public Law from Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (Brazil), a Postgraduate degree in International Litigation from Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (Argentina), and a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), with an exchange period at the Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina). He is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, and English and he is studying French.
Lucía Chibán Zamar
Lucía is a Legal Program Officer for Latin America specializing in racial justice, with a focus on gender and indigenous peoples. She works closely in collaboration with our partners in Latin America to support and strengthen their human rights defense capacity at a national and international level.
Before she joined Race and Equality, she was a fellow for Equal Right Advocates, where she contributed to their policy agendas, national campaigns, and coalitions centered on the promotion of gender justice. Additionally, she was a Racial Justice and Human Rights in the Americas Fellow at the Promise Institute for Human Rights, where she worked on diverse projects regarding the intersection of race with migration, gender, climate justice, and human rights. Before that, in Argentina, she worked in the non-profit sector in diverse positions for human rights defense, coalition building, and implementation of public policy. Additionally, she consulted for the International Labor Organization for their Spotlight Initiative and was an intern for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Lucía is a graduate of the University Torcuato Di Tella in Law and obtained a Master of Laws from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she specialized in the law and sexuality, as well as Critical Race Studies.
Ana Velez
Ana Velez is one of the Latin America Program Assistants. In her position, she works mostly with programs in the Washington, D.C. office.
Ana graduated from American University with a B.A. in International Studies, with a focus on Justice, Ethics, and Human Rights in the Western Hemisphere. During her time at American she focused on human rights and socio-political issues in Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Triangle.
Before joining Race and Equality, she interned as a legal assistant in an immigration firm. She is originally from Puerto Rico. She is completely fluent in both English and Spanish and has intermediate knowledge of French.
velez@raceandequality.org
Isis Alves
Isis executes Race & Equality’s advocacy strategy before the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, where she is currently based. Isis is a Brazilian lawyer experienced in strengthening the capacity of grassroots human rights organizations and activists in several Latin American, African and Asia-Pacific countries, particularly in relation to the UN system.
Previously, Isis served as coordinator of TB-Net and Dominicans for Justice and Peace and was a consultant for ILGA World, International Movement Against All Forms of Racism and Discrimination (IMADR), among other experiences.
She holds an LLM in International and European Law from the University of Geneva (Switzerland) and a BA in Law from the Federal University of Pernambuco (Brazil).
alves@raceandequality.org
Tsáitami Ordóñez
Tsáitami is a consultant for the Latin American Legal Program.
Shesupports legal and strategic actions before the Inter-American Human Rights System and the Universal System.
Before joining Race and Equality, Tsáitami worked at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for almost four years in the substantive and compliance monitoring program. She held profesional and research internships at the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), Women’s Link Worldwide, United Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (ILANUD) and the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights.
She studied law at the University of Costa Rica and has a background in philosophy. She holds a Master’s degree in Governance and Human Rights from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and a Master’s degree in Domestic and Gender Violence from the European Institute Campus Stella Santiago de Compostela. She has worked on issues of feminist social justice, anti-racism and sexual and reproductive rights.
Daniel Barría Yorins
Daniel works in close contact with Costa Rica and Panama counterparts to strengthen their advocacy capacities. He has developed his work experience in international cooperation, specifically in managing programs on democracy, human rights, and governance (DRG).
Before joining the Race and Equality team, he collaborated with organizations such as Freedom House to evaluate the state of political rights and civil freedoms for the Freedom in the World Report. He also worked with the International Republican Institute (IRI) on projects related to anti-corruption and open government strategies, including actions with the National Assembly, the justice system, and transparent public contracting processes, as well as with civil society actors living in authoritarian regimes or closed civic spaces.
In addition to his work at Race and Equality, he is a human rights activist for the LGBTQ+ population in Panama and a researcher on democracy, human migration, and intersectionality. Daniel holds a B.A in International Relations from the University of Panama and is a graduate of the Masters in Conflict Resolution, Peace, and Development from the United Nations University for Peace.
barrias@raceandequality.org
Camilo Tovar
Camilo is responsible for designing and carrying out Race & Equality’s advocacy strategy before the European Union (EU) institutions and its different bodies.
Prior to joining Race & Equality, Camilo has worked for European and Latin American NGO networks, implementing advocacy strategies towards the EU with the aim to promote a human rights-based approach in its relations with Latin America and the Caribbean. As a consultant he has facilitated strategic planning and project design processes for civil society organizations, conduct research, policy analysis and drafting of studies. He was also advisor on international affairs and cooperation for the Ministry of Culture of Colombia.
Camilo holds a BA in Economics from Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia, and an Advanced Master in European Integration and Development from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium.
tovar@raceandequality.org
Gaia Hefti
Gaia is the advocacy officer in Geneva and coordinates the advocacy activities before international human rights mechanisms in Geneva, Switzerland.
Prior to joining Race and Equality, Gaia worked with the Mexican Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the democratic space unit, where she focused on the monitoring of abuses against human rights defenders, journalists and during peaceful protests. Additionally, she worked in different local and international human rights organization on human rights education, particularly on international human rights mechanisms, in Chile, Germany and Switzerland.
Gaia holds an Msc in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a BA in International Studies with a specialization in the Latin Americana region form Leiden University.
hefti@raceandequality.org
