Meet our team
We are a multicultural team, working both in Brussels and Costa Rica. Our commitment stems from our multicultural nature and our understanding of social realities. Half of our members are refugees, endowed with an ability to identify needs and propose innovative solutions.
Every day, our team is driven by the desire to build a sustainable, fairer and more inclusive future.
Elektra Lagos
Director - Belgium
Human Rights activist and defender with 25 years of experience in development cooperation. Specialist in women’s rights, rights of indigenous peoples and afro-descendants, environmental protection, climate change, and social communication. Before joining RIDHE, Elektra worked for the International Organisation for Migration in Colombia (IOM), Al-Invest Programme, and the Euroclima Programme of the European Union. Member of Femmes d’Europe and IRELAC.
Winnye Bernard Canales
Project Coordinator - Central America
With a B.A. in Diplomacy and International Relations, Winnye is an expert in project management and international cooperation in the field of gender equality and environmental protection. Before joining Ridhe, Winnye worked in several regional organisations in Central and Latin America as a consultant and project manager. Winnye is also a human rights advocate for the promotion of indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants.
Maryne Despres
Communication Officer
Specialist in strategic communication and advocacy, she is in charge of the implementation of the editorial strategy for the website and social networks, as well as project writing and fundraising. She is involved in the organisation and coordination of events with stakeholders to raise awareness about human rights protection. She obtained a master’s degree in political communication and lobbying at the Université Libre de Bruxelles with a focus on European Union policies.
Marta Castillo
Project Officer - Education in Emergencies
Business administrator with a master’s degree in development cooperation, public management, and NGOs. Marta specialised in project formulation. She is a project officer for the education in emergencies program and supports the coordination of advocacy campaigns with the European Union. Marta also has experience in training and facilitating development education workshops, gender equality, youth, and volunteering.
Theresa Rüdiger
Project Assistant
With an educational background in Political Science and Intercultural Business Communication, is a knowledgeable project assistant at RIDHE. Drawing on her expertise, she actively works towards advocating for women’s rights and social justice by proposing projects and assisting in the realization of projects in Central America. Prior to joining RIDHE, Theresa gained valuable experience working in the European Parliament and in a social science research project that focused on understanding inequalities in society and in parliamentary systems.
Fernando Avila Maldonado
Project Coordinator Chile & Colombia
A public administrator and political scientist, Fernando is a specialist in decentralised international cooperation. As a researcher, he conducts research on climate change, migration and human rights. He has experience as a public official at the European Centre for Human Rights at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Since his youth, he has been involved in the promotion, training and dissemination of human rights in Chile and Latin America. A former member of the René Cassin Foundation, he holds a master’s degree in international relations.
Laura Bermejo
Volunteer
Jurist specialised in Human Rights, she supports the advocacy officer. With studies in law and international relations, she monitors European Union policies related to human rights in Latin America, supports the advocacy tour and assists in the preparation of political analysis and press releases.
Finance and Project Coordinator
Head of Contracts and Finance, with 20 years of experience in resource mobilisation for development programmes with financial institutions (EU, IDB, World Bank, CABEI). She leads the area of Fundraising and international donors. Former diplomat; BA in International Relations and European Studies.
Partnerships Officer for Latin America
Psychologist and Advanced Trainer of the psychophysical programme Roca y Agua. She has experience in psychological coaching, accompaniment of young people in migration situations, as well as in gender equality and women’s empowerment. She also possesses years of experience in accompanying children, young people and adults in the processing of psychosocial trauma and grief experience.
Board of directors
RIDHE’s board of directors is made up of people who are committed to human rights and have a proven record in the European Union. Part of our board is also composed of defenders at risk.
If you wish to know more about us, please write us at: president@ridheuropa.org
JOBS AND INTERSHIPS
We welcome applications for unpaid internships (face-to-face and remotely) on an ongoing basis, to support our human rights advocacy work.
To apply, please send a cover letter and CV in English to info@ridheuropa.org with the subject “Internship”.
