Our Team
Our Board of Directors
Dr. Arvind Singhal teaches and conducts research in the diffusion of innovations, the positive deviance approach, organizing for social change, the entertainment-education strategy, and liberating interactional structures. His work spans sectors such as health, education, peace, human rights, poverty alleviation, sustainable development, civic participation, and corporate citizenship.
He currently serves as Director of the Social Justice Initiative at the Department of Communications at the University of Texas-El Paso. He has lectured in over 60 countries
Laura Giadorou Koch, JD and LLM – CEO, Dolium SA, the first winery in Latin America with a “B Corp Certificate” and awarded in 2014 & 2016 “The Best for the World in Environment” by B Lab.org. At Young Presidents Organization (YPO), she is Chair for the Social Engagement Networks Council. She serves on non-profit boards: Eye to Eye National, Think Equal and Million Peacemakers; and in the advisory boards of Grameen Prima Care, Impakt, Ignite Power and BUILD. Also she is member of the Economic Club of New York, Women Corporate Directors, and Financial Women Association. In addition, she serves as Ashoka Senior Advisor and gives talks on Social Entrepreneurship at several universities: NYU, Columbia University and Fordham U.
Laura serves as Senior Editor for e-AboutMicrofinance, and has published reports and articles for the United Nations, Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, Real Leaders Magazine and Argentine newspapers. Prior to the above, she practiced corporate law on Wall Street for practically two decades specializing in cross-border transactions for Latin American and European clients.
Our Team
Eliana Elias brings over 22 years of experience applying strategic communication to create radio programs, empower indigenous women, and partner with grassroots organizations, local governments, and schools to create sustainable social change in the Peruvian Amazon, as well as in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 1998, Ms. Elias co-founded Minga Perú, an award-winning model for communication and participation for social change. In 2010, after 12 years of successfully implementing the model with women and their communities in the Peruvian Amazon, she created the systematized strategic communications training program, FICE (Spanish acronym – Institutional Strengthening for Strategic Communications). Through FICE, she has trained the strategic communication skills of over 90 NGOs and grassroots organizations and networks in Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and the Commonwealth of Dominica, promoting gender equity, sustainable development, and conservation. Her groundbreaking work has been presented at the National Geographic Explorers Festival in Mexico City, the University of El Paso–Texas, the Clinton School for Public Service, Funders without Borders, among others. Most recently, she has been selected as a keynote speaker at the 2020 International Social and Behavior Change Communication Summit in Marrakech, Morocco, to talk about transformational change through Minga and FICE experience in the region. In recognition of her innovative work on the social field, she has been elected as a National Geographic Society Explorer, a lifetime Ashoka Fellow and the first international recipient of the Embrey Human Rights Program “Triumph of the Spirit” award.
Marcela has ten years of experience as a program coordinator and graphic designer. She is responsible for organizing all FICE events, including needs assessments, workshops, follow-ups and small grants program.
She provides tailored follow-up assistance to partners and assists in evaluation and monitoring. Marcela also helps partners to design and disseminate compelling educational material, including government programs supporting citizen participation of leader women in the Amazon.
Ruth is a communicator for development and a communicator for the FICE Program. It has been accompanying more than 25 organizations and foundations from the countries of Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic. She has more than 7 years of experience in the design and management of communication strategies for social change projects. She has worked on issues of university social responsibility, gender, and environment, both for the State, international cooperation, NGOs, and the private sector.
She has a degree in Communication for Development from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP). She also has a specialization in Community Relations Management from ESAN Graduate School of Business and a diploma in Conflict Management and Socio-Environmental Crises from the IESA Management School. (Panama).
Karina accompanies more than 25 organizations and institutions from Latin-American countries, including Ecuador, El Salvador, and Peru, and also participates in the design and implementation of the recent Communication for Integration initiative in the context of human mobility of the FICE program.
She has more than 9 years of experience in the design and implementation of communication strategies for the formulation of policies, programs, and projects to promote citizen participation in public and private institutions. She has been a facilitator in training processes for subnational governments and civil society organizations. She has also been a consultant for various United Nations agencies, international cooperation agencies, and Peruvian non-governmental organizations.
She has a degree in journalism from the Jaime Bausate y Meza University, and she also has a specialization in Governance and Political Management from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru – PUCP and George Washington University. She has participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program “Civil Society and Community Engagement in the U.S.” from the United States Department of State.
Alonso has been a member of the Minga Peru team for two years. In this time, he has designed communication projects for social change and has been part of the Minga Tour ecotourism program.
He is also a member of the FICE team where he has interviewed more than 20 leaders from 23 grassroots organizations in Latin America. In addition, he has carried out an analysis and systematization of the impact that the program has had on the 23 Latin American organizations that FICE accompanies.
He has a bachelor’s degree in communication for development from PUCP and has taken political science courses at the Freie Universität Berlin in Germany.
Katherine is a development communications specialist with a background in community relations. At FICE, she assists more than 18 organizations in the countries of Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and El Salvador to develop communication strategies for social change. Katherine has more than 9 years of experience working with the state in the design and management of communication strategies for social change, aimed at preventing social conflicts at the national level. She’s worked with private companies such as mining and energy, in order to strengthen responsible and sustainable community relations, and with social organizations, for the development of more effective, inclusive, and sustainable communication.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Development Communication from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) and has specializations in Socio-Cultural Animation from PUCP and Corporate Social Responsibility from ESAN Graduate School of Business. Furthermore, she holds certificates in Risk Management in Development Projects from el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) and Design and Creation of Social Entrepreneurship from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Finally, she is self-taught in the production of audio-visual communication materials for social change.
Ana Lucía is a professional advertiser with broad experience in communications and development and a special passion for fundraising and storytelling on digital media. She has been working for over 8 years in creating advertising campaigns, developing communication plans and strategies, fundraising and donor relations, digital marketing, as well as brand building both for corporate companies and non-profit organizations. She has worked for advertising agencies such as Joe Quispe and Youpanqui BBDO. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and Advertising from the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (Peru), and an International Master in Corporate Communication from EAE Business School and the University of Rey Juan Carlos (Spain). She also studied Advertising Creativity at the “Underground” School of Advertising Creativity (Argentina).
Ana Lucía is responsible for strengthening the development and sustainability of Minga Peru and the FICE program, building relationships with donors, foundations and potential allies through the development of communication strategies focused on fundraising, as well as supervising and planning Minga’s different communication actions and materials. She speaks Spanish and English and has an intermediate level of French and Portuguese. In her spare time, Analu likes to read, meditate, take a personal development coaching, and travel the world.
Johnny is an accountant with experience in the private sector and nonprofit organizations. He has a long experience in financial management for rural development projects.
Johnny assists organizations trained by FICE to strengthen their financial reporting and management. His exceptional work and attention to detail have earned him recognition from a number of international foundations.
Emira is an indigenous Kukama leader with fifteen years of experience in sustainable community development and in human rights. She is an expert in developing intercultural radio programs and was elected to serve on a multidisciplinary team addressing issues of poverty in the Loreto region.
She holds a degree in Sustainable Rural Tourism and Marketing from the University of Texas-El Paso (USA).
Communication Experts
Volunteers
Fortalecimiento Institucional en Comunicación Estratégica
If you want to help grassroots human rights groups stop whispering, speak up loud, and get results, let’s talk!
D: José de la Jara y Ureta 264 2do Piso, Lima 18
T: +511 242 0223
E: info@mingaperu.org
Executive Director: Eliana Elías eliana@mingaperu.org