Our Team

Elizabeth García Carrillo is a descendant of the Arhuaco Indigenous nation and the Kankuama  nation of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia, who has led international cooperation projects and has been involved in issues related to AfroColombian and Indigenous communities. She was a victim of violence in Colombia and was forced to go into exile in Canada in 2009. 

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She is a lawyer with a Master’s degree in International Humanitarian Law and specialized in International Intercultural Cooperation, with extensive experience in people’s diplomacy, working for immigration justice, the rights of ethnic peoples and women, with the goal of peacekeeping. 

In November 2022, she was appointed the Ambassador to Colombia in Bolivia. She is a Research Associate with the NORDIK Institute in Canada, former president of the Association of Victims of the Colombian Armed Conflict in Canada (ASOVICA), former legal advisor of the Black Communities Process (PCN) in Colombia, and supports the work of the Ethnic Commission for Peace and Defense of Territorial Rights.

Dean Sayers, Indigenous Anishinaabe, served as Chief of Batchewana First Nation for nearly two decades, and is from the Crane Clan, specifically linked to the blue heron in the central Great Lakes region.

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His journey as a leader has been driven by an unwavering commitment to the progress and well-being of the original Peoples of these lands. Dean’s remarkable career includes serving as one of the lead negotiators for the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850 annuities litigation, which resulted in a groundbreaking $10 billion settlement. He was also a strong advocate during the Ontario First Nations’ fight against the proposed HST tax. Dean has been a consistent participant in regional leadership spaces such as the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), where he has contributed his experience and insights to the broader Indigenous community.

Belkis Izquierdo Torres is an Arhuaco Indigenous woman from la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.

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She is a Magistrate of the Chamber for the Recognition of Truth and Responsibility and Determination of Facts and Conducts of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) in Colombia and Coordinator of the Ethnic-Racial Commission of the same entity. 

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Belkis has participated in extensive work for the Indigenous communities in Colombia, such as an Advisor for the Administrative Department of the Presidency of the Republic of Colombia, Advisor to the Indigenous, Minority and Roma Communities Program, Ministry of the Interior and Justice Western Fiduciary, a legal advisor for the Association of Agroecological Indigenous and Peasant Producers of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and has published articles related to Indigenous issues. Belkis has done and continues to do extensive research and work in regards to the rights of nature in Colombia.

Clemencia Carabalí Rodallega is an Afro-Colombian leader and human rights defender, and the former Presidential Advisor on Women and Equity to President Gustavo Petro. 

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As one of Colombia’s leading advocates, Clemencia works for the rights of the country’s Afro-descendant population, Clemencia has worked as the former head of the Ministry of Equality and was the founder of the Association for Afro-Descendant Women of Notre del Cauca. Clemencia has led efforts to protect human rights and promote peace in one of Colombia’s most conflictive areas along the Pacific Coast for nearly 30 years, and has received the National Award for the Defense of Human Rights in Colombia in 2019 in recognition of her work on behalf of Afro-Colombian women and communities.

Charo Mina Rojas is an Afro-Colombian woman, human rights activist and land defender. In 2022, she was appointed as the Ambassador to Colombia in South Africa. She has done activist work both nationally and internationally. Charo was the National Coordinator of Advocacy and Outreach for the Black Communities Process and is a member of the Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network. Charo also worked to assist in the writing of the Ethnic Chapter of  2016 Peace Accords in Colombia. 

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Charo works to empower Afro-Colombian women by educating women on their rights, increasing their access to justice and collecting accurate data on violence against Afro-Colombian women, defending ancestral territories, and the right to self-determination and against racism. Her work focuses on increasing  visibility of Afrodiasporic struggles in Colombia while building up reciprocal solidarity in other parts of the world. Charo was also the first Afro-descendant woman to address the United Nations Security Council in 2017.

Armando Wouriyu Valbuena is an Wayuú Indigenous leader belonging to the Uaiú nation, and the Secretary General of the Ethnic Commission for Peace and Defense of Territorial Rights and Secretary of the Special High-Level Body for Ethnic Peoples (INEANPE). He has been a union leader in the Cerrejón North Zone since the 1980s, municipal councilman for the Uaiú nation, has been part of the leadership in the struggle for the rights of the maritime salt mines in favor of the Uaiú nation and the Director of a rural educational institution in the Uaiú nation. Armando served as President of the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) from 1999 to 2003, and is now a permanent member of the organization. 

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In 2009, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared him Master of Wisdom in recognition of his contributions to Indigenous culture.

Sahada Alolo is the co-Director for the Ottawa Guiding Council for Mental Health and Addictions Secretariat with the mandate to establish a strategy to support an enhanced or new Mental Health and Addiction crisis response system that will improve the outcomes for those experiencing crises related to mental health and substance use in the City of Ottawa. Prior to that Sahada served as the Manager of Community Engagement at Multifaith Housing Initiative working with different faith communities to promote affordable housing. Sahada has spent her career working with organizations striving to create meaningful connections between diverse communities. She is the president of the Ottawa Muslim Women’s Organization, an Executive Member of the African Canadian Association of Ottawa. She is also the co-chair of the Community Equity Council of the Ottawa Police Service and served on the City of Ottawa Anti-Racism Advisory Table.

Sahada is the founder and president of the Northern Girl initiative, an organization that seeks to create and facilitate processes and opportunities for the empowerment of girls from the Northern Region of Ghana.

Sahada earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana with a major in English language and comparative religious studies, a Master of Science degree in non-profit management, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Creighton University, U.S.A.

Beverly Jacobs (Gowehgyuseh) is Bear Clan and a Kanienkehaka (Mohawk Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy) woman. She is an Associate Professor and Presidential Advisor at the University of Windsor and a leader from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. 

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Beverly is the former President of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, and has conducted research in  Indigenous Legal Orders, Indigenous Wholistic Health, Indigenous Research Methodologies and Decolonization of Eurocentric Law. As a consultant, researcher, writer and public speaker, her work centers around ending gendered colonial violence against Indigenous people, restoring Indigenous laws, beliefs, values and traditions, decolonizing colonial laws and helping the University of Windsor chart its path towards Indigenization and decolonization.