Erika Guevara-Rosas is a feminist lawyer and human rights activist, who currently serves as the Americas Programme Director at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International.  She is responsible for leading the organization’s human rights work across the region.  Erika has more than fifteen years of international experience in the fields of human rights and social justice philanthropy. 

 

Before joining Amnesty International, Erika was the Regional Director for the Americas at the Global Fund for Women (GFW). At GFW, Erika managed to secure and mobilize more than $15 million in support to women’s rights movements. Erika also served as Legal/Protection Officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), managing complex operations in Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Panama andVenezuela, mainly in border areas with war-affected populations. At UNHCR, she was actively involved in the formulation of policy and legal frameworks to protect the human rights of refugees during and after migration. Erika also has extensive experience working for non-governmental organizations in Mexico and Canada, including Sin Fronteras - a leading migration advocacy organization.

 

For the past several years, Erika has advised diverse philanthropic institutions on how to implement a more gender-focused and social justice approach to their international programming. She leads and participates in numerous funder/donor networks and working groups in order to influence and leverage more resources for human rights issues.

Erika serves on the board of directors of the International Museum of Women and the Central American Women’s Fund and is a member of the Advisory Council of the Women’s Human Rights Education Institute in Canada. She has written several articles on forced migration, gender and women’s rights issues.

 

Erika has a Master in Women's Studies, and a post-graduate degree in Migration and Refugee Studies from York University in Canada. She received her LL.B from Universidad de Londres in Mexico City. Erika is fluent in Spanish and English, and conversational in Portuguese.