Speaker bios

Guillermo Acuña

National University, Costa Rica

Dr. Guillermo Acuña is a sociologist and writer with a postgraduate degree in Social Communication. He has experience in research, evaluation, and systematization of social programs and projects on migration issues at the regional level. He was a research professor at FLACSO Costa Rica’s academic headquarters from 2005 to 2011 and was in charge of the Directorate of the Institute of Social Studies in Population (IDESPO) of the National University from 2012 to 2017. He works in the Migration Program, Social Change and Identities, of said institute, in which he carries out teaching and research work.

Lina Arroyave

DeJusticia Colombia

Lina Arroyave has a master’s in law with a specialization in research from EAFIT University in Medellín, Colombia. She has dedicated her career to extensive research in various areas. Her research focus includes investigating education and the legal profession, as well as delving into the rights of victims of armed conflict and transitional justice. Presently, she is actively engaged in migration-related research, particularly as it relates to Venezuelan migration.

Katia Bonté

Katia Bonté has a degree in law and studies population and development. She is the Coordinator of the Support Group for Returnees and Refugees (GARR). She has 20 years of experience in the human rights sector in Haiti. She works in the field of social development and the defense of citizens' rights. She is committed to fostering equal opportunity for all, specifically respect for human rights, gender equality and the fight against the exclusion of women in particular and the most disadvantaged in general.

Randall Brenes

Human Development and Democratic Governance Officer and Human Mobility Focal Point at UNDP, Costa Rica

Randall Brenes has 25 years of experience in cooperation project management in the field of human rights, human development, and governance. An expert in context analysis, prospective scenarios, democratic dialogue, and conflict management; design, implementation, and evaluation of public policies and development of strategies on democratic governance, human rights, and human development to eradicate poverty and exclusion, generate employment opportunities and entrepreneurship-based on innovative solutions under a sustainable and inclusive model, with a perspective of intersectional gender.

Toni Cela

INURED, Haiti and University of Miami, USA

Dr. Toni Cela is a cultural anthropologist whose research interests include: migration and education; anthropology of disaster and recovery; disaster health; Haitian youth identity formation; anthropology of education; and diaspora and development. She received her doctorate from Columbia University, is a former Fulbright Scholar and Spencer Foundation fellow. She is the Coordinator of INURED.

Pablo Ceriani

University of Buenos Aires and MIDEQ

Dr. Pablo Ceriani Cernadas is a lawyer, and has a PhD in Human Rights, as well as a master’s degree in international Migration and Migration Law. He is currently the Coordinator of the Migration & Asylum Research and Advocacy Program at the Institute for Justice and Human Rights of the National University of Lanús and the Director of the Specialization on Migration, Asylum and Human Rights. He is a member of MIDEQ’s advisory board.

Gustavo Corella

General Directorate for Migration and Foreigners, Costa Rica

Heaven Crawley

United Nations University - Centre for Policy Research

Professor Heaven Crawley is Head of Equitable Development and Migration at the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research and also Chair in International Migration at Coventry University from where she leads the MIDEQ Hub. Educated at the Universities of Sussex (1989-1994) and Oxford (1995-1999), Heaven has nearly 35 years' experience of undertaking research on international migration in a wide range of institutional settings including the government, voluntary sector, national and international organisations, and academia.

Raúl Delgado Wise

Autonomous University of Zacatecas, Mexico

Professor Raúl Delgado Wise is professor and founding Director of the Doctoral Program in Development Studies at the Autonomous University of Zacatecas, Mexico, President and founder of the International Network on Migration and Development, General Coordinator of the UNESCO Chair on Migration, Development and Human Rights, and co-Chair of the Critical Development Studies Network. He is a member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences, member of the National Research System of Mexico with the highest rank (Emeritus National Researcher), and member of several scholarly associations in Canada, the United States, Latin America and Europe. He is editor of the Journal Migración y Desarrollo [Migration and Development] and the book series “Development and Migration” for Miguel Angel Porrúa and “Critical Development Studies” for Fernwood Books. He has authored or edited 31 books and more than 250 essays, including book chapters and refereed articles.

Felipe González

Diego Portales University, Chile

Professor Felipe González serves as the Director of the master’s Program in International Human Rights Law at Diego Portales University in Chile. During his distinguished career, he has held the position of president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and served as a rapporteur on Migrants and Refugees for the same Commission. Currently, he holds the esteemed position of United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants.

Francisco González Alvarado

Rector, National University, Costa Rica

Dr. Francisco González Alvarado serves as the Chancellor of the National University, Costa Rica. He has a master's degree in University Teaching. His leadership extends beyond the university, as he held the position of president of the National Council for Chancellors (CONARE) in Costa Rica until 2021. At present, he assumes the role of Vice President of the Central American Higher University Council.

G. 'Hari' Harindranath

Royal Holloway, University of London, United Kingdom

Professor G. 'Hari' Harindranath is a Professor of Information Systems in the Department of Digital Innovation & Management, School of Business & Management at Royal Holloway, University of London. He holds a doctorate in Information Systems from the London School of Economics and his research centers on the social and organizational implications of digital technologies, including ICT for development.

Wooldy Edson Louidor

Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia

Dr. Wooldy Edson Louidor is a professor and researcher at the Pontifical Javierian University in Colombia. He holds a Doctorate in Latin American Studies from the University of Leipzig in Germany. His specialization includes a focus on Migration, the Caribbean, and Haitian studies. His notable contributions to academia include extensive research on Colombian, Venezuelan, and Haitian migration.

Louis Herns Marcelin

University of Miami and Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development (INURED)

Professor Louis Herns Marcelin is a distinguished anthropologist and cultural epidemiologist, whose research interests include issues of health and human security, the roles of power, violence, and marginalization within society. He is a Co-Director of the Migration for Development and Equality (MIDEQ) Hub. In 2007, he founded the Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development (INURED) in Haiti, a research institute that has played a pivotal role in fostering robust academic alliances between universities dedicated to cross-disciplinary research to inform policy, praxis and development efforts in Haiti. He has received multiple awards and fellowships from the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center, the American Council of Learned Societies and the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies in South Africa. He has published in numerous, flagship academic journals.

Juan Carlos Méndez Barquero

School of International Relations, National University, Costa Rica

Dr. Juan Carlos Méndez Barquero has a Ph.D. in Philosophy and is currently a lecturer at the School of International Relations, Universidad Nacional.

Marco Vinicio Méndez Coto

School of International Relations, National University, Costa Rica.

Professor Marco Vinicio Méndez Coto is a faculty member and Director at the School of International Relations at the National University of Costa Rica. He has earned a Doctorate in International Studies from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) in Ecuador. His professional contributions extend to serving as the primary editor for the International Relations journal and authoring books on the subject of international affairs.

Shirley Montealegre

National Emergency Officer, IOM-Costa Rica

Juan Carlos Morales Quirós

Distance State University, Costa Rica

Juan Carlos Morales Quirós holds a masters degree in business management and is currently pursuing his doctoral studies in Society and Culture at the University of Costa Rica. He is a professor at UTN and UNED, member of the Projects and Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Commission and Smuggling of Migrants of the General Directorate of Migration and Aliens in the Costa Rican chapter of the Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants Observatory.

Juan Carlos Morales Quirós Máster en Dirección Empresarial y actualmente cursa el Doctorado en Estudios de la  Sociedad y la Cultura en la Universidad de Costa Rica, en cuanto a experiencia profesional He is Professor at UTN, UNED, miembro de las Comisiones de Proyectos y de Prevención de la trata de personas, funcionario de la Gestión de Trata de Personas y Tráfico Ilícito de Migrantes de la Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, representante de la Dirección General en Migración y Extrajería en el Observatorio de trata de personas y tráfico ilícito de migrantes, capítulo Costa Rica.

Jailson Silva

Instituto Maria e João Aleixo, Brazil

Dr. Jailson Silva has a degree in geography from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, a master's degree and Ph.D. from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, and a post-doctoral degree from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York. Dr. Jailson founded the Observatório de Favelas in Rio de Janeiro and is the founder and current general director of the International University of Peripheries - UNIperiferias. He has experience, studies, and multiple publications and books on education, public security, representation, social practices and urban territories.

María Eugenia Víctor Sánchez

Head of the Office for Institutional Planning, Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, Costa Rica

Catedral Heredia Costa Rica. Photo via Efrain Gonzalez Buitrago/Flickr. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED