The political, social, and economic challenges in the Latin American region, the deepening of global existential threats (climate change, loss of species, etc.), and the advent of the pandemic and the changes it has produced demand a re-evaluation of the social programs for the region. Our team has distilled our most relevant learnings from the last two decades and, based on the following analysis, we are expanding our work in Latin America.

• Citizen’s involvement is vital in solving social problems.
• The Latin American region would benefit from a new generation of leaders capable of confronting the complexity of current social problems, taking advantage of the latest technologies, and applying innovative and entrepreneurial approaches.
• These transformational leaders and change agents require support and the investment in their training prioritized.
• Their communities –with or without government support– need to face their problems in a systemic, collaborative, and organized way with a long-term perspective.

Emerging transformational leaders must be: Capable of adopting values in which the common good prevails over individual interests.

• Empathetic, inclusive, open/transparent, trustworthy, and resilient.
• Entrepreneurial, innovative, adaptive, and disruptive.
• Be prepared to understand global trends and how those impact and shape their national or local realities.
• Cognizant of the value of empirical data and new technologies.
• Able to collaborate with others and build effective teams.

With more than 20 years of experience in the social sector, she has committed herself to social justice and sustainable development by actively seeking solutions to complex issues at the core of building healthy and functioning democracies. Valeria’s work centers on democracy, anti-corruption, environment, sustainable development, and social entrepreneurship and is grounded in the rule of law and respect for human rights. For the last decade, she has connected and assisted hundreds of social organizations, social entrepreneurs, and enterprises in four continents to identify ways to increase their impact, by changing systems and applying innovative solutions.  She has led and founded several organizations –among them CLD, Participación Ciudadana Ecuador, and Systems Entrepreneurs Advisor– and has worked at PADF, Ashoka, the Skoll Foundation, and Earth Day Network. Likewise, she has served on the Board of Transparency International and the Council of the United Nations University. Currently, Valeria chairs the international board of The Fisheries Transparency Initiative and Agora Leaders.  

L.L.B. in Legal Science and a Doctorate in Jurisprudence (JD) from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Ecuador, and an L.L.M. in International and Public Law from the University of Pennsylvania, and graduated from the Founder Institute.

Screenwriter and professor. He has co-written several short films that have played and garnered awards in Sundance, Telluride, Berlin, Aspenshort, and New Directors/New Films. His first feature film as a screenwriter, Mejor es que Gabriela no se muera, was part of the official selection of AFI FEST, Guadalajara, and Sao Paolo, and won the award for Best First Feature at Cinequest in 2008. In Venezuela he worked as creator and head writer of telenovelas and TV series including Tukiti, I Grew up –a semifinalist for the International Emmys in 2007 in the Children and Young People category.  Ricardo also created and co-directed La cocina de Babel, a 13-episode documentary series that explores Venezuelan immigration through the lens of food. Most recently, his screenplay for Mejor es que Grabiela no se Muera served as the basis for Tel Aviv on Fire, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2018. He taught screenwriting and other writing courses at his alma mater, the Universidad Central de Venezuela. He currently teaches at Brooklyn College’s Fierstein Graduate School of Cinema, where he is head of the screenwriting program.

B.A. in Literature from the Universidad Central de Venezuela. MFA in film from Columbia University.

From a very early age, he defended people’s right to information and to freedom of expression. Carlos’ first steps in this life mission were as a volunteer at the Instituto Radiofónico Fe y Alegría, a network of schools in low-income areas. There, he worked his way up, becoming its director. In this institute he trained and worked with reporters and community promoters for the democratization of communication, giving coverage to issues not covered by the mass media. He was PROVEA’s general coordinator for several years, which is the Venezuelan leading organization in human rights. Nearly two decades ago, he created Espacio Público –an organization that promotes the defense of human rights, especially freedom of expression, the right to information, and social responsibility in the media. As head of this organization, Carlos participates in events of great international impact in his areas of action, such as the multiple hearings before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that he has attended and reported on. He is also a professor at the School of Journalism and Media at Universidad Católica Andrés Bello and a researcher at its Human Rights Center. Carlos became in 2008 a fellow of ASHOKA for his efforts to generate social change from the conscious exercise of journalism.

 B.A. in Journalism and Media from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (Venzuela) and PhD in Information Science from the Universidad de La Laguna (España).

Throughout her 30-year professional career, Anaisabel has been a driving force in supporting both public and private organizations, effectively addressing social issues with her innovative methodologies while promoting equality and empowering the teams she collaborates with. Her expertise lies in facilitating and guiding personal, professional, and organizational transformation processes, prioritizing well-being and fostering co-creation of innovative experiences to unlock their full potential. As a dedicated social entrepreneur, Anaisabel has actively contributed to various civil society initiatives, consistently championing an inclusive vision to create shared value. Notably, she played a key role in co-managing the entrepreneurship program for women sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela as part of the Hispano-American Center for Women, Freya. While in Peru, she took charge of the training program for entrepreneurs (Escuela de Soñadores) under the auspices of the NGO Unión Venezolana in Peru, where she designed and implemented effective methodologies and workflows to support and empower participants. Anaisabel firmly believes in the power of collaborative work and co-creation, recognizing their potential to enhance meaningful learning in the diverse fields she is involved in. 

BSc Hons in Economics, Sociology, and Statistics from the University of Surrey, UK, as well as a Master’s in Political Science from the Universidad Simón Bolívar, Venezuela. Additionally, she holds certifications as an Ontological Coach FICOP and a psychocorporal facilitator.