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Maria Ron Balsera

Executive Director

London, United Kingdom

Maria oversees CESR’s programmatic work and team and leads our collaborative efforts to advance a Rights-Based Economy. Her experience of working over the last fifteen years on the right to education, privatization, and tax justice in various countries is invaluable for our efforts to build bridges between movements and groups working on human rights, economic and climate justice. Before joining our team, Maria coordinated the Tax and Education Alliance, a partnership of international and regional tax justice and education constituencies. The Alliance aims to make a transformative breakthrough in the domestic financing of public education through progressive tax reforms and builds members’ capacities to undertake collaborative research and advocacy. Maria has previously worked for ActionAid International, the Right to Education Project, Human Rights Watch, and the Universities of London (Birkbeck) Roehampton, and Bielefeld. She holds a Ph.D. in Education and Human Development from Bielefeld University, an MSc in Human Rights from the London School of Economics,  an LLM in Fundamental Rights from Universidad Carlos III, and a Diploma in Education from UC Berkeley.

Laura Taborn

Laura Taborn

Director of Finance, Human Resources, and Operations

Laura Taborn

Director of Finance, Human Resources, and Operations

ltaborn@cesr.org

Laura guides CESR's financial strategies. Her expertise spans across strategic planning, financial management, and operational efficiency, ensuring the organization's sustainable financial growth and robust framework. Laura's background includes key roles such as Finance and Operations Director at Liberty (National Council for Civil Liberties), and earlier positions at Rice Search Partners Ltd. and Rice & Dore Associates Ltd., where she led business administration efforts. Working on a freelance basis for CESR, she applies her vast experience to enhance our mission, focusing on financial health.

Mahinour ElBadrawi

Mahinour ElBadrawi

Co-Director of Program (Interim)

Mahinour ElBadrawi

Co-Director of Program (Interim)

New York, USA

With more than 15 years as a human rights advocate, Mahinour’s work focuses on utilizing international human rights law as a practical tool to decode how the current global economic model produces intersectional injustices and to find, together with partners, inspiring pathways for change. Her passion lies in building bridges and creating cross-field strategies with social movements, CSOs, and decision-makers to mobilize collective power through a rights-based agenda to transform the global economic system towards a de-colonial, green, and gender-just economy that works for the people and the planet. Before joining CESR, Mahinour worked at several human rights organizations on debt and development issues, tax, and environmental justice on the national and regional levels in the SWANA region. She also worked as Senior Programs & Research Officer at the Law & Society Research Unit at American University Cairo, where she helped build the Unit’s strategy and oversaw the implementation of its work on law, society, and human rights in post-revolutionary Egypt. She holds a BA in political science and an MA in international human rights law from the same university.

María Emilia Mamberti

María Emilia Mamberti

Co-Director of Program (Interim)

María Emilia Mamberti

Co-Director of Program (Interim)

La Plata, Argentina
María Emilia leads our work on fiscal justice and coordinates the Initiative for Human Rights in Fiscal Policy. Her previous experience working in strategic litigation and budget analysis for social, cultural, and economic rights allowed CESR to co-create a compendium of principles that summarize the human rights standards applicable to fiscal policy around the globe. Prior to joining CESR, she coordinated the social rights team for ACIJ, in Argentina. She has also worked as a consultant for different public institutions and NGOs, on matters of transparency, accountability, and economic and social rights. María Emilia holds a law degree from the University of La Plata. She is a Doctor of the science of Law (J.S.D.) from Columbia University, where she also graduated from the LL.M. program as Human Rights Fellow & Fulbright Scholar. She also holds postgraduate degrees in Constitutional Democracy (University of Genoa) and Administrative Law (University of Buenos Aires).
Ohene Ampofo-Anti

Ohene Ampofo-Anti

Program Associate

Ohene Ampofo-Anti

Program Associate

Pretoria, South Africa

Ohene provides research and advocacy support across several CESR projects, with a particular focus on embedding human rights into agendas for economic transformation and strengthening our collaborative work around assessing rights fulfillment. Ohene’s background in law, journalism and his knowledge of critical race theory and intersectionality boost our efforts to transform current narratives around the economy and dismantle the inequalities that sustain them. Before joining CESR, Ohene was a Law Clerk at South Africa’s Constitutional Court and a fellow at Sonke Gender Justice where he engaged in advocacy related to gender-based violence drafting releases, making parliamentary submissions, engaging in strategic litigation, and facilitating workshops. He also worked as a writer for Ground Up (a news website that covers stories on human rights and social justice issues in South Africa). He is a qualified attorney from the University of Cape Town (2013) and recently completed an LLM at UCLA with specializations in Public Interest Law and Policy and Critical Race Studies.

Auska Ovando

Communications Manager

Santiago, Chile

Auska manages the narratives and messages by which CESR communicates its work around the globe. Her previous experience in creating communication strategies for social and political reforms in Latin America strengthens CESR’s mission to envision a new economic system through the power of stories. Before joining us, Auska served as general coordinator and communications manager at the NGO Ciudadanía Inteligente, she worked as a researcher on journalism and media practices for Universidad Católica de Valparaíso and TVN, and as a reporter at Radio Cooperativa. She holds an MPhil in Sociology of Media and Culture from the University of Cambridge, an MSc in Democracy and Comparative Politics from University College London, and a BA in Journalism (Universidad Católica de Chile).

Santiago Ardila

Communications Consultant (Fiscal Justice in Latin America)

Santiago Ardila

Communications Consultant (Fiscal Justice in Latin America)

Bogotá, Colombia
Rebecca Berger

Rebecca Berger

Development & Learning Manager

Rebecca Berger

Development & Learning Manager

New York, USA

Rebecca manages CESR’s development plan, constantly strengthening our fundraising efforts, and plays a key role in the implementation of our monitoring, learning, and evaluation framework. She received a Bachelor's degree from SUNY Albany, where she majored in Sociology and minored in English, and a Master's degree in Sociology from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Brooklyn College, where her studies focused on gender.

Matthew Forgette

Matthew Forgette

Post-graduate Fellow

Matthew Forgette

Post-graduate Fellow

New York, USA

Matt develops research and analysis at the intersection of climate justice and tax justice, contributing significantly to our understanding and approach to these critical issues. His current projects involve creating accessible resources that shed light on pivotal developments at the United Nations, including the intricacies of the UN Tax Convention and the efforts towards establishing a Loss and Damage Fund. These resources aim to demystify complex international legal frameworks, making them understandable and actionable for a broad audience. Matthew graduated in 2018 from the University of Mississippi with a degree in international studies. His capstone thesis explored the dynamics of South-South Development between China and Latin America, offering him unique insights into the geopolitical and economic relationships that shape global development patterns. Pursuing further specialization, Matthew earned his J.D. from New York University Law School in 2023, where he delved into international human rights law. His time at NYU Law was marked by a deep commitment to understanding how legal mechanisms can be leveraged to protect and promote human rights on a global scale. Matthew's blend of expertise in international studies and human rights law, combined with his focused research on climate and tax justice, positions him as a key contributor to our efforts.

Imad Sabi, Chair

Independent Consultant

Imad Sabi, Chair

Independent Consultant

Imad Sabi is an independent consultant. He previously worked at Oxfam IBIS, as a member of the Education Out Loud team, a GPE-funded global program to strengthen civil society activism and advocacy on education. He also worked for the Open Society Foundations' Education Program; Oxfam Novib's Global Programs Department in the Netherlands, the Dutch development agency Kerkinactie/ICCO as a Senior Program Officer for Emergencies in Africa and the Middle East, and as a consultant in Central Asia. He has been active over many years in the right to education movement, serving on the Board of the Global Campaign for Education, and representing the private foundations and civil society constituencies on the Board and Board committees of the Global Partnership for Education.  Imad is also a member of the Bank Information Center (BIC), Transnational Institute (TNI), and Rights Initiative (RI) Boards. Previously he was a member of the International Council of the World Social Forum and a founding member of the Board of Engaged Donors for Global Equity (EDGE).

Karin Lissakers, Vice-Chair

Former President, Revenue Watch Institute

Karin Lissakers, Vice-Chair

Former President, Revenue Watch Institute

Karin Lissakers was founding president of the Revenue Watch Institute, a nonprofit organization that promotes the transparent, accountable and effective management of oil, gas and mining revenues to help countries realize the full economic benefit of their natural resource wealth.  She served as US executive director on the board of the International Monetary Fund from 1993 to 2001 and as deputy director of the Policy Planning Staff of the US State Department. She was also staff director of the economic policy subcommittee of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. She has also held senior posts in academia and several think tanks, as well as advising George Soros on issues of globalization. She is a former senior associate of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and headed the International Business and Banking Program at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. Her research and writing have focused on the interplay of international business and US foreign policy. She is the author of 'Banks, Borrowers and the Establishment 'about the 1980s international debt crisis. Her articles have appeared in Foreign Policy, the Journal of International Affairs, The New York Times, the Washington Post and other publications. 

John T Green, Treasurer

Former Professor of Professional Practice/Nonprofit Management, The New School

John T Green, Treasurer

Former Professor of Professional Practice/Nonprofit Management, The New School

John has over thirty years of senior financial management experience in education and nonprofit organizations, including the New York City Department of Education (Deputy Executive Director of Budget Operations and Executive Director of the Office of Charter Schools), City University of New York (Assistant University Budget Director) and Human Rights Watch (Director of Operations). Most recently he served as the Associate Dean of the Milano School  and Vice Dean of The Schools of Public Engagement at The New School. He was a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Cote d’Ivoire and has served on the board of directors at Gay Men’s Health Crisis (New York), the Betty Ford Center (California) and Isabella Geriatric Center (New York). John is a graduate of Maryknoll College (Illinois) and has an MA from Columbia University in higher education administration.

Roshmi Goswami

Feminist, Human Rights Activist and Researcher

Roshmi Goswami

Feminist, Human Rights Activist and Researcher

Roshmi Goswami is a  feminist, human rights activist with decades of work on women’s rights especially pioneering work on women in armed conflict situations using the CEDAW framework. She was a Program Officer with the Ford Foundation, New Delhi office for several years supporting cutting edge work on women’s rights in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal and regional women’s human rights networks in the Asia Pacific region. Associated with several human rights and feminist organizations she  is the present  Co-Chair of South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR), a South Asian human rights platform conceived and founded by some of the most eminent human rights defenders of the region. Roshmi was also a Governing  Board member of  the US based Urgent Action Fund, which supports women human rights defenders across the world,  founder and Board Member of Urgent Action Fund-Asia Pacific, Advisory Board member of LSE’s UKRI GCRF Gender, Justice & Security Hub, core group member of the South Asia feminist network – SANGAT, founding member of the National Alliance of Women (NAWO). She  is presently based in North East India and  an  independent researcher and consultant on  women ‘s human rights , gender justice, peace and conflict transformation. She has  been  involved in work  on  sexual violence in conflict zones, with women ex combatants in Nepal and  North East India and is presently part of a research project on the gendered dimensions of violent extremism.

Rosa Pavanelli

General Secretary, Public Services International

Rosa Pavanelli

General Secretary, Public Services International

Rosa Pavanelli has been General Secretary of the global union federation Public Services International (PSI) since 2012. PSI represents 20 million public services workers in 150 countries, championing human rights, advocating for social justice and promoting universal access to quality public services. Ms. Pavanelli is currently Chair of the Council of Global Unions and in March 2016 was nominated as Commissioner on the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth (UN ComHEEG), representing the trade union movement, health workers and public services. She is also a member of the United Nations High-level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters and of the Cornell University International Labour Relations Worker Institute Advisory Council. She also collaborates closely with the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT).

Carla García Zendejas, Secretary

Director People, Land & Resources, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

Carla García Zendejas, Secretary

Director People, Land & Resources, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

Carla García Zendejas is an environmental and human rights attorney from Mexico with more than twenty years of experience. As Director for the People, Land & Resources Program at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) she leads legal strategies and campaigns to strengthen law and policy in development finance institutions, international treaty bodies and trade agreements to ensure the protection of human rights and the environment and to achieve corporate accountability. Carla accompanies communities in seeking remedy through their litigation and complaints at accountability mechanisms and international arbitral tribunals. While serving as Senior Officer for Human Rights & Extractive Industries at the Due Process of Law Foundation she trained indigenous communities across the Andean Region on their right to free, prior and informed consent. She was co-founder and staff attorney at the first public interest law organization in Tijuana, Mexico providing free legal services to women workers in the maquiladora industry. During her early work, Carla led broad environmental justice campaigns on the U.S.-Mexico border and was instrumental in founding organizations which promoted sustainable energy infrastructure, water quality, government transparency and accountability. As a Fulbright Scholar, she earned an LL.M. from the Washington College of Law at American University.

Fatimah Kelleher

Feminist political economist

Fatimah Kelleher

Feminist political economist

Fatimah Ya-Fanah Kelleher is a feminist political economist, strategic and technical adviser, researcher and activist with over 20 years of experience working globally across Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean at various levels. A Pan-African feminist, she focuses much of her work on gender and economic rights/justice issues using African/global southern feminist and justice frameworks, with particular specialisms in feminist macroeconomics (trade, decent work, care, taxation, budgets and fiscal space, agriculture and more) and feminist economic realities and alternatives more widely. She specializes in these and other equality, equity and empowerment issues, with additional long standing experience in the education and health sectors, more specifically education for women and girls, and maternal health rights. Fatimah is a Nigerian-born dual national, with much of her work engaging with Nigerian women's rights and justice issues. An author of published multi-country research, evaluations, articles and thought pieces, her experience has involved work with civil society, feminist organizations, (I)NGOs, national and local governments, bilateral organizations, multilateral/regional organizations including various UN bodies including UNESCO, UNCTAD, and UNICEF. Fatimah is an Associate of the Nawi Afrifem Macroeconomics Collective, and also sits on the Board of the International Association for Feminist Economists (IAFFE).

Philip Alston

John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law, NYU Law School

Philip Alston

John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law, NYU Law School

Geoff Budlender

Constitutional and Human Rights Lawyer

Geoff Budlender

Constitutional and Human Rights Lawyer

Manuel José Cepeda

Jurist, Universidad de los Andes

Manuel José Cepeda

Jurist, Universidad de los Andes

Sakiko Fukuda-Parr

Professor of International Affairs at the New School, New York

Sakiko Fukuda-Parr

Professor of International Affairs at the New School, New York

Paulina Garzon

Director, China-Latin America Sustainable Investments Initiative

Paulina Garzon

Director, China-Latin America Sustainable Investments Initiative

Richard Goldstone

Honorary President, Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association

Richard Goldstone

Honorary President, Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association

Chris Jochnick

Chief Executive Officer, Landesa

Chris Jochnick

Chief Executive Officer, Landesa

CESR co-founder

Irene Khan

UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression

Irene Khan

UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression

Carin Norberg

Former Director, Nordic Africa Institute

Carin Norberg

Former Director, Nordic Africa Institute

Alicia Ely Yamin

Senior Fellow at the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School, and Senior Advisor on Human Rights, Partners in Health

Alicia Ely Yamin

Senior Fellow at the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School, and Senior Advisor on Human Rights, Partners in Health

Roger Normand

Founder and Executive Director, Justice Trust

Roger Normand

Founder and Executive Director, Justice Trust

CESR co-founder

Sarah Zaidi

Sarah Zaidi

CESR co-founder