Fellows

Aldo has six years of experience in the nonprofit sector. He holds a degree in Marketing and Communications and two postgraduate diplomas in Fundraising and Project Management & Education and Employment of Youth. Since he was 17 years old, he has been involved with social development organizations. Aldo was a volunteer at Amnesty International Mexico as well as a Program Officer in a human rights foundation. In 2008, he founded the nonprofit organization, Puerta Joven (“Youth Door”), which provides internet access and arts and technology programs to improve the education of the youth in poverty (with a primary focus on indigenous and people with physical disabilities). As the Founder and Program Coordinator, he gained experience to get support and funding for his own programs and projects from international aid agencies and foundations such as: the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), UNPD Mexico, UNESCO Brazil, Oxfam, and the Adobe Foundation. As a fundraiser, he has also done campaigns to get individual donations through media campaigns and mobile phones. Aldo was named Action Partner by Oxfam International Youth Partnerships. He has participated in key global forums like the World Youth Conference, organized by UN agencies where he was a member of the Global Council of NGOs and was also invited to run workshops about Fundraising. Aldo has knowledge in graphic design, web development, social media, and nonprofit marketing.

Host Organization: National Audubon Society

Alejandro Bonilla gained five years of work experience after obtaining his Bachelors degree in Journalism from the Universidad Centroamericana in El Salvador. He holds a Masters degree in Management of Corporate Communications from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, in Barcelona, Spain. In 2003, Bonilla began his career in the nonprofit sector with the Communications Department of CARE in El Salvador. In 2006, Bonilla joined Children International Mexico as the Communications Coordinator. Promoted to Communications & Development Coordinator for Children International Mexico in 2008, Alejandro manages fundraising activities, develops and maintains collaborations with public and private companies, as well as governmental and international organizations. In 2009, Bonilla raised more than one million dollars of new funds, and trained Development Coordinators in many Latin American countries on planning and fundraising. Bonilla recently completed a Strategic Marketing Diploma at the Jesuit University of Guadalajara and a Fund Raising Diploma at the School of Fund Raising, University of Indiana. Children International recommended Bonilla’s expertise in strategic fundraising as a “best practice” and Bonilla became the SME fundraising expert in Latin America for Children International. Alejandro Bonilla is a member of the Mexican Center of Philanthropy and Children Human Rights in Mexico.

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Host Organization: Service for Peace

Alexandra has 9 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She received a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM) and a Master’s degree in International Cooperation for Development from Ortega y Gasset University Research Institute in Madrid, Spain. She was the Institutional Development Coordinator at Center Prodh – a human rights nonprofit in Mexico – for 8 years. She was also a consultant for AJWS. She has experience in strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, as well as knowledge on methodologies such as Logical Framework Approach and Theory of Change. She has worked with U.S. private foundations and the EU-Mexico cooperation. Her experiences have provided her with an understanding of the main human rights issues and confirmed her deep commitment with social justice and strengthening of civil society. Alexandra enjoys processes of learning, cultural exchanges, the outside and the arts.

Host Organization: Southwest Economic Solutions

Role at Host Organization: Alexandra will develop, implement, and
evaluate processes that integrate the work of SWES both programmatically and technologically.
Her work will culminate in both the implementation of new programs as well as an actionable
recommendation for integrative practices for the future.

Arturo has three years of experience in the nonprofit sector. He earned his MA in International Relations from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, where he was awarded with the Vice-Chancellor’s Commendation for Academic Excellence. He received a BA in International Relations from Tecnologico de Monterrey, where he graduated top of his class and received the highest honors for his performance in dramatic arts and social development projects. In 2013, he started LiberArte, a social development project that stimulates human expression in teenagers living in vulnerable communities through creative and artistic education. Arturo designed activities and imparted practical and theoretical courses for the program, as well as managing a group of volunteers. His project emphasizes on mentoring young people and giving them the opportunity to express their own personal story, their feelings, their daily hardships, and providing them with information regarding sexual health, drug addiction, violence, and professional orientation. He has volunteered in three different social development programs in Mexico, ranging from rural education strengthening, to community values communication in urban environments. In 2011, he received the “Best Student in a Social Development Program” award from the Institute for Sustainable Social Development at Tecnologico de Monterrey for his participation in a performance arts education program for people of all ages without any access to art sources, he later went on to coordinate this program himself. In the same year he also started and managed a social project, where volunteers implemented human rights education through artistic activities. In 2010, he conducted research and published a paper on the causes, effects and victims of unconventional gender violence in young adult couples in urban settings. Arturo is very passionate about innovative social education, making art a social right, building peaceful relations among conflicting groups, and fostering gender equality.

Host Organization: Kids’ Food Basket

Fellow Role at Kids’ Food Basket
Arturo will join Kids’ Food Basket (KFB) in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He will represent KFB in the community and perform several outreach efforts to communicate what KFB is all about to distinct audiences and community sectors. He will also participate in the daily operation and the management of volunteer groups.

Blanca has five years of nonprofit experience promoting corporate social responsibility in Latin America. She has held a wide range of positions in this field, including international project coordinator, consultant, professor, and researcher. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), and a Master’s Degree in Corporate Responsibility from ESERP Business School in Barcelona. Blanca has previously worked as Manager of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program at ITESM where she trained executives from around the world and collaborated with a multicultural team of colleagues to create the CSR strategy for an environmental organization in Spain. Blanca has also worked on educational projects to promote capacity-building for the disabled in order to provide social integration, and became the POETA Program Coordinator at Monterrey Tech in 2007. As an active member in disability and social integration associations, Blanca learned sign language and became an interpreter to the hearing-impaired. She has been a regular lecturer for companies concerning strategies to better integrate the disbaled into the workforce. During her career, Blanca has been chosen by several international organizations, including the Inter-American Development Bank and the UN Global Compact, to participate in conferences related to Corporate Social Responsibility.

Host Organization: CentroNia

Brenda Hali has five years of experience in the for-profit and non-profit sectors. During these years she has had the opportunity to serve and work in marketing, sales, product development, internal communication, social projects management and the organization of international conferences and summits, all in different countries across Latin America. She earned a Bachelor´s Degree in Business Trades from the National Polytechnic Institute in Mexico. Brenda Hali most recently worked as Chief Marketing Officer in the NGO AIESEC in Panama. With her team, she organized more than three hundred international volunteer and professional experiences, facilitating a network of one hundred youth leaders. She also created and replicated in Panamanian universities a forum called “Youth Competitiveness in a Multicultural Country” to create awareness about the social situation in the country. Through her experiences, Brenda Hali has developed strong multi-cultural teamwork, project management, volunteers management, facilitation, startups development consulting and mentoring skills. Brenda Hali feels ownership over the second big problem in Latin America: Education. She believes that good youth leadership and social entrepreneurship can make a difference in her region.

Host Organization: Meridian International Center

 Role at Host Organization: As a communications coordinator, Brenda Hali will recruit and place Fellows in fellowships. She will coordinate site visits, cultural and volunteer activities, and speaking engagements that will provide opportunities to apply skills. Uniquely positioned at the intersection of the public, private and diplomatic sectors, Meridian’s broad network will support Summit and Fellowship components.

Daniela has over four years of experience in the nonprofit sector working on the administration of social development projects at the local level. With a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations, she has led a variety of projects throughout Mexico to improve the efficiency and management of local government. Her research has helped promote public policies that ensure the adequate distribution of resources, and has assisted in identifying areas of poverty in rural and urban communities. As a result of her findings, Daniela has created projects aimed at correcting the distribution of resources and providing access to basic services to those in severe need. She currently works for the municipality of El Marqués, where she organizes fundraising to support local activities and promote equal opportunities for women. Additionally, Daniela has worked to decentralize services and policies by implementing projects from the federal to local level and promoting the social development of poor towns through national programs. She has also helped to start a new nonprofit organization called “Drink a Dream,” which supports heath, education and social development projects.

Host Organization: Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Diego is an international business developer with 6 years of experience in business development, sourcing and sustainability within a Fortune 500 company as well as in international trade & investment in government
organizations. He holds a Bachelor’s dual-degree in International Business Management from ESB Reutlingen in Germany and Universidad de las Américas in Puebla and an MBA from Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM) in Mexico City. An upbringing in Mexico and the U.S., as well as extended academic and work experiences in Germany, Switzerland, Holland, and France, has given him keen cross cultural experiences and helped him become fluent in English, Spanish, German and French. Until recently, he led multi-sectoral efforts to promote Mexican exports and attract foreign direct investment as an international business consultant at the Trade & Investment Commission of Mexico in the U.S. and Germany. Previous experience includes leading Communication and PR Programs for Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility for water usage efficiency, residue management, renewable energy sources and human development within a Fortune 500 company. In 2016, he founded Xiik’ Business Accelerator, a boot camp for Mexican startups in founding stages with core businesses linked to environmentally sustainable business models. Through his experience as project leader in the public and private sector, he developed solid project management skills; enabling him to lead multiple projects and its budgets with a strategic approach while meeting strict time schedules and productivity targets. Diego is passionate about the current role of social entrepreneurship – with the firm belief of becoming a social entrepreneur himself – and would like to further pursue doctoral studies on how institutions can effectively foster economic development in Latin American countries.

Host Organization: Goodwill Industries International

Role at Host Organization: Diego will support Goodwill Industries International, Inc.’s goal to strategically expand the Goodwill social enterprise model internationally. He will join the International Development team, identifying new international opportunities, supporting existing international affiliates and partners, and contributing to broad initiatives including data collection and analysis, fundraising, the development of tools for the delivery of technical assistance and training to international partners, and other capacity-building mechanisms.