Fellows

Andrew Tangas has three years of experience in the nonprofit sector and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Politics and Sociology from La Trobe University in Australia. While working at the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA), a leading Australian youth program delivery and policy advocacy organization, Andrew engaged with federal and state governments to leverage program funds and influence policy change around youth-related education, employment, entrepreneurship, and social change. In this role, Andrew oversaw the development and implementation of the organization’s government relations strategy, worked closely with the CEO in developing relationships with key government decision-makers, and supported the organization’s program teams in generating government funding streams. Through his experience in the nonprofit sector, Andrew has developed strong government relations, strategic thinking, and communication skills. Andrew is particularly passionate about creating strategic partnerships between governments, nonprofit organizations, and social entrepreneurs to maximise the social impact of innovative change projects.

Host Organization: Atlas Corps

 Role at Host Organization: Andrew will be managing special projects within Atlas Corps, including the long-term plan to franchise the Atlas Corps model around the world. In addition, he will assist the CEO with organizational development, fundraising, and streamlining internal processes. He will help manage strategic partnerships and donor relationships.

Ankit is a queer feminist activist. He is a member of Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (YCSRR) and also serves on the Board of Directors. Ankit is passionate about reproductive justice for queer and trans youth, and has worked on a range of issues from Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and public safety to environment and climate change. He serves on the Advisory Group to The Guttmacher-Lancet Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and the CIVICUS’s Youth Action Taskforce.

Host Organization:  Gay and Lesbian Victory Institute

 Role at Host Organization: As a program manager, Ankit will be working on the international program expanding to other countries including India. He will contribute his knowledge of the situation in India to the program. Overall, he will be supporting Victory’s programs in a range of different countries.

Ernesto has three years of experience in the nonprofit sector and earned a Bachelor´s Degree of Law from the Jose Simeon Canas school of The University of Central America in 2011. After graduation, he volunteered with El Salvador’s first LGBT legal clinic which inspired him to pursue a career on Human Rights activism. In 2012, Ernesto volunteered and partnered with several LGBTI organizations from the Salvadoran civil society, and became a founding member of the AMATE initiative: a project to recover and preserve the historical memory of the LGBT movement in El Salvador. As coordinator for the Global School program of Foundation Cristosal, a faith based human rights organization, Ernesto developed field courses to better understand development from a human rights approach. Through these experiences, Ernesto gained a working knowledge of social justice, grassroots organizations, learning through popular education, and human rights and equality advocacy. He also has experience facilitating dialogue and intercultural exchange between Salvadoran and North American communities. In the future, Ernesto wants to pursue a career in human rights advocacy and law.

Host Organization: Human Rights Campaign

Role at Host Organization: Ernesto will serve at the Human Rights Campaign on the “A la Familia Program” a bilingual project that promotes inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people within communidades Latinas. He will also provide support on a research project on the export of Homophobia from religious groups from within the U.S.

Hasan has five years of experience in the nonprofit sector and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Banking Science from Philadelphia University of Jordan. For the last three years, Hasan has worked as a protection assistant at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office in Amman, Jordan. The unit coordinates with inter-agency protection sectors and provides direct support in case management for child protection, sexual- and gender-based violence, legal, detention and diversity/minorities’ caseloads. Hasan is one of the main focal points working on LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) cases. He was instrumental in implementing the UNHCR Jordan LGBTI protection program, which included the development of training material and the setup of an interagency network. In this role, he has developed the ability to liaise with UN colleagues and external stakeholders on this sensitive topic with professionalism and organizational awareness. Hasan is passionate about working with marginalized groups, particularly within the LGBTI community. Traveling and meeting new people are among his hobbies.

Host Organization: Heartland Alliance International

Role at Host Organization: Hasan will work as the Sudan Taskforce Project Manager and will be responsible for coordinating and overseeing the implementation of a project to support the taskforce. He will ensure that all program activities are implemented in line with the project’s work plan and in accordance with organization and donor requirements. Hasan will be responsible for oversight of all components of the project and for quarterly reporting.

Jane has more than five years’ experience in the nonprofit sector. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications and Public Relations from the Moi University, Kenya. Currently, Jane is the Programs and Communications Officer at KELEGA Youth Empowerment and Education (Gay Kenya Trust), a position she has held for the last two years. Her main responsibilities are to fundraise and build partnerships with allies committed to the cause for equality for sexual minority persons in Kenya. She has however been involved in lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) organizing efforts since 2006. Previously, Jane worked at the America Association of Blood Banks, Kenya, and at the Kenya Chapter of the Africa Society for Blood Transfusion. Through these experiences, she has developed strong project management and coordination skills, with particular interest in human rights. Jane enjoys photography, a skill she has incorporated her advocacy work.

Host Organization: Human Rights Campaign

Role at Host Organization: Jane will be a part of HRC’s global engagement program, which works to advance equality for LGBT people around the world. She will focus on strategies and best practices for HRC to educate Americans on global LGBT issues.

João Fernandes is a young Brazilian professional with three years of experience both in the nonprofit sector and in the internationalization of higher education. He actively collaborated on the implementation of a mailing office in a local community not reached by this public service, delivering dignity and equality throughout the neighborhood, more than just mail. With hands-on work, João is acting as a fundraiser for the “Happy Postman” project that aims to alleviate poverty in his city through donations of food, clothes, and toys. He increased his sense of solidarity, determination, and, above all, the certainty that this is his greatest personal achievement. João also has a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and an MBA in Strategic Business Management. In the area of Higher Education, he has been responsible for the internationalization of the students’ experience, through mobility and non-mobility academic programs, and contributing on the improvement of the Continuing Education sub-areas such as Post-graduate, Research, Extension, Language, Student committees and Employability. Able to balance multiple competing priorities, demonstrating a natural aptitude for interacting with people and providing service with a smile.
João is passionate about democracy, multiculturalism and social development.

Host Organization: Laureate

Role at Laureate: At Laureate, João will reimagine and relaunch the organization’s Student Ambassador program, facilitating greater visibility for their 875,000 students. He will seek student input into policy and thought leadership initiatives, assist across a range of communications relate activities, and provide project management, event, and translation support.

Luis has over five years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Luis graduated with a degree in Law from the Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain), and holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Development Aid from the Open University (UK), a Postgraduate Diploma in Development and Gender Relations from the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain) and a MA in Applied Human Rights from the University of York (UK). He worked as a project manager at Fundacion Triangulo for two years, a Spanish LGBT organization working on development cooperation aid and advocacy. During that time, he was in charge of projects in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Panama, Peru, and at a regional level. Since the end of 2009, he has been a member of the Development Cooperation Team, the decision-making board for international advocacy and development cooperation issues at Fundacion Triangulo. He is currently working as a project manager on development aid at Candelita, a Spanish development organization, where he is in charge of productive projects with a gender perspective in Colombia. As a volunteer, Luis has more than 10 years of experience with civil society organizations. He collaborated with the Student Union, Ecologistas en Accion (an environmental organization), and Service Civil International Spain. At this moment, he is part of the Mobilization Team at Equo, a new Spanish political party endorsed by the European Green Party, helping to organize its standing at the next Spanish general election. He published an article last June with the title “Tackling corrective rape in South Africa: the engagement between the LGBT CSOs and the National Human Rights Institutions (Commission for Gender Equality and South African Human Rights Commission) and its role.”

Host Organization: Gay and Lesbian Victory Institute

Tushar has four years of experience in the nonprofit sector as an LGBTQ youth rights activist, and earned a Bachelor’s in Mechatronics Engineering from Manipal University, India. He is the co-founder of QueerCampus, India’s first support group dedicated to LGBTQ youth, which was established in New Delhi in 2010, where he keeps engaging with Queer and questioning youth as a peer educator and counselor. Tushar is the Operations Head for the Equal India Alliance, a nonprofit which is working towards increasing awareness about and acceptance for LGBTQ people in India at workplaces and universities, and is currently spearheading the “I, Ally” campaign, which aims to record messages of support from straight allies from across India. Tushar worked as an advisor to the Diversity in India Network, a collective of diversity and HR professionals of multi-national corporates based in India. He is trained in Theatre of the Oppressed, a powerful line of theatre that he uses constantly in his workshops with youth. He has also dabbled in spreading awareness through regular school teaching, and is an active member of many Indian and Asia-Pacific level coalitions of youth activists working with sexual and reproductive health and rights and LGBTQ issues. He is also a published journalist, an award winning filmmaker, and a travel buff.

Host Organization: Human Rights Campaign

Role at Host Organization: Tushar will be a part of the HRC’s global engagement program, which works to advance equality for LGBT people around the world. Tushar will be researching how HRC can empower LGBT leaders.