Announcement: Magdalena Sepúlveda appointed as Executive Director
(Washington D.C, and Mexico City, 1 October 2019)
We are delighted to announce the appointment of our new Executive Director, Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona! She will join the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR), taking over from the co-founders, Mayra Gomez and Bret Thiele.
Ellen Dorsey, Chair of the Board of Directors, states, ‘We believe that Magdalena offers GI-ESCR strong and visionary new leadership, and that she will be able to build on the existing strengths of the organization in order to take it to its next level. Together with the staff, we warmly welcome her to the organization’.
‘The Board is excited about this moment of transition for GI-ESCR - building on the incredible impact to-date, forging new partnerships and finding opportunities to address spiraling economic and social rights crises worldwide. Bret and Mayra brought deep knowledge and passion for ESC Rights, to build a dynamic organization that has achieved significant impact. Their work is the foundation upon which Magdalena will lead GI-ESCR through this next period of supporting rights holders and their communities to demand accountability of governments and corporations alike. We are thrilled to have Magdalena join the GI-ESCR team’.
Magdalena is an experienced, strategic leader with an impressive track record. She served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights (2008 - 2014). She held the position of Research Director at the International Council on Human Rights Policy in Geneva and has also worked closely with the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. From 2013 to 2017 she was a member of the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security. She is a member of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT), where she works with well-known economists and social leaders, on how to ensure fair fiscal policies to fight inequality. In 2015, she was recognized in the Global Tax 50, a list of individuals and organizations with the biggest impact on taxation worldwide.
Magdalena is a Chilean lawyer with a PhD in International Human Rights Law from Utrecht University in the Netherlands and an LL.M in human rights law from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom.
Magdalena said: ‘I am excited to join the GI-ESCR Team. Working on the intersection of poverty, inequality, climate change and gender is more relevant than ever. We are living in difficult times, with serious threats to human rights, but we also have the possibility to contribute to solutions. I look forward to working with the broad movement for change, especially with social movements, feminists and grass roots organizations and bringing my experience to the opportunity and challenge we face together’.
Magdalena will be starting in her new position as Executive Director soon and will be based in Mexico. We hope you will be able to meet Magdalena in your work.
Contact:
Media Inquiries: Sarah French: Campaigner, sarah@gi-escr.org
Executive Director: Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, magdalena@gi-escr.org