Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli
Director for the Andes

Issues of Expertise
Education
- M.A. Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
- B.A. Columbia University, Environmental Science
Social
Contact Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli
For press requests or to contact Ms. Sánchez, please email press@wola.org.
Gimena Sanchez is a human rights and anti-racism advocate at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). This independent organization promotes human rights and justice in the U.S. foreign policy framework in the region, where she directs work in Colombia, Brazil, and Argentina.
She previously directed the Haiti work. For over 19 years, she has brought to DC the voices of people affected by U.S. policies in the region: Afro-descendants, Indigenous people, women, LGBTQ+, trade unionists, victims, and displaced persons. Her work focuses on dismantling illegal armed groups, promoting peace agreements and anti-racism measures, protecting social leaders, seeking justice for atrocities, and defending labor rights. Before WOLA, she worked with Peace Brigades International, where she provided unarmed physical accompaniment to defenders and communities during the conflict in Colombia. She worked on displacement in Africa, Asia, and Latin America as an advisor to the UN Representative for Internally Displaced Persons, Francis M. Deng, from South Sudan at the Brookings Institution. Before that, she worked on ethnic issues, migration, refugees, environmental racism, and toxics for the U.S. Committee for Refugees, the Red Cross, UMCOR, the New York Mayor’s Office, and the New York State Attorney General’s Department of Environmental Protection.
Gimena has received numerous awards for her work, including from the Colombian Senate, Afro-Colombian coalitions, and the Mayor’s Office of Washington, DC. She is the author of numerous publications and appears regularly in the media. Born in Argentina, she was forced to live in several countries due to the Dirty War. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Science and Dance from Columbia University and an M.A. in International Law and International Economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).