Expert Team: Staff
Valentina Andrade Másmela is an intern at the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT) in Bogotá, Colombia, where she works with the transitional justice team.
Before joining IFIT, Valentina worked on projects in Colombia with peace agreement partners in Guaviare and in development initiatives with indigenous communities in La Guajira.
Valentina is a Law and Anthropology student at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia. Her areas of interest are cultural diversity, transitional justice, human rights, and peace in Colombia. In the near future, she aspires to continue working with peacebuilding projects around the world.
Working languages: English and Spanish.
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Valentina Barrera is an Intern at the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT) in Bogotá, Colombia, and is working to support IFIT’s territorial brain trust in the country.
Before joining IFIT, Valentina worked on projects related to pedagogy, social work, and research. She worked hand in hand with children and adolescents from vulnerable neighborhoods in the construction of their life projects and leisure spaces for their personal growth. In addition, during her career, Valentina developed research on peacebuilding, memory, indigenous communities, and the role of Colombia in the world.
Valentina is a political scientist from the Universidad de los Andes, Colombia. She also has minor studies in Sociology and a Diploma from the Universidad Nacional on Conflict, Memory, and Peace in relation to the Final Report of the Truth Commission. Her areas of interest are gender, environment, memory building, and peace in Colombia. In the near future, Valentina aspires to pursue a Master’s degree in one of these fields.
Working languages: English and Spanish.
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Daniela Quinche is an extern with the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT). Based in London, she supports the work of IFIT’s Law and Peace Practice Group and Peace Treaty Initiative.
Before joining IFIT, Daniela worked for almost five years in the Colombian transitional justice system created through the peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC. She led several teams of interdisciplinary analysts who prepared factual analyses that formed the bases of the decisions of the Panel for Acknowledgment of the Truth of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP). Her focus on adapting social science methodologies to concrete research problems allowed the Panel to test case theories centred on establishing command responsibility for international crimes.
Daniela also previously worked at the Office of the High Commissioner of Peace in Colombia, supporting the Colombian peace negotiations while they were still underway, as well as supporting early implementation of the peace deal. Earlier in her career, she worked as a researcher, leading work on key chapters of the annual Cultural Citizenship reports of different cities in Colombia.
Daniela holds BAs in Political Science from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and a PGDip in Constitutional Law from the Universidad Libre. She is pursuing a Master’s in Conflict, Security and Development at the University of Sussex, UK.
Working languages: English and Spanish.
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Joe Drerup is an Intern at the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), based in its headquarters in Barcelona.
He holds a Bachelor’s Degree (BSc) in International Relations and Organisations from Leiden University and a Master’s Degree (MSc) in Conflict, Rights and Justice from SOAS University of London. Thematically, his specialisation lies with inclusive narratives in post-conflict environments, alternatives to conventional peacebuilding approaches, and the socio-psychological structures of conflict. His dissertation investigated the inclusivity of post-apartheid South African nationalism and its contribution to contemporary xenophobia.
Before joining IFIT, Joe worked as a Research Assistant at the Centre for Conflict, Rights and Justice and as an Assistant in Project Management for Kiron Open Higher Education, an NGO focussing on the provision of higher education for refugees.
Working languages: German, English and French.
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Paula Vargas is an Associate at the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), based in the Bogotá office where she is the lead on IFIT’s transitional justice work in Colombia and Latin America.
With an academic background in international law, Paula has worked for many years on public interest issues including transitional justice, women’s rights, and business and human rights. Among other things, she spent four years working for the Colombian Ministry of Defence. During her time there, she led a team responsible for implementing the 2016 Peace Agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC. Prior to that, she worked as a litigator at a private law firm in Colombia and in various national and international legal roles, including with Colombia’s National Legal Defence Agency. More recently, she worked as an independent consultant in human rights and international humanitarian law. She has also advised companies and NGOs on developing equity and human rights-related policies.
Paula is a law graduate from the Universidad de los Andes and holds a master’s degree in
human rights and international humanitarian law from Northwestern University, where she graduated on the Dean’s List.
Working languages: Spanish and English
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Dr Musa Kika is the Head of Office (Barcelona) and Director of External Relations for the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT).
Musa most recently served as Executive Director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Zimbabwe’s biggest civil society coalition of human rights groups, where he also served as Secretary of the National Transitional Justice Working Group. Musa has also been affiliated during the past years with the University of Cape Town’s Democratic Governance and Rights Unit as a Senior Researcher.
Previously, Musa taught law at the University of Zimbabwe’s Faculty of Law and served as a law clerk to the Chief Justice and Judges of Appeal at the Supreme Court of Namibia, for a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals in South Africa, and for a judge of the High Court in Botswana. He has worked with law-based NGOs such as Justice for Children and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, and published widely on democracy, dialogue and governance issues in the Southern African region.
Musa is a Mandela Rhodes Scholar, a Harvard Law School Kaufman Public Service Fellow, and an alumni of the US State Department’s International Visitors Leadership Program for the Rule of Law cohort. He holds a PhD in Constitutional and Administrative Law from the University of Cape Town; a Master of Laws (LLM) from Harvard Law School; and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) summa cum laude from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He also holds professional certificates from the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights and the University of Basel.
Working language: English.
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Idalina Arreola Atilano is the Local Coordinator of the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT) brain trust in Mexico.
Prior to joining IFIT, Idalina worked at the Electoral Institute of Mexico City, where she led the establishment of strategic alliances and promoted key international relationships as the International Liaison Director. She also served as Chief of Staff in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic in Mexico.
Idalina holds a Master’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Salamanca, Spain, and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Public Administration from the Autonomous University of Tlaxcala, México. In addition to participating in various conferences and electoral research congresses, Idalina has organised and coordinated observation missions during electoral and citizen participation processes in Mexico, while also serving as an international observer in countries including Honduras, El Salvador, and Ecuador. Idalina has published articles and book reviews in numerous specialised journals.
Working languages: Spanish and English.
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Riccardo Tamburini is a Communications Officer at the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), based in Barcelona. He has a background in video production and content writing.
His previous experience includes collaborating with Social Income, a Swiss NGO focusing on alleviating poverty and inequality, where he helped shape their communications strategy and social media presence. He has also worked as a digital content writer for international companies like The Knot Worldwide.
Riccardo holds a BA in Film Studies from the University of Roma Tor Vergata and additional diplomas in Filmmaking and Screenwriting. He has written and directed several award-winning short films and documentaries.
Working languages: English, Italian, Spanish.
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Francisco is an Intern based in Mexico and working to support IFIT’s brain trust in the country.
He is a thesis student in History at the Facultad de Filosofía y Letras of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). His lines of research focus on migration studies and organised crime. To date, he has published two papers: one on the historical construction of narco-documentaries (International Congress on Violence 2022) and another on digital tools in history teaching (Meeting of the REDDIEH 2021). He is a member of the “Clionautas” collective
and has previously volunteered for projects relating to the Coronavirus pandemic,
socially relevant problems, and the history of migration in Mexico.
Working languages: Spanish and English
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Sofía is an Intern at the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), based in Bogotá and focused on transitional justice. She is a Political Science and Law student at Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá and has particular interests in transitional justice, peace building, and criminal and penitentiary law. Prior to joining IFIT, Sofía was a legal researcher at the legal clinic of the Universidad de los Andes, where she worked with vulnerable prison populations.
Working languages: Spanish and English
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