Expert Team: Staff
Martha Maya es Asociada Senior y Directora Regional para América Latina y el Caribe del Instituto para las Transiciones Integrales (IFIT). Sus áreas de especialización incluyen: participación política y ciudadanía, derecho constitucional y derecho internacional.
Es abogada de la Universidad de los Andes, especialista en derecho público, gestión pública, políticas e instituciones de la misma Universidad y cuenta con un LL.M y un MSc (economía) grados de la Universidad de Bolonia.
Durante los últimos diez años ha trabajado en diferentes áreas de política pública. Apoyando el proceso de paz entre el Gobierno de Colombia y las FARC, fue jefa de gabinete del Ministro del Interior y posteriormente jefa de gabinete del Alto Comisionado para la Paz, donde se desempeñó como enlace oficial en La Habana sobre el tema de la participación política. También ha trabajado con diferentes organizaciones internacionales, incluida la Organización Internacional para las Migraciones.
Idiomas de trabajo: español, inglés y francés.
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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 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. Before 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 Project Lead 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 a variety of specialised journals.
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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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Misbah Omar is a Local Coordinator at the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT). For the
past seven years, he has worked on promoting peacebuilding and reconciliation as well as
youth empowerment in Libya through dialogue, mediation and diverse policy research.
Misbah previously worked as a junior analyst at the European University Institute (EUI), Italy, as well as a reporting officer at Peace Makers Team, Libya, where he focused on policy research,
mediation and peacebuilding projects. His other past projects and contributions include supporting the Libyan Social Contract, an initiative working to help Libya to bring about equitable prosperity; and supporting the Libyan Constitution Drafting Authority, a political platform aiming to bring the views of national forces closer together and to achieve a real partnership between all parties and active forces, in order to facilitate the success of the political process in Libya. He has also worked as a consultant at Dialogue Advisory Group, Amsterdam, to help enable political dialogue as a means of reducing violence in Libya.
Misbah is one of the authors of Violence and Social Transformation in Libya (Hurst Publishing) , which will be published in June 2023. He is also the author of many policy papers.
Misbah holds an MSc in Electronic Engineering (Telecommunication Systems) from the Technical
University of Malaysia. Earlier in his career, he worked at the Higher Institute of Science and Technology in Sirte, and as an assistant lecturer at the Faculty of Computer Science, Bani Walid University, Libya.
Working languages: English and Arabic.
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Víctor Almela Menjón is a Project Assistant at the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), based in its headquarters in Barcelona, working mostly on IFIT’s Law and Peace Practice Group and on the Peace Treaty Initiative.
Víctor holds a Bachelor’s degree in Translation and Interpreting from German and Russian to Spanish and a research-focused Master’s degree in Human Rights and International Politics. Previously, Víctor trained at the EU Delegation to Russia and at the OSCE’s High Commissioner on National Minorities, focusing on human rights issues and conflict prevention in eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. He also has experience in the humanitarian field, having worked for an NGO consortium specialised in Cash and Voucher Assistance in Latin America.
Working languages: Spanish, Catalan, English, French, German and Russian.
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Cristina Torelló González is a Finance and Project Assistant at the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT). She holds a BA in Humanities (Modern and Contemporary Studies) from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, and a MSc in Development and International Relations (Global Refugee Studies) from Aalborg University in Copenhagen. Her master’s thesis focused on women’s participation in indigenous politics in Ecuador.
Cristina was an intern at the United Nations Association of Spain and DanChurchAid, where her tasks focused on research and advocacy. During her studies in Copenhagen, she also co-founded a start-up aimed at sharing first-hand stories from people living in current situations of crisis that do not get enough media coverage.
Working languages: English, Spanish, and Catalan
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Alejandra is a Research Associate at the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT). She coordinates at the national level the Brain Trust in Colombia (FCH) and is part of the team that leads the Global Initiative on Polarization.
Prior to joining IFIT, Alejandra worked at Fundación Ideas para la Paz-FIP, a think tank of Peace and Security in Colombia, where she was the Coordinator of Thematic and Strategic Affairs, assistant to the Executive Director and research assistant. During her master’s she worked at Corrymeela, a Peace and Reconciliation organisation in Northern Ireland where she conducted research on narrative and reconciliation.
Alejandra has worked for more than 8 years in the peace and conflict field and has participated in research projects on micro trafficking, coca crop substitution and peacebuilding in conflict and post-conflict contexts. Likewise, she has wide experience in organisational strategic management and knowledge management.
Alejandra holds a BA in Political Science with a focus on conflict resolution and peace research from Universidad Javeriana in Colombia, and a master’s degree in Post-War Recovery Studies from the University of York in the UK.
Working languages: Spanish and English
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Marelly Martina Melián is a Project Assistant supporting IFIT’s work in Venezuela from the Bogotá office.
In the last 15 years, she has performed different functions within the Venezuelan Legislative Assembly, including monitoring and control of public management, analysis, and research. She was responsible for the execution of the operational plan and coordination of different legislative units, particularly the Office of the Presidency, Second Vice-Presidency, Permanent and Special Commissions, as well as technical assistance to parliamentarians of different political groups.
Marelly is a political scientist who graduated from the Universidad de Los Andes (Venezuela) and specialises in governance, political management and public management, parliamentary administration, modernization and transparency, government, and open parliament.
Working language: Spanish
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