Team
Our Team
The main objective of Helsinki España-Human Dimension is to promote the respect and protection of human rights through education, mainly at the university level. In order to accomplish this goal, we have a team of highly qualified people deeply committed to our mission, and thanks to them we are able to coordinate the day-to-day management of the organization.
María Jaén Barandiarán
President / Project Director
Maria Jaén holds a degree in Business Administration from the Universidad Europea de Madrid and a Masters in Marketing from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. In 2001, she was selected as an International Visitor for the U.S. Government’s IVLP program and from 2000-2001 she was selected for a European Social Fund Scholarship. She completed her English studies at Georgetown University in 2009. In 2021, she was awarded the Serge Lazareff Award issued by NATO.
She joined Helsinki Spain in 1999 and since then has been working for this organization, carrying out projects and seminars on human rights, conflict resolution, poverty eradication and peace building from a multicultural approach. In 2020 he assumed the presidency of Helsinki Spain – Human Dimension.
Ana María Nieto Centeno
Vice President
Ana Nieto received her law degree from the Universidad Complutense (Madrid). She has more than 30 years of experience in private practice as a lawyer. From 1995 to 2014 she was Secretary General of Helsinki Spain.
She has conducted several researches related to the improvement of higher education and professional ethics in teaching, participated in numerous international workshops and seminars on Human Rights and poverty alleviation in cooperation with OSCE, UN and EU. In 2015 she was elected President of Helsinki Spain. She is currently Vice President of Helsinki España – Human Dimension.
Silvia Escobar
Vice President
Silvia Escobar is a leading Spanish expert on human rights. She has been Director of the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Spanish Ambassador for Human Rights. She was a founding member and first president of Amnesty International in Spain, Director of Social Services of the Spanish Red Cross, Secretary General of the Humanitarian Law Center of the Spanish Red Cross and Secretary General of the CEAR Foundation.
She has been part of numerous diplomatic missions with the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the OSCE and the EU, holding the position of president of the EU dialogues with third countries during the Spanish presidency of the EU in 2010. She is currently a visiting professor at several Spanish universities and Vice President of Helsinki España – Human Dimension.
Angela Suárez Jaimes
Secretary General / Project Director
Graduate in International Relations at the Universidad Complutense (Madrid) and in Law at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia. Master’s in Governance and Human Rights from the Universidad Autónoma (Madrid).
She was involved in security, migration flow, and international terrorism with the center for analysis and prospective of the Civil Guard. She was selected through an international cooperation grant to work with the Committee for Solidarity with Political Prisoners in the defense of human rights defenders in Bogotá (Colombia). She is currently the Secretary-General of Helsinki España.
Rocío Bresca Gómez-Martelo
Director of Education and Volunteering Programme
International relations graduate from Rey Juan Carlos University. She was awarded scholarships to complete her studies abroad at the Università degli studi di Verona (Italy) and the State University of New York (USA). She’s also a certified International Trade and Commerce Technician by the Chamber of Commerce of Madrid.
With almost ten years of experience under her belt as a volunteer for different NGO’s, she was also Proyect Assistant for Helsinki-España from 2020-2021. These ecperiences back up her commitment for defending and promoting of children and youth’s rights.
Nowadays, she’s currently Director of Education and Volunteering for Helsinki-España.
Gabriela Gonzalez Posada
Project Coordinator
Gabriela Gonzalez was born and raised in Seattle, Washington in the United States. In 2018, she decided to venture out and study International Relations at the University of Antonio de Nebrija in Madrid, Spain. In 2022, she underwent an internship at Helsinki España and also participated in the REACT and HEAT courses in same year.
Participating in volunteering and helping her community has been a hobby for her since she was 15 years old; from being secretary in her volunteer club at her high school in the United States, to being a translator at a Risk, Attachment and Trauma Convention on abandoned children in Honduras, coordinated by the Light Shine Organization and Family Life Mission.
Our volunteers
The humanitarian work carried out by Helsinki España would not be possible without the efforts of our large team of volunteers. We have volunteers from different academic backgrounds united by the determination to protect human rights, making possible a more complete management of the organization and creating a positive synergy that facilitates the achievement of our objectives.
Mariana Jacqueline Thenier
Lawyer graduated Summa Cumm Laude with a Master’s Degree in Mediation and Conflict Management. She received a scholarship for academic excellence from Fundación Carolina and AECID to study a Master’s Degree in Governance and Human Rights at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, in addition to that she has a specialization in Diplomacy and International Relations. International experience in the area of Human Rights as a member of the Friendly Settlements team at the IACHR in Washington D.C.
She was awarded as one of the “Ten Outstanding Young People”, category “CONTRIBUTION TO CHILDREN, WORLD PEACE AND HUMAN RIGHTS” by the Junior Chamber International.
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