Ana Elisa is a Guatemalan lawyer and holds a Master's degree in Public Policy. She joined the DPLF team in March 2024, supporting the Human Rights and Natural Resources programs, as well as the Impunity and Serious Human Rights Violations program.
Before joining DPLF, she worked as a consultant for international organizations, such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Guatemala, and as a university lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the Universidad Rafael Landívar. From November 2019 to August 2023, Ana Elisa served as a legal advisor and was responsible for the Fight Against Human Trafficking and Other Gender-Based Violence program for Lawyers Without Borders Canada in Guatemala.
With a career spanning over 11 years, Ana Elisa has dedicated her experience to the defense and promotion of human rights. She worked for six years at the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office (PDH) in Guatemala, where she held positions such as youth rights defender, advisor to the national delegations of the Human Rights Ombudsman, and advisor to the Deputy Ombudsman II. Additionally, she was part of the Technical Secretariat, which included the PDH, the Public Prosecutor's Office, and the International Commission Against Impunity. There, Ana Elisa contributed to the development of a proposal for constitutional reform of the justice system in Guatemala in 2016. Also, Ana Elisa served as a legal assistant in the Public International Law and Criminal Law Area at the Bufete de Derechos Humanos in Guatemala, where she worked on cases related to serious human rights violations committed during the internal armed conflict in Guatemala, both at the national level and in the Inter-American System.
Ana Elisa obtained a Master's degree in Public Policy from the Universidad Rafael Landívar in Guatemala, where she is also completing a Master's degree in Human Rights. Previously, she earned the title of lawyer and notary, graduating cum laude, from the same university.