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Our Governance

Land is Life’s Board of Directors brings together Indigenous Peoples’ leaders and activists from various fields of expertise, who are deeply committed to the cause of defending and protecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights and territories throughout the world.

Indigenous Peoples and their representative organizations play a central role in Land is Life’s governance structure, ensuring that our work is focused on priorities identified by Indigenous Peoples themselves, is transparent, and has the flexibility necessary to respond to unexpected challenges and opportunities.

We are a global team

Land is Life is staffed by a dedicated team of Indigenous Peoples’ leaders, activists and allies based around the world and bound by a common mission to support the movement for self-determination. 

Board of Directors

 

Mariam Wallet Aboubakrine is a Tuareg woman from Timbuktu, Mali. She received a traditional Tuareg education, is a medical doctor with a degree from The Medicine School of the University of Tizi-Ouzou (Algeria), and has a Master’s in Humanitarian Action from the University of Geneva.

Mariam is a former Chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, where she served as an expert member from 2014 - 2019. For more than 20 years, as a member of Tin Hinan, a nomadic women’s association, she has advocated for the defense, promotion, and self-determined development of Indigenous Peoples in the Sahel-Sahara region of Africa.

Mariam is one of six principal investigators of the Arramat Project, Co-Chair of a UNESCO collaboration for Indigenous-led biodiversity conservation, health and well-being, and an Adjunct Professor at la Faculté de Droit Civil de l’Université d’Ottawa.

 

Marcos Terena is a son of the Xané People from the Pantanal region of Brazil. Marcos has devoted his life to working and organizing for the rights of Indigenous Peoples. In 1977, Marcos co-founded the first Indigenous political movement in Brazil, the Union of Indigenous Nations. In 1992 he organized a landmark event in the worldwide struggle for Indigenous Peoples’ rights, the World Conference of Indigenous Peoples on Territories, Environment and Development. At this historic gathering, Marcos was chosen by over 700 Indigenous leaders from around the world to deliver their message to world leaders at the United Nations Earth Summit (UNCED). Marcos is President of the Inter-Tribal Committee and, with his brother Carlos, founded the World Indigenous Games. He is also a founding member of the International Alliance of Indigenous-Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests, The Brazilian Institute for Intellectual Property, and the Call of the Earth Circle.

 

Anne Nuorgam is a Saami leader who holds a Master of Laws degree and is currently a PhD student at the University of Lapland. She has been a member of the Saami Parliament of Finland since 2000. Ms. Nuorgam is a former Chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, where she served as an expert member from 2017 - 2022. She is the Chair of Veahčanjárga Fishery, and is Head of the Saami Council’s Human Rights Unit.

 

Cecilia Baltazar is a Kichwa leader from the community of Chibuleo San Francisco in Ecuador. She is an expert in intercultural Indigenous Peoples’ justice and the rights of nature and has been a long-time advocate for the collective rights of Indigenous Peoples. She holds a Master’s degree in Constitutional Law from the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. She served as an Advisor to the Constitutional Court of Ecuador, and in 2023 was elected to Ecuador’s National Assembly, representing the Province of Tungurahua.

Staff

 

Brian Keane has been working with Indigenous Peoples’ communities for nearly forty years. He is co-founder of Land is Life, served as Rapporteur for the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (2017-2019), and was appointed - during the Obama Administration - as the first Advisor for Indigenous Peoples’ Issues for United States Foreign Assistance.

 

Lawyer by trade and anthropologist at heart. Luisa is a Vanier scholar and Doctoral Candidate in Comparative Law at McGill University. Over a decade, she cultivated her professional experience in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples, non-governmental organizations and the United Nations by advancing the rights of many Indigenous Peoples around the world. As a lawyer, she has worked for the Indigenous Peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta of Colombia, advocating for their territorial rights through strategic litigation. 

Previous to joining Land is Life, Luisa  was advisor to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issue’ Chairperson, Dario Mejia-Montalvo. She also worked within the Indigenous Peoples Unit at FAO and with the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of safe drinking water. Luisa holds a Master’s in Law from the Libre University, Colombia and an LLM in Comparative Law and Economics from the University of Turin and IUC, Italy.

 

Katherine Freitag is the Development & Partnerships Manager at Land is Life, supporting both Development and Programs departments. She manages proposal and report development, donor research, and donation and grant databases like monday.com and Salesforce. Katherine also provides administrative support, coordinates development strategies and international grants, manages Indigenous partnerships, and coordinates delegations to forums such as the UNPFII and UNFCCC.

Based in Washington DC, Katherine is pursuing a master's degree at Johns Hopkins SAIS, focusing on Development, Climate & Sustainability. She holds a B.A. in International Relations and Public Policy from the University of Delaware. Her background includes roles in legal and business development in New York and Amman, and nonprofit work in Boston and Prague.

 

Jemimah is a Maasai woman from Kajiado, Kenya and has over a decade working with Indigenous Peoples’ communities in the region coordinating Land is Life’s programs. She specializes in Indigenous People’s rights, land rights, and climate change. With a strong reputation among Indigenous Peoples’ leaders throughout the region, Jemimah helped shape the Indigenous-led grant-making process, bringing credibility and passion to Land is Life’s efforts in Africa. She is also the Founder of Enkishon Indigenous Initiative, an Indigenous women-led organization based in Kajiado, Kenya. During her free time, she enjoys making short films on different topics related to her community’s way of life. Her background is in Sociology

 

Sarah is an Indigenous Kankanaey-Igorot from the Cordillera region of the Philippines. She has been an Indigenous activist for over two decades. Her work focuses on supporting Indigenous Peoples’ communities in their resistance against development aggression and human rights violations in the Cordillera. Additionally, she is the current Secretary General of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance, a coalition of Indigenous Peoples’ and sectoral organizations in the Cordillera region that advocates for the promotion of Indigenous Peoples’ rights and social justice. Bestang is recognized as one of the Indigenous women leaders in the Philippines who has faced terrorist labeling, digital harassment, and trumped-up charges from the Duterte administration to the current Marcos II regime due to her unwavering defense of Indigenous Peoples’ rights.

 

Tania Eulalia is an Ëyuujk Indigenous and interdisciplinary action-oriented researcher with over 15 years of experience working at the interface of water-food-energy issues, nutrition, gender, social justice, and Indigenous Peoples. As the Director of Food and Water Sovereignty programs, she supports our coalition members to strengthen their right to food through their food and water sovereignty strategies. Tania also engages with international organizations and policymakers to support more inclusive policy processes that support Indigenous Peoples’ rights. We work on school meal programs, agroecology, fisheries, water, native seeds, and pastoralist practices, among others. Personally, Tania supports Indigenous Women’s right to education and STEM.

 

Killa is the former Governor of the Inga Reservation Yunguillo, and also part of its Council of Elders, an instance of greater prestige and respectability of traditional authorities according to the uses and customs of the Indigenous Peoples, a condition lifetime held position as an apprentice of traditional medicine. She is part of the global team of the Land is Life as the Regional Coordinator Amazonian. Moreover, she is a consultant at the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia – ONIC, a member of the Board of Directors of the Corporación Alianza Étnica Internacional. Killa has a degree in Cultural Studies and Management (University School of Business Administration - EAN), is a Specialist in Cultural Management Projects (Minuto de Dios University Corporation - UNIMINUTO) and a master student in International Development Cooperation: Management and Project Management (International University of La Rioja - UNIR)

 

Zaira is from Brazil, is a graduate of the Federal University of Minas Gerais School of Dentistry (DDS) and obtained her Master's in Public Health (MPH) at the University of Brasilia. Zaira is an alumna of the Humphrey Fellowship Program, cohort 2017-2018, and of the Edmundo Granda Ugalde Leaders in International Health Program, cohort 2019-2020. Her professional experience includes 13 years in Indigenous Peoples’ healthcare in Brazil, four of which in remote communities providing dental services and team-based primary health care. Currently, she is also engaged in two international research projects related to Indigenous Peoples’ health.

 

Julián Hernández serves as the Fundraising Manager at Land is Life, where he is tasked with crafting and executing strategies to engage individual donors. His work is crucial in connecting supporters with the organization’s mission to protect and empower Indigenous Peoples through its various programs.

 

With over 11 years of experience in international advertising and marketing, Julián combines his professional expertise with a strong dedication to social responsibility. His career is marked by a deep appreciation for cultural diversity, lifelong learning, and positive community impact. Julián is also passionate about travel, nature, and animal welfare, and he aims to channel his skills to benefit the Indigenous Peoples Land is Life supports. Guided by principles of kindness and respect, he is committed to fostering meaningful relationships that advance the organization’s goals and drive impactful change.

 

I am Ana Amaguaña, an indigenous woman from the Kichwa-Otavalo people of Ecuador. I speak my native language, Kichwa, Spanish, Italian and English. From 2022 to February 2024, I accompanied the work of Land is Life in the coordination of the secretary of the International Working Group of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact - GTI-PIACI. Currently, I am assuming functions as coordinator in the PIACI program. I have aspirations to contribute to the formulation of effective actions in favor of the defense, protection and promotion of the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

 

María Camila is from Colombia, is a graduate of Social Communication with emphasis on journalism from the Pontifical Javeriana University and has a degree in modern languages from the same university. Her professional experience includes 6 years working with Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon, leading intercultural communications and a communication strategy for positioning Indigenous Peoples governments, their leaderships and their roles safeguarding the rainforest, for different actors, including public opinion.