Staff

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Arigatou International Geneva was established to serve as the Secretariat of the Interfaith Council on Ethics Education for Children and also to represent the organization in international affairs, serve as UN liaison office and to work with other Child Rights organizations in Geneva.

Maria Lucia Uribe

Executive Director

Maria Lucia heads the strategic direction of the Ethics Education for Children initiative and oversees its operations, partnerships, and budget. She is responsible for strategy, positioning and resource mobilization to grow the organization’s impact, influence and reach. Maria Lucia is also in charge of Arigatou International’s engagement in child rights initiatives with UN agencies and mechanisms, and child rights-focused NGOs in Geneva.

Prior to her appointment, Maria Lucia was the Coordinator and Deputy Coordinator for Education and Fragility for the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) and served as Program Officer for Arigatou International Geneva.

She convenes the International Consortium on Nurturing Values and Spirituality in Early Childhood for the Prevention of Violence, and the Working Group on Children and Violence of Child Rights Connect. Maria Lucia is currently a member of the Executive Committee of Child Rights Connect.

Maria Lucia believes in the power that children and young people have to transform their societies and the critical role that education can play in their empowerment and in creating more inclusive and peaceful societies.

Maria Lucia holds a Master in Peace and Conflict Transformation, a specialization in Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Finance.

María Lucia is from Colombia and lives in France. She speaks Spanish, English and French.

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Vera Leal

Head of Programs

Vera Leal is in charge of the programs department of Arigatou International Geneva, which includes ethics education and child engagement programs and activities. She is supporting the programmatic management decisions and strategic management processes in close collaboration with the Executive Director.

She has over fifteen years of international experience and expertise in education and child participation.

Prior to her engagement with Arigatou International, Vera was Secretary-General of the International Catholic Movement for Children and worked with various organizations in training in citizenship education and positive parenting.

Vera is moved by the passion to create better, safer and empowering experiences and spaces for and with children, where they can thrive and reach their fullest potential. She is a strong advocate for quality education.

Vera holds a degree in Psychology and a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resources with a Specialization in Training Management.

Vera is from Portugal and speaks Portuguese, English, French and Spanish.

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Suchith Abeyewickreme

Senior Program Officer on Ethics Education

Suchith is in charge of training and providing support for the implementation of the ethics education programme of Arigatou International. He also coordinates the Ethics Education for Children Fellowship Programme with Ministries of Education of several countries, implemented in collaboration with several partners.

He has led training workshops on ethics education with various stakeholders including ministries of education, religious leaders, educators and youth in over 30 countries. Since 2017, he has been a lead trainer in Arigatou International’s collaboration with UNESCO-IICBA on peace and resilience building and prevention of violent extremism in over 20 countries across Africa, reaching ministries of education and higher education institutes.

Previous to his engagement with Arigatou International Geneva, Suchith served as the Project Manager for the South Asia Secretariat of the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC) at Sarvodaya, Sri Lanka.

Suchith has been a Community Solutions Program Fellow of the United States Department of State; a Scholars Programme Fellow of Caux - Initiatives of Change, and SEA-AIR Interfaith Fellow of the Network of Traditional and Religious Peacemakers.

Suchith is a Trainer of the Learning to Live Together Programme, and has a background in Conflict and Peace Studies. He speaks Sinhala and English and is based in Colombo, Sri Lanka where he contributes to initiatives to promote social healing in his personal capacity.

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Sandra Yépez Ríos

Children & Youth Program Officer

Sandra is in charge of coordinating the GNRC Youth Committee and supporting initiatives aimed to enhance children's participation and empowerment within Arigatou International's projects.

Sandra is a communications specialist with experience in content writing, media outreach, and advocacy. Previous to her engagement with Arigatou International, she worked as a reporter and editor for printed and online media, covering current affairs on a wide range of topics. She also served as a communications assistant for NGOs in Latin America and Japan.

Sandra holds a Master's degree in Cultural Studies with a major in Communications and a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Communications.

She is originally from Ecuador and she speaks Spanish, English, Portuguese, and French, and has knowledge of Japanese.

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Paula Ananías

Communications Officer

Paula is responsible for the Communications area of Arigatou International Geneva, overseeing its development and implemenation to further promote and advance ethics education for children.

Paula is from Chile. She speaks Spanish and English and has good knowledge of French. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Humanities with a specialization in History and a minor in Social Communications. She also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration.

Before her engagement with Arigatou International, she founded and managed her own social entrepreneurship to help women in Chile to overcome poverty. She has been a volunteer teaching children and adolescents for many years.

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Dorel Gorga

Accountant

Dorel is originally from Romania, and has lived in Switzerland for 14 years. With more than 17 years of experience, he is an expert in tailored accounting and advising SMEs and NGOs in administrative and accounting processes.

Dorel graduated from Electronics Engineering and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in IT from the University of Iasi; he also holds a specialization in the field of Educational Technology from the University of Geneva and a Diploma in Accounting. Dorel speaks Romanian, French, English, and German.

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Staff

Maria Lucia Uribe

Executive Director

Vera Leal

Head of Programs

Suchith Abeyewickreme

Senior Program Officer on Ethics Education

Sandra Yépez Ríos

Children & Youth Program Officer

Paula Ananías

Communications Officer

Dorel Gorga

Accountant

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