Dayana Blanco Acendra, Director Specialized in the fight against Human Rights Violations
She holds a law degree from Universidad de Cartagena (Bolívar) and she majored in Procedural Law at Universidad Libre and in Private-Economic Law at Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
She also received two master’s degrees: one in Environment and Development from Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and another one in Critical Race Theory and Intellectual Property from the University of California – Los Angeles (United States).
Moreover, she has been a professor at the Faculty of Law from Universidad de Los Andes. An institution where she also worked as a consultant and advisor on issues related to the defense of ethnic rights and strategic litigation.
She held various positions in the Circuit Courts of Bogotá and the Superior Court of Riohacha (La Guajira). Likewise, she was lawyer and coordinator of Territorial Rights Restitution for Black Communities at the Unidad Administrativa Especial de Restitución de Tierras.
Moreover, she worked as a Client Advocate at the LGBT Center in Los Angeles (United States).
Her professional career has been oriented toward the defense of human rights. She was co-founder and Executive Director of Ilex Acción Jurídica, an organization aimed at promoting legal, communicative, and research strategies in favor of the rights of Afro-descendant communities.