Berkley Center

Patricia Biermayr-Jenzano is a visiting scholar at the Center for Latin America Studies in Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service, where she is also part of the Science, Technology and International Affairs and the Women and Gender Studies programs. A social scientist and gender specialist who works to develop research approaches and gender analysis to the feminization of agriculture, her research has deep roots in participatory action research theory and practice; she has been deeply involved in mainstreaming gender in agriculture and conservation-related efforts. Biermayr-Jenzano teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on gender and sustainable development, sustainable agriculture, and research methods with emphasis in participatory action research and qualitative data analysis. She has previously held positions with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, International Food Policy Research Institute, and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. She holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Extension and Social Anthropology from Cornell University and a degree in Agricultural Engineering in Plant Science from Argentina.

Robert Brenneman is an associate professor of sociology at Saint Michael’s College in Vermont. Brenneman’s research focuses on the impact of violence and violent social structures on human flourishing. His book, Homies and Hermanos: God and Gangs in Central America(2011), takes a close-up look at the lives of 63 former gang members, many of whom joined an evangelical congregation as part of their attempt to extricate themselves from gang violence. He received his B.A. from Eastern Mennonite University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Notre Dame.

Lydia Dibos is the senior advisor for Hispanic outreach for Catholic Relief Services (CRS). In this position she implements a comprehensive strategy for increasing the awareness, support and engagement of Hispanic Catholics in the United States. Dibos previously worked with CRS in response to Hurricane Mitch and served as the senior program manager in Guatemala. She holds degrees in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and Latin American Studies from Georgetown University.

Virginia Garrard-Burnett is a professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Texas, Austin, where she has been a faculty member since 1990. Her research interests include historic memory and human rights during the Cold War in Latin America, contemporary Central American history, religious movements and ethnic identity in Latin America, and the intersection of religion and politics in Latin America. Garrard-Burnett is currently co-editing the three-volume Cambridge History of Religion in Latin America and co-author of the forthcoming History of Modern Latin America. Her previous works include Terror in the Land of the Holy Spirit: Guatemala Under General Efraín Ríos Montt, 1982-1983 (2010) and Protestantism in Guatemala: Living in the New Jerusalem (1998). Garrard-Burnett received her Ph.D. in History from Tulane University.

Desha Girod is an associate professor in Georgetown University's Department of Government. She is a faculty affiliate of Georgetown University's African Studies Program and a member of the executive committee of Georgetown University's Center for Latin American Studies. Girod's research and teaching focuses on the international and comparative political economy of developing countries, particularly foreign aid and the political economy of natural resources. Her book Explaining Post-Conflict Reconstruction (2015) is an analysis of post-conflict reconstruction efforts around the world. Girod received her B.A. from Penn State University, M.Phil. from Trinity College in Dublin, and Ph.D. from Stanford University. She also held a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University's Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law.

Álvaro Ramazzini, elevated to the cardinalship in October 2019, was appointed the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, in May 2012 after serving as bishop of the Diocese of San Marcos from 1988 through 2012. Ramazzini has fought to end the unjust land tenure system in western Guatemala, arguing it disfavors the poor and limits social mobility.

Eduardo Vargas serves as the deputy director at the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at the US Agency for International Development. Vargas previously served as an elected director to the United Nations Department of Public Information /NGO Executive Committee—representing over 1,300 NGOs worldwide at the United Nations Secretariat in New York—during which time he championed greater regional representation and access for NGOs in the United Nations. Vargas is an author and speaker on a variety of globalization and public policy issues and has been featured on CNN, Foreign Affairs, FOX News, and Telemundo, among other outlets. He holds B.S. and M.A. degrees in Public Health/Business Administration and International Relations, respectively.

Pablo Villeda serves as the vice president of regional operations for Latin America at International Justice Mission (IJM). Villeda oversees IJM’s work to bring rescue and restoration to children who have been victimized by sexual violence and to secure justice against rapists and traffickers. Villeda joined IJM in 2007 as the Guatemala’s field office director, where he led his team to achieve significant convictions against perpetrators of sexual violence and pioneered new ways of combating child sexual assault by equipping officials within the Guatemalan justice system. Before joining IJM, Villeda worked as a visiting professor at the Universidad Rafael Landivar in Guatemala, where he received his J.D.