Lisa Haugaard, Executive Director

Lisa has been executive director of the Latin America Working Group since June 2002. From 1993 to 2001, she served as Senior Associate at the LAWG, where she worked on Colombia and Central America policy, development assistance and other topics. She has testified before the U.S. Congress and produced numerous reports and articles on U.S.-Latin America policy. Prior to her work at the LAWG, she was executive director of the Central America Historical Institute in Washington, DC and writer, editor and translator for the Jesuit Instituto Historico Centroamericano in Managua, Nicaragua. She has a BA from Swarthmore College, a Master’s degree in Latin American studies from New York University, and was a Fulbright scholar in Central America. Email Lisa.

Mavis Anderson, Senior Associate

Since 1997, Mavis has covered U.S. policy toward Cuba, cultivating congressional, organizational and grassroots support for the LAWG coalition's efforts to end the U.S. embargo on Cuba. She also works on U.S. policy toward Venezuela and other issues. Prior to her work with LAWG, Mavis was the program director for International Travel Seminars at the Center for Global Education at Augsburg College, Minneapolis, where she worked since 1982. During part of her time with the Center for Global Education, Mavis lived in El Salvador from 1988-1990, where she founded and coordinated the Center's El Salvador educational programs. A mid-westerner, Mavis received her Master's degree from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she focused her studies on international development. Email Mavis.

Jennifer Johnson, Senior Associate

Jennifer began her work on issues relating to Mexico and the U.S./Mexico border region as a program coordinator for BorderLinks, a binational nonprofit organizationbased in Tucson, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora. While there, she taught experiential educational seminars on the impact of U.S. trade, law enforcement and immigration policy on border communities. As part of her graduate studies, Jennifer conducted research and mobilized support for an occupational health program in Hermosillo, Sonora. Jennifer worked for the Virginia Justice Center for Farm and Immigrant Workers, conducting advocacy on policy issues that impact immigrant communities and low-wage immigrant workers in Virginia. Jennifer has a B.A. from Earlham College in Peace and Global Studies and a Master's degree in Public Health from the University of Arizona. Email Jennifer.

Paulo Gusmao, Program Associate

Paulo works on the LAWG’s Cuba and Venezuela programs and provides IT support for the organization. Originally from Brazil, his heritage and time spent living in Venezuela drew him to advocate for change in U.S. policy toward the region. Paulo first traveled to Cuba in 2000 and returned in 2003 to learn more about the public health system. Prior to joining the LAWG team, Paulo interned with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and with the LAWG’s Cuba program. He graduated from the Johnston Center at the University of Redlands with a degree in Government and Economics with a regional emphasis in Latin America. During his time at Redlands, Paulo had the opportunity to travel in Argentina, Mexico and Guatemala. Email Paulo.

Vanessa Kritzer, Program Assistant

Vanessa works on our Colombia, Mexico, and Guatemala campaigns, in addition to managing the LAWG's finances. Vanessa has been committed to changing U.S. policy towards Latin America since she participated as an international observer in El Salvador’s 2004 elections and saw the effects of U.S. influence first hand. In 2007, Vanessa lived in the Dominican Republic, where she worked in solidarity with the women’s empowerment organization Tú, Mujer to develop a youth project that used peer-to-peer education as a way to improve everyday problems. Before coming to LAWG, she worked as a Head Organizer for the DNC field campaign during the 2008 elections. Vanessa graduated from Vassar College with a degree in Latin American and Latino/a Studies and Political Science. Email Vanessa.

Brian works on the LAWG’s Mexico and U.S.-Mexico border programs in addition to general office administration duties. Multiple immersion and awareness trips to border communities near Juárez, Mexico spurred Brian’s concern for human rights and development issues in Latin America. A recent graduate of Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA, Brian pursued this passion by completing a degree in Spanish and Global Studies with a concentration in Development and Social Justice. Brian’s most significant collegiate highlight came during the fall of his junior year, when he spent four months living with a host family in Oaxaca, Mexico, studying Mexican history and literature, participating in various awareness trips led by Witness for Peace, and completing an internship with a local non-profit organization known as Niño a Niño A.C. Email Brian.

Travis Wheeler, Cuba Policy Congressional Liaison

Travis educates members of Congress and their staffs for LAWG's End the Travel Ban on Cuba campaign. Prior to joining LAWG's Cuba Team, he organized grassroots activists and coalitions for LAWG's Stand by Colombia's Victims of Violence campaign, monitored human rights in Colombia, and wrote regularly on U.S. policy towards Colombia. In 2008, he co-led a policy-oriented delegation to southern Colombia to look at the intersection between U.S. counternarcotics and military aid with human rights abuses. Originally from the Chicago-area, Travis holds a degree in Political Science from DePaul University, where he also studied religion and liberation theology, and an International Diploma in Brewing Technology from the renowned Siebel Institute, America's oldest brewing school. He's a featured blogger for Change.org's Human Rights cause. Email Travis.