Our team
For the work carried out in the institution, there is a multidisciplinary team and professionals who have had a lot of experience with community bases in issues for the defense of human rights, with this being able to technically advise the REDCSALUD in the different axes, but also There are professionals who support and advise the CEGSS, being associate researchers.
A short biography of each of them is shared below.
Benilda Batzin
Executive director
Benilda has over 14 years of professional experience working with marginalized communities and implementing development projects. This includes work to promote citizen participation in the right to health and working for women's rights and gender equality as a way to ensure equitable and non-discriminatory citizen participation.
She has a degree in Social Work from the Mariano Gálvez University in Guatemala. In 2020, Benilda was named CEO of CEGSS, and she is the first Indigenous woman elected to that position.
Rosaura Medina
Deputy Director
Rosaura Medina has more than 14 years of experience working with indigenous populations, in which together with the communities she has worked on organizational issues, citizen participation and empowerment in public health policies, she has facilitated and coordinated teaching processes – learning in communities, community-based organizations and Councils of Ancestral Authorities emphasizing Human Rights. She has participated in projects on Food Security and Sovereignty and territorial defense. Rosaura has a Bachelor's Degree in Pedagogy and Human Rights from the University of San Carlos in Guatemala.
Lesly Ramírez
Citizen Participation Advisor
Lesly Ramirez has more than 20 years of professional experience working with marginalized communities and implementing development projects, in issues of organization and citizen participation, training processes aimed at women, leaders and indigenous peoples, with emphasis on the promotion, defense and judicialization of Rights Humans, linking them to the issue of public policy with emphasis on the field of food and health. Lesly has a Bachelor's degree in Nutrition and has a Master's degree in Food and Nutrition at the University of San Carlos in Guatemala. She has independent studies in poverty and social research from FLACSO. She is currently part of the CEGSS technical team where she advises on issues of citizen participation.
Evaristo Choj
Tutor in Citizenship for Health
Evaristo Choj Caal is Mayan Q'eqchi', Teacher of Bilingual Intercultural Primary Education, has completed his curriculum in the Bachelor of Legal and Social Sciences, Law and Notaries and Bachelor of Pedagogy and Human Rights, both from the University of San Carlos. from Guatemala. In addition, he has received complementary training on Human Rights. He has work experience in facilitating training processes on issues of Human Rights, Individual and Collective Rights of Native Peoples, Advocacy and citizen participation, local empowerment and community organization.
Carlos Quiñonez
Administrative/Financial Officer
Carlos has a degree in Business Administration specialized in financial administration and has a master's degree in project formulation and evaluation from the University of San Carlos in Guatemala. He started at CEGSS in 2010 and is currently in charge of the administrative and financial coordination of all the projects that are implemented.
Elder Urbina
Accounting Area Coordinator
Elder has 25 years of experience in general accounting and supervision of technical execution of project development and financial control. He has collaborated in both private companies and non-profit organizations. He is currently pursuing a degree in Public Accounting and Auditor at the University of San Carlos De Guatemala.
Lucía Cojtín
Tutora en Ciudadanía por la Salud
Lucía Cojtín Yaxón, maya kaqchikel, secretaria bilingüe de profesión, posee cierre de pensum de la Carrera de Licenciatura en Trabajo Social en la Universidad Mariano Gálvez, Sololá. Su experiencia laboral ha sido con grupos en vulnerabilidad en las comunidades más marginadas, en temas de organización, participación política, empoderamiento económico y facilitación en procesos formativos en tema de derechos humanos. Actualmente es tutora en ciudadanía por la salud en el CEGSS.
Mariela Botzoc
Asistente de campo
Mariela Botzoc tiene dos años de experiencia trabajando con comunidades en resistencia de territorios, implementado proyectos en temas de educación infantil. Graduada de Maestra en Educación Preprimaria Bilingüe Intercultural. Actualmente cursa la Licenciatura en Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales Abogado y Notario en la Universidad Regional de Guatemala. Actualmente es asistente de campo del CEGSS en Alta Verapaz.
Johanna Barrios
Monitoreo, evaluación y aprendizaje
Desde el ámbito académico, Johanna Barrios ha realizado investigaciones cualitativas, publicaciones sobre temas de salud, psicología y educación en la revista publicogt y revista Civitas, así como la coordinación de un observatorio cultural. En experiencia de campo, ha trabajado temas de organización ciudadana, procesos formativos dirigidos a líderes, lideresas comunitarias y a jóvenes, principalmente; pero también con grupos de mujeres en temas de liderazgo, derechos sexuales y reproductivos y empoderamiento local. Los principales temas en general que ha abordado han sido: derechos humanos, participación política, organización comunitaria, conflicto armado interno, acompañamiento psicosocial en situaciones de desastre, generación de políticas públicas con énfasis en desarrollo humano. En cuanto a la historia de Guatemala, fue la responsable de promover la exposición de Jean Marie Simon por toda la República. En el ámbito académico ha impartido el curso de realidad nacional en la universidad Rafael Landívar en la carrera de enfermería. En el ámbito universitario ha impartido cursos de antropología de la salud, salud en las culturas y etnias de Guatemala, transformación de conflictos, realidad nacional y revisión de tesis. A nivel universitario es terapista de lenguaje y tiene una licenciatura de psicología en la universidad de San Carlos.
Alison Hernández
Associate researcher
Alison is a nurse and has a PhD in public health from Umeå University in Sweden. Her doctoral thesis focused on the social sphere of nursing practice in rural areas of Guatemala and the role that organizational support and human relations play in strengthening the performance of nursing assistants. Her main interest is research for the realization of the right to health and organizational learning.
Alejandro Cerón
Associate researcher
Alejandro Cerón is a researcher interested in understanding the relationship between public health practice and health as a human right. He graduated as a doctor and surgeon in 2000 and a master's degree in public health in 2006 (both from the University of San Carlos in Guatemala), and a doctorate in anthropology from the University of Washington in 2013. Between 2001 and 2006, he worked in rural areas of Guatemala as a doctor and coordinator of primary health projects. He is the author of Neocolonial Epidemiology: Public Health Practices and the Right to Health in Guatemala (AVANCSO, 2018). He is an associate professor of Anthropology at the University of Denver since 2013.
Walter Flores
Associate researcher
Walter has more than 25 years of professional experience as a researcher, international consultant, professor in postgraduate programs and as a project manager in the areas of health systems, right to health and citizen participation. His professional work has been carried out in more than 30 countries in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe. He holds a B.A. in Psychology from California State University (USA), a Master's Degree in Community Health from the School of Tropical Medicine in Liverpool, England and a Doctorate (PhD) in Health Systems Development and Evaluation from the same study center. Currently, Dr. Flores works as a research professor at the Accountability Research Center, American University, Washington DC, USA. Additionally, he is an associate researcher at CEGSS and an advisor to the office of executive management.
Luis Pablo Méndez
Associate researcher
Luis Pablo is a Dental Surgeon, with a specialty in Public Health. He is currently an Associate Researcher in the Department of Health Sciences, of the Institute of Research in Natural Sciences and Technology, of the Vice-Rector's Office for Research at the Rafael Landívar University. He has been on the coordinating team of the Access to Medicines Network since 2019 and on the Intellectual Property work team of People's Vaccine Alliance PVA Latin America chapter since 2021. Member of the Antimicrobial Resistance work group of ReAct Latin America in Guatemala where he has promoted the use of Alforja Educativa. He has been a professor of courses such as Biostatistics, Public Health, Collective Health and Research at universities such as Mariano Gálvez, Maya Kaqchikel and Rafael Landívar, as well as a speaker on various topics such as Access to Medications, Medication Policy and other related topics. He served as coordinator of the Community Interaction Program, of the Department of Medicine of the Faculty of Health Sciences, at the Rafael Landívar University from 2021 to 2023 and was a technical advisor in the Superior Office (2017) during the management of Doctor Lucrecia Hernández Mack ( ) . He was a transplant and organ donation consultant for the Pan American Health Organization -PAHO- (2017-2018). He has served on the Board of Directors of the Center for Studies for Equity and Governance.
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