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Samuel Acosta Ynoa
Founder and President Lidertura
Samuel was born in Tenares, Dominican Republic in 1989. He stands out as a motivator, poet and storyteller. He resides in New York, United States of America. He studied Business Administration at TCI College of Technology, graduated in 2010.
In 2016 he published his first work called Find Your Destiny. A book of self-help and human development. Some of his poems and stories have appeared in multilingual anthology such as Primera Antología Internacional de Poesía y Ficciones Hispanoamericanas, and Beyond The Language. He has made artistic presentations in various cultural organizations: AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Centro Cívico Cultural Dominicano, Comisionado Dominicano de Cultura, FEDCAP, among others.
José Juan Hernández
Founder and Vice President Lidertura
M.A in Conflict Transformation from Eastern Mennonite University, where he also serves as an assistant professor of Spanish in the language and literature program. He graduated in Graphic Design, with studies in Education for Peace at the Javeriana University in Colombia. He was born and raised in Sincelejo, Sucre-Colombia. He has worked in programs for the prevention of the recruitment of boys, girls, adolescents, and young people in Colombia. He is involved in activities to build public policies that promote equal rights for the LGBTQ + community and people with disabilities. His work methodology is through art as a means of promoting respect, justice, and peace.
He has also volunteered for HIV and AIDS prevention organizations in New York City, such as the Latino Commission on AIDS, AIDFORAIDS International, and the Hispanic AIDS Forum, and currently leads the PazCaribe corporation in Colombia.
Alejandro Jiménez Mendoza
Social Media Manager
Alejandro resides in Cereté, Córdoba, Colombia, with his family, from whom he learned values ​​such as responsibility, respect, discipline, and solidarity, which allowed him to mature fully during his time at school, standing out as an excellent student. At the age of twelve he was diagnosed with epilepsy, a disease that has not prevented him from always seeking solutions to his problems, and following his dreams. He finished his high school studies at the Marceliano Polo Educational Institution. He is currently a software engineering student at the University of Cartagena.
Alejandro is passionate about reading and writing. At eighteen he has read numerous books on topics such as finance, science, fictional and non-fiction stories, personal growth, and personal relationships. He attends the library of his municipality; there he shares his experiences with young people and adults.
His mission in his life is to transcend and help all the people of the world, giving them new opportunities and knowledge.
"Why fit in, when you were born to excel?"
María Marcela Rhenals Petro
Director of Lidertura, in Colombia
Maria was born in February 1996, and isa native of the Rabolargo district, in the municipality of Cereté, Córdoba, Colombia. From a very young age she has been inclined towards letters and literature; for this reason, she studied for a Bachelor's degree in basic education with an emphasis on Humanities-Castilian Language at the University of Córdoba. Maria currently works as the Coordinator of the Municipal Public Library of Cereté Rafael MilanésGarcía.
Violeta Balbiani
Lidertura Secretary
​Violeta Balbiani is from Argentine and is 26 years old. She studied Political Science at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). Currently, she lives in Buenos Aires and works as a freelance Community Manager. In May of this year, she joined Lidertura. Violeta has a deep interest in environmental issues, education, and communicative action. She is an animal lover, especially her dog, and she also enjoys photography, practicing yoga in the mornings and travelling with friends. Currently, she is taking a Business and Institutional Communication course at the Seneca Institute in Madrid.
Facundo Ramponi
Podcast Audio Editor
Facundo was born in Barrio de Caballito, Argentina, in 1997. Throughout his life he has been interested in music and sound, which prompted him to learn various musical instruments including drums and guitar.
Currently, he lives in Buenos Aires. He graduated from Aural University as a Sound Technician. He is studying Programming at Coderhouse University, and is a member of the music band Equipo 7, who perform Japanese animation covers. While working at the Estudio Naranja he did audio editing for books such as One Thousand and One Nights [Las Mil y una Noches]and The Little Prince. He is the official editor of the Migrantes Exitosos podcast.
Gabriela Ropolo
Spanish Content Editor
Gabriela is from Rosario, Argentina. She is a literary editor for the Asociación Mundial de Escritores Latinoamericanos, a non-profit association whose objective is to support new Spanish-speaking writers. She works as a guide at the Museo Gauchesco Curuzú and the Museo de Mitos y Leyendas Guaraníes in the city of Goya, Corrientes, Argentina. She worked on the literary magazine Juglar, the illustrated story, published in Rosario from 2006 to 2008.
In 1997, she graduated as a Pre-Primary Level Teacher. She studied English at the School of Languages of the National University of Rosario (2002). In 2018 she finished the Training Course in Guarani Language and Culture. She is an advanced student of the Faculty of Language and Literature.
Poetic accomplishments:She has participated with her poems in the anthologies Goya-Quequén (2017;national), Poesía y Ficciones Hispanoamericanas(2021; international) and Palabras que cuelgan del aire (2021; national).
She is a member of the Sanmartiniana Goya Cultural Association.
Luis F. López
Spanish Content Editor
Professional in Linguistics and Literature University of Cartagena Studies in Discourse Analysis at the University of Buenos Aires Argentina. Mgs in Hispano-American Literature Caro y Cuervo Bogotá Candidate for Doctor of Letters from the National University of Córdoba Argentina.
Associate Professor Faculty of Education and Human Sciences Department of Spanish and Literature University of Córdoba Colombia. Winner of the National Memory and Life Narrative Award from the National Center for Historical Memory 2015.
He has published two books about literature in the Colombian Caribbean and stories in Spanish and US magazines. The last book entitled Territorio, conflicto y memoria histórica el caso Chambacú [Territory, conflict and historical memory the Chambacú case] published in Spain.
Mauricio Valero C.
Audio Visual Designer
Mauricio is a Colombian Audiovisual Producer and Specialist in Interactive Design, who graduated from Escuela de Artes y Letras. He can effectively communicate ideas, concepts or messages for posters, advertisements, publications, commercials, movies, digital media, web pages, editorial, and audiovisual presentations.
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