Alexandra Arriaga

Alex Arriaga has served in leadership positions at the White House, the U.S. Congress, and at non-profit organizations. She is a managing partner at Strategy for Humanity LLC, a boutique consulting firm that provides institutions with policy, advocacy, and structural strategies to achieve their full potential. Alex has vast expertise on global human rights issues and a proven record helping organizations to develop strategic priorities, attain policy objectives, increase membership, and meet fundraising goals. She has special expertise on human rights issues affecting women, children, minorities, and individuals with disabilities. Alex’s clients have included Futures Without Violence, Georgetown’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security, Human Rights First, American Jewish World Service, The International Law Development Organization, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Thriive, and the International Center for Research on Women, among others. Alex’s policy leadership was featured in “A ‘Pragmatic Idealist’ Pursues Justice for All” (The Washington Post, 2002).  During her tenure as director of government relations, policy and advocacy at Amnesty International USA, The Hill recognized AIUSA as a top human rights lobby in Washington.  Alex was appointed as special assistant to President William J. Clinton and chief of staff to the President’s Special Envoy for the Americas.  Previously, she served as senior adviser in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor at the U.S. Department of State where she was U.S. delegate to the UN Commission on Human Rights and Executive Director of the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad.  Alex began her career in the U.S. House of Representatives as director of the bipartisan Congressional Human Rights Caucus, increasing Membership to encompass a majority of the Congress and expanding activities on human rights to over 100 countries and myriad issues. At the local level, Alex’s activities center on supporting children with special needs.  Recently, Alex collaborated on new initiatives at the Smithsonian Institution to expand access for individuals with disabilities. In 2012, the Arlington School Board recognized Alex as an Honored Citizen for her extraordinary and multi-year contributions on behalf of students with disabilities.  Her efforts to organize and improve educational services in classrooms across the country were showcased in “More Autism Training for Teachers”(The Washington Post, 2012). Alex co-authored the Special Education Family Research and Information Binder, that is being distributed to all families with a child with a disability in the Arlington Public School system and was recently translated into Spanish; the publication was recognized with an Award of Excellence in the 2012 Communications Contest held by the National School Public Relations Association’s Chesapeake Chapter (DC, VA, MD, WV). Alex has co-led the State-mandated, School Board-appointed Special Education Advisory Committee over many years and was named to the implementation team for a Virginia Department of Education grant to improve services for children with autism. Alex has received numerous awards and serves on the Board of Directors of organizations focused on international human rights, education, and disability rights.  She is an experienced spokesperson in Spanish and English whose writing has been published in a variety of journals. A graduate of the University of Virginia and a former scholarship recipient with the Joffrey School of Ballet, Alex is a first generation American of Spanish and Chilean descent.