Photo by Scott Robinson
Maria Alexandra (Alex) Arriaga has served in leadership positions at the White House, the U.S. Department of State, in the U.S. Congress, at major non-profit organizations, and now in the private sector. She has experience working at the global and national level crafting policies, bridging communities, and achieving priorities to advance human rights. At the state and local level, she is known for working to enable education for all.
Alex is Founder and Partner at Strategy for Humanity, a consulting firm that works with mission-driven organizations and those who fund them to develop effective strategies, conduct smart advocacy and analysis, and achieve meaningful results. The firm is woman, minority, LGBTQI+, survivor, and person with disabilities – led. Grounded in the belief that how you do business is as important as what you achieve, the team creates conditions that enable individuals to fulfill their potential and sectors to bridge their differences in order to craft and advance a common agenda on critical issues. Alex provides vision and direction for this dynamic consulting firm that has worked with over 100 clients, including large and small non-profits, foundations, academic institutions, and governmental entities.
Prior to launching Strategy for Humanity, Alex was active in the public and nonprofit sector. During her tenure leading government relations, policy and advocacy for Amnesty International USA, The Hill recognized AIUSA as a top human rights lobby in Washington, and Alex was featured in A Pragmatic Idealist Pursues Justice for All (The Washington Post). At the White House, Alex was appointed as Special Assistant to President and chief of staff to the President’s Special Envoy for the Americas. There she influenced U.S. policy towards countries throughout Latin America. Alex previously 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 United Nations Commission on Human Rights (twice), a member of the Department’s Bosnia Task Force, 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 where she increased participation to involve a majority of the U.S. Congress (across party lines) and focused on over 100 countries and myriad issues.
At the local level, Alex is active on education issues. In recognition of her strategic and impactful thought leadership, Governor Ralph Northam appointed Alex to serve on the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). The Arlington School Board recognized Alex as an Honored Citizen for her extraordinary and multi-year contributions to improve the education experience for students with disabilities. Alex's work was showcased in More Autism Training for Teachers (The Washington Post). She also co-created and appears in "La Sopa de La Abuela," an innovative TeleNovela-style series to support Latino families navigating the special education system. In recent years, Alex also engaged in a national task force to address college sexual assault and create a model approach to pilot across the country.
Alex has written numerous published articles and reports, is a bilingual spokesperson in English and Spanish, and serves on a variety of nonprofit Boards. She is the recipient of many awards for her leadership and service, including the University of Virginia’s Distinguished Alumna Award, the U.S. Secretary of State’s Superior Honor Award, and the Minority Business & Professionals Network Award for Outstanding Leadership, Service and Achievement. For her alma mater, the University of Virginia, Alex has served as Chair of The Jefferson Trust, Member of the Advisory Board of the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, President of the Bolivar Network, Manager on the Board of the UVA Alumni Association, and member of the president’s task force to address campus sexual assault. She currently serves as Co-chair of the Women's Refugee Commission, Secretary of the Institute for International Law and Human Rights, and Board of the World Learning Global Advisory Council. She is first generation American of Spanish and Chilean descent.
RECENT CLIENTS
Futures Without Violence, The Children’s Policy and Funding Initiative--a pooled donor fund at Panorama Global, The Center for Victims of Torture, Elevate Children Funders Group, Oak Foundation, GHR Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Global Women’s Institute at the George Washington University, Amnesty International USA, International Republican Institute’s Women’s Democracy Network, Our Secure Future.
SELECT PUBLICATIONS & EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
Joint Proposal for a White House-led Initiative for Children and Youth Globally. Children’s Policy and Funding Initiative at Tides, 2024. Lead author of this this memorandum delivered to US President Joseph Biden Jr.
La Sopa de la Abuela (Grandma’s Soup), A Special Education Telenovela. Contributing scriptwriter for series. Episode:“What Do We Need to Know?”, Actor. This series is now distributed nationwide to support families and school systems. Access: here.
How U.S. Funding and Policy is Addressing Gender-Based Violence: Focus on Tanzania and Uganda, Futures Without Violence, 2018. Contributing author, editor, production manager. Access: here.
Linking Security of Women & Security of States: Policymaker Blueprint 2017, Futures Without Violence, May 2017. Principal author, editor, production manager. Access: here.
Violence and Insecurity in the Northern Triangle of Central America: Dangerous Choices for Women and Girls, Policy Brief, U.S. Civil Society Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, 2016. Access: here.
Special Education Family Resource and Information Binder. Arlington Public Schools, Virginia. Recipient of 2012 Award of Excellence, National School Public Relations Association. Co-author. Access: here.
Guía de Información y Recursos de Educación Especial para Familias. Co-author and Spanish co-editor. Access: here.
“International Human Rights: A Legislative Agenda”, in William F. Schulz, The Future of Human Rights: U.S. Policy for a New Era, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008, pp. 251-257. Chapter author.
“Support Ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,” in Restoring American Leadership: 13 Cooperative Steps to Advance Social Progress, Open Society Institute, 2005. Chapter author.
“HIV/AIDS and Violence Against Women,” in American Bar Association’s Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, Summer 2002, Vol.29, No.3. Author. Access: here.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND CITATIONS
Pathways to Opportunity: The Virginia Plan for Higher Education, State Council for Higher Education of Virginia, January 2021. Access: here.
Reagan, Congress, and Human Rights: Contesting Morality in US Foreign Policy, Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard. Cambridge University Press, 2020. Pages 83, 90-91, 98, 108-109, 115.
Gender-Responsive Policymaking Handbook, Women’s Democracy Network, International Republican Institute. Editor. 2020. Access: here.
A Retrospective, 20th Anniversary of the International Religious Freedom Act. 21Wilberfoce. 2018. Access: here.
Gender-Based Violence Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation with Refugee Affected Populations: A Manual and Toolkit for Researchers and Conflict Affected Populations, The Global Women’s Institute of the George Washington University, September 2017. Access: here.
Recognizing Rights, Promoting Progress: The Global Impact of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. International Center for Research on Women. 2010. Access: here.
World of Faith and Freedom: Why International Religious Freedom is Vital to American National Security, Farr, Thomas F., Oxford University Press, 2008. Page 144.
Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad Interim Report to the Secretary of State and President of the United States. 1998. Access: here.
Alex is Founder and Partner at Strategy for Humanity, a consulting firm that works with mission-driven organizations and those who fund them to develop effective strategies, conduct smart advocacy and analysis, and achieve meaningful results. The firm is woman, minority, LGBTQI+, survivor, and person with disabilities – led. Grounded in the belief that how you do business is as important as what you achieve, the team creates conditions that enable individuals to fulfill their potential and sectors to bridge their differences in order to craft and advance a common agenda on critical issues. Alex provides vision and direction for this dynamic consulting firm that has worked with over 100 clients, including large and small non-profits, foundations, academic institutions, and governmental entities.
Prior to launching Strategy for Humanity, Alex was active in the public and nonprofit sector. During her tenure leading government relations, policy and advocacy for Amnesty International USA, The Hill recognized AIUSA as a top human rights lobby in Washington, and Alex was featured in A Pragmatic Idealist Pursues Justice for All (The Washington Post). At the White House, Alex was appointed as Special Assistant to President and chief of staff to the President’s Special Envoy for the Americas. There she influenced U.S. policy towards countries throughout Latin America. Alex previously 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 United Nations Commission on Human Rights (twice), a member of the Department’s Bosnia Task Force, 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 where she increased participation to involve a majority of the U.S. Congress (across party lines) and focused on over 100 countries and myriad issues.
At the local level, Alex is active on education issues. In recognition of her strategic and impactful thought leadership, Governor Ralph Northam appointed Alex to serve on the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). The Arlington School Board recognized Alex as an Honored Citizen for her extraordinary and multi-year contributions to improve the education experience for students with disabilities. Alex's work was showcased in More Autism Training for Teachers (The Washington Post). She also co-created and appears in "La Sopa de La Abuela," an innovative TeleNovela-style series to support Latino families navigating the special education system. In recent years, Alex also engaged in a national task force to address college sexual assault and create a model approach to pilot across the country.
Alex has written numerous published articles and reports, is a bilingual spokesperson in English and Spanish, and serves on a variety of nonprofit Boards. She is the recipient of many awards for her leadership and service, including the University of Virginia’s Distinguished Alumna Award, the U.S. Secretary of State’s Superior Honor Award, and the Minority Business & Professionals Network Award for Outstanding Leadership, Service and Achievement. For her alma mater, the University of Virginia, Alex has served as Chair of The Jefferson Trust, Member of the Advisory Board of the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, President of the Bolivar Network, Manager on the Board of the UVA Alumni Association, and member of the president’s task force to address campus sexual assault. She currently serves as Co-chair of the Women's Refugee Commission, Secretary of the Institute for International Law and Human Rights, and Board of the World Learning Global Advisory Council. She is first generation American of Spanish and Chilean descent.
RECENT CLIENTS
Futures Without Violence, The Children’s Policy and Funding Initiative--a pooled donor fund at Panorama Global, The Center for Victims of Torture, Elevate Children Funders Group, Oak Foundation, GHR Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Global Women’s Institute at the George Washington University, Amnesty International USA, International Republican Institute’s Women’s Democracy Network, Our Secure Future.
SELECT PUBLICATIONS & EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
Joint Proposal for a White House-led Initiative for Children and Youth Globally. Children’s Policy and Funding Initiative at Tides, 2024. Lead author of this this memorandum delivered to US President Joseph Biden Jr.
La Sopa de la Abuela (Grandma’s Soup), A Special Education Telenovela. Contributing scriptwriter for series. Episode:“What Do We Need to Know?”, Actor. This series is now distributed nationwide to support families and school systems. Access: here.
How U.S. Funding and Policy is Addressing Gender-Based Violence: Focus on Tanzania and Uganda, Futures Without Violence, 2018. Contributing author, editor, production manager. Access: here.
Linking Security of Women & Security of States: Policymaker Blueprint 2017, Futures Without Violence, May 2017. Principal author, editor, production manager. Access: here.
Violence and Insecurity in the Northern Triangle of Central America: Dangerous Choices for Women and Girls, Policy Brief, U.S. Civil Society Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, 2016. Access: here.
Special Education Family Resource and Information Binder. Arlington Public Schools, Virginia. Recipient of 2012 Award of Excellence, National School Public Relations Association. Co-author. Access: here.
Guía de Información y Recursos de Educación Especial para Familias. Co-author and Spanish co-editor. Access: here.
“International Human Rights: A Legislative Agenda”, in William F. Schulz, The Future of Human Rights: U.S. Policy for a New Era, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008, pp. 251-257. Chapter author.
“Support Ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,” in Restoring American Leadership: 13 Cooperative Steps to Advance Social Progress, Open Society Institute, 2005. Chapter author.
“HIV/AIDS and Violence Against Women,” in American Bar Association’s Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, Summer 2002, Vol.29, No.3. Author. Access: here.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND CITATIONS
Pathways to Opportunity: The Virginia Plan for Higher Education, State Council for Higher Education of Virginia, January 2021. Access: here.
Reagan, Congress, and Human Rights: Contesting Morality in US Foreign Policy, Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard. Cambridge University Press, 2020. Pages 83, 90-91, 98, 108-109, 115.
Gender-Responsive Policymaking Handbook, Women’s Democracy Network, International Republican Institute. Editor. 2020. Access: here.
A Retrospective, 20th Anniversary of the International Religious Freedom Act. 21Wilberfoce. 2018. Access: here.
Gender-Based Violence Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation with Refugee Affected Populations: A Manual and Toolkit for Researchers and Conflict Affected Populations, The Global Women’s Institute of the George Washington University, September 2017. Access: here.
Recognizing Rights, Promoting Progress: The Global Impact of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. International Center for Research on Women. 2010. Access: here.
World of Faith and Freedom: Why International Religious Freedom is Vital to American National Security, Farr, Thomas F., Oxford University Press, 2008. Page 144.
Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad Interim Report to the Secretary of State and President of the United States. 1998. Access: here.
