The Democracy Center’s work is guided by an experienced and diverse group of staff, long-term associates, and advisory committee members.
The Democracy Center Staff
Jim Shultz (Founder and Executive Director): Jim is a native of President Richard Nixon’s hometown, Whittier, California. He later wisely migrated to UC Berkeley to obtain his undergraduate degree in political science (a not especially wise major, however). Jim spent the next two decades working in California politics, as staff to the California Legislature, and as an advocate with California Common Cause and Consumers Union. He also made two detours from California, one to earn a masters degree at Harvard and the second to relocate with his family to Cochabamba, Bolivia in 1998. They stayed. As executive director of the Democracy Center, Jim has worked with citizen activists on five continents, written and edited three books which you should read, and done his level best to make sure David beats Goliath as often as possible.
Leny Olivera Rojas (Project Coordinator): Leny is a graduate of the University of San Simon in Cochabamba. Since 2000 she has been an activist with Bolivian youth organizations and social movements, in particular with the efforts of Bolivians to address issues related to water, gas and natural resources. She has been active in international exchanges related to popular education, in Bolivia, Sweden and Tanzania. More recently she has been working to challenge the oppression experienced by young women in contexts like that of Bolivia.
Aldo Orellana Lopez (Researcher): Aldo is a Bolivian activist who was part of the Coalition for the Defense of Water and Gas of Cochabamba and of the Independent Media Center, Indymedia, in Bolivia. He is also a freelance journalist for Free Speech Radio News in Bolivia and collaborates with other international media. He works as a researcher with the Democracy Center and studies economics at the University of San Simon in Cochabamba.
Shawn Arquíñego (Project Coordinator): Born and raised in the great state of Wisconsin, Shawn has worked extensively throughout Latin America on community development initiatives and more recently has embarked on freelance journalism for Free Speech Radio News in Bolivia. Prior to joining the Democracy Center, he worked for a Peruvian organization working to empower young domestic workers in Lima. He holds a bachelors degree from The Evergreen State College in Political Economy and a masters degree from New York University in Politics.
Maddy Ryle (Media and Communications Coordinator): A History and Literature graduate, Maddy has a background in social work and media and has worked as a writer, editor, teacher, trainer and media manager in the UK, Lebanon and Bolivia. She has spent many years engaged in youth and adult participation and empowering excluded voices to gain media representation.
Ben Brouwer (Researcher): Ben joined the Democracy Center team after working for four years with Montana’s Alternative Energy Resources Organization to promote locally owned renewable energy projects and guide community-driven energy conservation and climate action initiatives. He grew up on Lopez Island in Washington State and earned a bachelor’s degree in Geography and Environmental Studies from Middlebury College.
Miffed Off (current activity unknown)
Beware small furry disgruntled creatures carrying wrenches.
She’s after your carrots.
And no, the scraps won’t do…
The Democracy Center Associates
Former staff and others who maintain an ongoing professional relationship with The Democracy Center.
Kylie Benton-Connell: Kylie hails from Australia where she worked as a Research Analyst with the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union. She was active in climate justice organizing through the Sydney Friends of the Earth collective, and served on the Committee of Management for Aid/Watch, a campaign and research organization dedicated to aid and trade justice. She previously worked and volunteered with organizations including Oxfam, Global Exchange, and the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre. She holds an honors degree with majors in Development Studies and Social Theory from the University of Melbourne. Kylie authored the Democracy Center’s report ‘Off the Market: Bolivian Forests and Struggles over Climate Change’.
Rebecca Hollender: Rebecca has lived in Bolivia for four years, where she has been involved in various environmental and sustainable development initiatives. She is currently the facilitator of the Working Group on Climate Change and Justice, a network of 30 Bolivian NGOs dedicated to mitigation and adaptation efforts in the country. She is lead author of the 2010 Democracy Center policy briefing, Bolivia and It´s Lithium: Can the ¨Gold of the 21st Century¨ help lift a Nation out of Poverty? Her masters thesis, The Implications of Bioprospecting for Indigenous People in Suriname, was nominated by the faculty of the Institute for Social Studies, the Hague, Netherlands, for most outstanding Research Paper of 2004/2005.
Jorge Hurtado (New Media Design & Technology Manager): Jorge is an artist/painter/illustrator with a background in online publishing. He has developed and helped maintain the Democracy Center’s online presence for over a decade. He has played a central role in the overall web production strategy, managing our technology implementation and driving the development and expansion of the organization’s web environment. He, his wife and their two spoiled cats currently reside in Los Angeles, California.
Martha Nissen-Stabler (Administrator and Researcher): Martha has worked in the independent sector in the Bay Area for more than 13 years. She has served as the director of Insulin for Life, a nonprofit organization that provides insulin, education and outreach to diabetics in Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador. Martha provides the Center with US-based support, including research and follow-up and coordination with US-based groups. Martha has established ongoing sustainability programs at two independent schools in San Francisco and authored an Environmental Best Practices Guide for schools which has been distributed to numerous educational institutions throughout the Bay Area. In addition she is currently a member of the the Green Schools Alliance.
The Democracy Center Advisory Committee
- Maryann O’Sullivan (chair): Health care policy and advocacy consultant, Fairfax, CA.
- Jeremy Brecher: Author (latest book, “Globalization from Below”, South End Press), West Cornwall, CT.
- Roberto Fernández Terán: Professor, Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Cochabamba, Bolivia.
- Emily Goldfarb: Nonprofit consultant, founder of the Northern California Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, San Francisco, CA.
- Helena Hofbauer: Program Director, International Budget Project, México City, México.
- Michael Pertschuk: Co-founder, Advocacy Institute, former chair US Federal Trade Commission, Santa Fe, NM.
- Peter Schrag: Journalist, former editorial page editor, Sacramento Bee, Oakland, CA.
- Mariko Takayasu: Journalist with the New York Times, Bangkok.
- Cynthia Williams: Professor, University of Illinois Law School, Urbana, IL
