Freedom House Announces Tiseke Kasambala to Lead Africa Programs; Alessandra Pinna to Lead Latin America and the Caribbean Programs

Freedom House is pleased to announce the selection of Tiseke Kasambala as director of Africa programs, and Alessandra Pinna as director of Latin America and the Caribbean programs.

“Tiseke is an invaluable member of the Freedom House team and a perfect fit to lead our programming in Africa,” said Freedom House president Michael J. Abramowitz. “Throughout her long career as an advocate for human rights, Tiseke has demonstrated not only a passion for democracy and equality, but the capability to drive lasting change that strengthens democracy and advances human rights.”

“Since joining Freedom House in 2013, Alessandra has dedicated enormous energy and talent to strengthening our Latin America and the Caribbean programs, and I am excited for her to lead our work in the region,” said Abramowitz. “At a challenging time for democracy in the Americas, Alessandra has been a relentless champion of human rights defenders.”

As director of Africa programs at Freedom House, Kasambala will lead the organization’s activities in and related to Africa, including overseeing the development and implementation of donor-funded programs.

Kasambala brings extensive experience to the director of Africa programs role, with two decades of work in the human rights, democracy, and governance field. She joined Freedom House as chief of party in 2019 to lead the Advancing Rights in Southern Africa program, the largest multicountry program in Freedom House’s Africa portfolio. Previously, she held leadership positions at the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) and Human Rights Watch (HRW), where she led the implementation of strategic plans, managed multimillion-dollar grant programs, and spearheaded fundraising efforts. Kasambala specializes in human rights monitoring, democratic freedoms, elections, civil society strengthening, international justice, economic and social justice, and women’s rights. Kasambala holds a master’s degree in social science from the University of Amsterdam.

As director of Latin America and the Caribbean programs, Pinna will lead the organization’s activities on democratic governance, civic engagement, and strengthening of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Latin America.

Pinna has nearly two decades of experience in civic engagement, civil society strengthening, human rights, and democratic governance work. She joined Freedom House as a program associate in 2013 for the Dignity for All program. In 2016, Pinna joined Freedom House’s Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) team as a senior program officer, and until 2022 held three other senior leadership positions. Prior to Freedom House, Pinna served as a researcher at Roma Tre University and coordinated several campaigns to foster democracy and protect human rights as a member of the Transnational Radical Party. Pinna received her doctorate in political science and democracy studies from the Istituto Italiano di Scienze Umane/Scuola Normale Superiore.

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Freedom House is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to create a world where all are free. We inform the world about threats to freedom, mobilize global action, and support democracy’s defenders.

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