Bio
For as long as she can remember, Ilaina has been working actively towards social change. Born in Venezuela to Argentinian parents who were exiled due to the dictatorship, Ila learned from a young age the power of education to promote justice. Her career has focused on supporting people in making a difference in the world.
Ila worked at the United Nations Argentine Youth Organization (OAJNU), serving on the Cordoba Region's Executive Committee as well as on the National Board. She moved to Spain to work in the International Cooperation Department of the Youth Council of Galicia-Spain, supporting relations with the European Union.
Ila was recruited by Ashoka's Southern Cone office as Director of the Youth Venture Program. After working at Ashoka's headquarters in Washington DC as Latin America and Global Campaigns Manager, she launched Ashoka's El Salvador office, where she built and managed a youth violence prevention program, which taught social entrepreneurship while promoting community cohesiveness. Ilaina served on the Advisory Board of Open Society Foundation's Youth Initiative.
Ila co-founded Amani Institute which is dedicated to helping people build meaningful careers of impact, and in the process to improve the performance of social impact organizations by bringing them, better-qualified people. Amani Institute started in Nairobi - Kenya and three years ago also opened an office in São Paulo - Brazil (where Ilaina is based) and in India. Amani Institute today has more than 50 clients from around the world and more than 250 graduates from the Post-Graduate Certificate in Social Innovation Management.
Ilaina has a Master's degree in International Studies and Peace and Conflict Resolution from Torcuato Di Tella University (Buenos Aires, Argentina). She earned two Bachelor's degrees: in International Affairs, from Siglo 21 University, Córdoba, Argentina, and in Mediation from the University of Buenos Aires. Consistent with her passion for education and learning from other cultures, she has worked on community-based projects in Uruguay, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Haiti.
