Débora Aranha

Débora Aranha joined the Freedom Fund as Brazil Program Advisor in February 2020. She has been leading the development and implementation of the hotspot strategy in Brazil, managing grants with frontline organisations, and liaising with government, stakeholders and donors. Debora has almost 20 years’ experience in managing, monitoring and evaluating community development and child protection programs for NGOs and international donors.

Prior to joining the Freedom Fund, Debora has worked as a consultant at Ideario Consulting, conducting evaluations, studies, analysis/reports, trainings and assisting with project design for a number of national and international organizations, including the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, Oak Foundation, ActionAid, KNH, Ikea Foundation, Child Rights Now (a joint initiative of ChildFund International, SOS Children’s Villages, Plan International, Save the Children, Terres des Hommes and World Vision), and others. Previously, she was head of the Winrock International office in Brazil, where she led national programs to fight child sexual abuse and exploitation and human trafficking, helped to set-up the TIP Office and Committee in the State of Bahia, trained officers on child trafficking prevention, prosecution and victim assistance, provide input for policy makers and coordinated programs for at-risk children and youth. She has also assisted in monitoring and evaluating programs in six countries in Latin America, which benefitted 24,000 children. Debora is author of the first in-depth research focusing exclusively on child trafficking for CSEC in Brazil, and was co-founder and president of the Movement Against Trafficking in Persons, a network with over 100 organizations and leaders working on human rights in Brazil and abroad. At the Latinamerican Institute for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, she coordinated a network of volunteers supporting survivors of Brazil’s largest case of sexual abuse in a religious setting.

Debora holds a BsC in Computer Science from the Federal University of Pernambuco and combines her technical background with entrepreneurial experience and training in trauma healing and integrative therapies. She has received the USAID/Brazil Award of Appreciation for her contribution to the program´s learning, monitoring and evaluation.