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Freedom House Announces Colby Pacheco as Director for Africa Programs; Mark de la Iglesia as Director for US Democracy [1]

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Date: 2024-05

WASHINGTON—Freedom House is pleased to announce the selection of two new leaders to fill important positions: Colby Pacheco will lead the organization’s activities related to Africa as director for Africa programs, after having served in various roles with Freedom House over six years, and Mark de la Iglesia will lead Freedom House’s US programming as director for US Democracy, having joined in March.

Colby Pacheco, Director, Africa programs

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

“Colby has a proven record of success advancing our programmatic work in Africa since he joined Freedom House six years ago,” said Freedom House interim president Nicole Bibbins Sedaca. “His deep understanding of challenges to human rights and democracy in Africa, coupled with his strong dedication to Freedom House’s mission will continue to support efforts to expand and defend freedom across the continent.”

Pacheco brings more than fifteen years of experience to the director of Africa programs role, with expertise managing, designing, and providing technical assistance to rights and governance programs in complex and restricted environments, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa. He joined Freedom House in 2018 as a program manager for Africa, and was promoted to deputy director of Africa programs in 2022. Pacheco has collaborated with dozens of civil society organizations across the region, helping groups develop strategies and advance advocacy goals. Pacheco holds a master’s degree in international affairs from the University of California, San Diego.

Mark de la Iglesia, Director, US Democracy

As director of US Democracy at Freedom House, de la Iglesia will lead the expansion of the organization’s nonpartisan efforts to address democratic backsliding in the United States through analysis, outreach, and programming.

“Mark brings nearly two decades of experience helping to strengthen democracy in the United States and internationally,” said Bibbins Sedaca. “Mark’s leadership will be essential in deepening Freedom House’s nonpartisan focus and support to ensure America’s democracy remains a vibrant beacon for the world.”

De la Iglesia started his career on Capitol Hill, as a legislative director in the US House of Representatives and later as director of House Affairs at the US State Department. He has led international anticorruption and democratic governance assistance efforts as a grant maker at the Open Society Foundations and an adviser at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. Prior to joining Freedom House, he served as an adviser to the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University on an initiative to support American conservative leaders in building trust in elections, among other roles. He has volunteered with several US-focused democracy strengthening groups, including as a board member of electoral reform champion FairVote. He holds a master’s degree in public and international affairs from Princeton University.

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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[1] Url: https://freedomhouse.org/article/freedom-house-announces-colby-pacheco-director-africa-programs-mark-de-la-iglesia-director

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