Julia Alvarez, MA, GDI Research Analyst,

joined Group Dimensions International in 2009.

For GDI, she has worked on two major projects, one for UNIFEM-CIS (United Nations Development Fund for Women-Commonwealth of Independent States) and another for the International Development Research Centre in Canada on Women's Rights in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Fluent in Spanish, Julia received her MA in International Peace Studies from the United Nations Mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica where she conducted research on the demobilization, disarmament and reintegration of child soldiers in Mozambique. She has experience as an avocate for child welfare and mental health policy in the US, and has also worked as a facilitator of leadership and life skills development conferences for people ages 12-55. Julia lives in Portland, Maine, where she enjoys kayaking and watching the Osprey.