Jessica Arreola

Jessica Arreola comes from Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico and holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Tecnológico de Monterrey. Driven to understand the root causes of violence, she initially worked in private security, where she witnessed the limitations of punitive policies and militarization. This experience shifted her professional path to work with activists and human rights organizations in the research department at Creatura, an international consulting firm focused on civil society resilience.

Since 2022, Jessica has worked with civil society organizations across Mexico and Central America. She collaborated on coordinating civil society organization networks, such as the Front against Impunity, a collective effort of over 40 organizations and foundations fighting human rights violations.

As part of Creatura’s facilitation team, Jessica supported initiatives defending human rights and land rights. She provided technical support, facilitated strategic planning, and managed donor relations.

Dedicated to making human rights issues accessible to the public, she led research for the documentary podcast Las Guardianas, focusing on women environmental defenders. She also scripted an episode for Impunilandia on the unjust imprisonment of an Indigenous Zapotec woman, earning the Contar(nos) 2024 Journalism Award. Additionally, Jessica co-authored Pioneras, a graphic novel published by the Mexican Economic Culture Fund that uncovers the overlooked history of Mexico’s first women’s national soccer team in 1970 and 1971.

To confront expanding authoritarian tendencies and shifts in international funding, Jessica is pursuing a Master of Arts in Global Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She aims to master Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) methodologies to design data-driven and participatory peacebuilding frameworks. Bringing an applied, community-centered perspective, Jessica intends to return to the field equipped to evaluate programs that protect civic space, mitigate risks for human rights defenders, and strengthen grassroots community resilience.