Karina Ito
Chief of Staff of the Standing Group of National Committees, UNICEF & Class 8 Alumna
Professional Background
Karina Ito is a native from Londrina, Brazil. She obtained her Juris Doctorate degree in 2004 and a Post-Graduate Degree in International and Economic Law in 2008, both from Universidade Estadual de Londrina. In 2009, she received a full scholarship by the Rotary Foundation to study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she obtained her MA in Political Science and a Graduate Certificate in Peace and Conflict Resolution. During her applied field experience, Karina served at ICMEC in Alexandria, VA and also at UNICEF in Geneva, both in the area of child protection. Soon after graduating, Karina worked as a consultant for the Research Triangle Institute in the areas of education and ICT, and as a research assistant for a human rights course at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. In 2012 she became an Atlas Corps Fellow and was selected to serve at UNICEF USA. The fellowship turned into a job in 2013 when she became an Executive Officer. She has since worked for UNICEF Australia, UNICEF Canada and UNICEF Netherlands. She is now the Chief of Staff of the Standing Group, a body which represents 33 National Committees for UNICEF in high-income countries. Karina is passionate about human rights and child protection. She loves cooking (and eating) and swimming.