Our mission
We mobilize resources, accompany and help strengthen organizations, networks and grassroots groups for the advancement of girls, women, trans* and intersex people’s rights.
We want to strengthen social movements so that they can be solid and sustainable.
Our values
Justice is collectively healing the wounds that the capitalist and patriarchal system has caused us; disrupting power relations and recovering historical memory to transform the way we walk.
Mutual support is listening to our differences, interweaving different life stories, experiences and contexts to build the changes we dream about.
Co-responsibility is recognizing the shared commitment that is placed in trust; using flexibility as a tool that allows us to look and act according to the needs of different contexts in order to sustain life.
Voice manifesto
This manifesto is the voice of Fondo Semillas’ body. The resonance of the advocates, thinkers, artists, activists, and philanthropists who walked this path before us. We look back at our history in philanthropic work to improve our march. We live this journey as a cyclical return, like the phases of the moon, which are revisited to continue walking.
New moon. Invocation
We invoke the wisdom of those who came before us in order to keep the question alive: how can we do philanthropy work towards gender justice? We affirm that we exist thanks to the will to transform injustice and structural inequity. We affirm that we exist because of organizations, networks and collectives’ stories of dignity and resistance, and those who built them. We affirm that we exist in order to mobilize resources that allow for the redistribution of livelihoods.
Waxing moon.
The transformation
We want to transform the way of doing philanthropy, to move towards a feminist and decolonial perspective. Feminist, because it puts girls, young people, women, trans* and intersex people at the center. Decolonial because it transgresses and disrupts the binary idea of power between those who give and receive money, and seeks to mobilize us collectively towards redistributive justice. Thus, our political commitment in philanthropy is the mobilization of resources to accompany grassroots movements in overthrowing the systems that oppress the body and territory of girls, women, trans* and intersex people.
Full moon. The future
How to become something else? Our vision of the future is not linked to the idea of capitalist, patriarchal and extractivist development that does not give back, but rather accumulates and oppresses. Our vision of the future is based on the freedom to be, exist and accompany dissidence in each struggle, each territory, each person. In this vision, money is redistributed and enables change.
Waning moon. Reflection
Our thinking and actions from a feminist and decolonial position will continue along the path of the movements that we accompany. We want to transcend the guilt of privilege towards a common philanthropy that makes us think about what we have in common before focusing on what makes us different. Because if we have learned anything from the diverse voices of different movements, it is that there is no freedom for one, if there is no freedom for all.
Operating team
Click on the photo to see profiles
Management
Gabriela Toledo
Co-Director
(She / Her)
Gaby has a Master of Science in Business Administration. Since 2021, she is Co-Director of Fondo Semillas. Gaby has worked in the third sector for more than 10 years, where she has encouraged women and national and international organizations to manage their resources in a flexible, inclusive, and equitable manner. Throughout her career, she has been committed to promoting skills and abilities in financial and economic issues to achieve a less unequal society.
Gabriela Toledo
Co-Director
(She / Her)
Cecilia Aveleyra
Administrative assistant to Management and Board of directors
(She / Her)
Cecilia studied Design and Visual Communication at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and has collaborated with organizations such as Oxfam Mexico. She is interested in generating innovative proposals and seeking to build inspiring work environments that allow her to continue developing professionally. She is also an animal lover, she has two cats and a husky dog.
Cecilia Aveleyra
Administrative assistant to Management and Board of directors
(She / Her)
Programs
Brenda Neria
Program manager
(She / Her)
Brenda holds a B.A. in Latin American Studies from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. She has been research assistant to the Interdisciplinary Women’s Studies Program from the Colegio de Mexico; as well as been in charge of the planning and logistics area for the Mexico: A Multicultural Nation University Program at the UNAM.
Brenda Neria
Program manager
(She / Her)
Anaíd Alcázar
Partnerships, emergency and crisis response coordinator
(She / Her)
Anaid has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. She is enthusiastic about participatory processes and strategic planning. Her main interests are: art and politics, feminisms, political philosophy and rural development. She has experience in community organizational processes and project design.
Anaíd Alcázar
Partnerships, emergency and crisis response coordinator
(She / Her)
Valentina Peña
Strengthening, monitoring, evaluation and analysis (M&E) coordinator
(She / Her)
She is an anthropologist with a Master’s degree in Anthropology, Environment and Development from the London College University. She has worked on projects that promote community organization, economy and sustainable development in Colombia and now in Mexico. She has experience in community and participatory processes, and a committed passion for learning about societies and their cultures. She wants to enrich her knowledge on feminisms and considers herself a frustrated dancer who enjoys all rhythms.
Valentina Peña
Strengthening, monitoring, evaluation and analysis (M&E) coordinator
(She / Her)
Angélica Gómez
Analysis officer
(She / Her)
She holds a B.A. in Latin American Studies from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. During the past few years she has become more involved in the struggle for women’s rights and the feminist movement. She is convinced that only solidary and communal alliances will generate a more just and decent world for everyone.
Angélica Gómez
Analysis officer
(She / Her)
Sayuri Alducín
Operational management coordinator
(She / Her)
Sayuri studied Administration and Psychology at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana. She has experience working in civil society organizations in the areas of culture and film.
Sayuri Alducín
Operational management coordinator
(She / Her)
Elizabeth Gutiérrez
Operational management officer
(She / Her)
Elizabeth is an accountant, graduate of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. She has worked in NGOs in the areas of finance, education, culture, and film, with a particular focus on children. Eli loves cats. She is a great reader and passionate writer of short stories.
Elizabeth Gutiérrez
Operational management officer
(She / Her)
Lucy Kantún
Operational management officer
(She / Her)
Lucy is a Mayan woman from Kantunilkin, Quintana Roo. She studied Social Anthropology at the Universidad de Quintana Roo and has collaborated in civil organizations focused on the defense and promotion of human rights of youth and migrants. She strongly believes in a dignified future for all people and deeply admires the sea.
Lucy Kantún
Operational management officer
(She / Her)
Abigail Rodríguez
Operational management officer
(She / Her / They)
She is a sociologist, graduated from the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro. She has collaborated in projects to defend the rights of persons in migration. Abi is a feminist and menstrual activist; a passionate about knowing and creating new realities.
Abigail Rodríguez
Operational management officer
(She / Her / They)
Paola Zamora
Operational management officer
(She / Her)
Her professional work has focused on accompanying NGOs in the areas of social investment, evaluation and monitoring, institutional strengthening and public opinion. Pao is enthusiastic about collaborative work and social dynamics for a better co-construction of diverse realities.
Paola Zamora
Operational management officer
(She / Her)
Tatiana Llamas
Operational management officer
(She / Her)
She has a degree in Cultural and Social Entrepreneurship from the Tecnológico de Monterrey. Tati has experience in the analysis and design of strategies for the incidence in Public Policies to combat violence against women and girls, as well as in the technical accompaniment to NGOs. Her main interest is to achieve positive impacts in the resolution of public problems through collaboration between committed governments and resilient communities. In her free time, she enjoys taking long walks with her dog Ronnie and participating in reading and creative writing circles.
Tatiana Llamas
Operational management officer
(She / Her)
Fundraising
Jessica Anaya
Fundraising manager
(She / Her)
Jessica holds a degree in Communications at the UVM. She has collaborated in national and international organizations such as World Vision and Oxfam Mexico. Jess has experience in children’s rights and welfare, humanitarian response and inequality, and is convinced that people have the power to change realities. She is a soccer fan.
Jessica Anaya
Fundraising manager
(She / Her)
Ana Laura Godínez
Donor community fundraising coordinator
(She / Her)
With a B.A. and Master Degree in Communications from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, she focuses her work in topics such as women, communications and information technology. She also worked in public institutions in fundraising and communications teams for human rights protection. Her passion is networking people to build a better world.
Ana Laura Godínez
Donor community fundraising coordinator
(She / Her)
Alejandra Navarro
Corporate alliances fundraising coordinator
(She / Her)
She studied Communications at the Universidad de las Américas Puebla and has a Master's degree in Social Responsibility at the Universidad Anáhuac. She has worked on issues such as disability, early childhood, education and social disasters in NGOs and corporate foundations. Ale is convinced that women supporting each other and the possibility of thinking collectively are the only ways to create a better Mexico.
Alejandra Navarro
Corporate alliances fundraising coordinator
(She / Her)
Geovanna Prado
Institutional donors fundraising coordinator
(She / Her)
Geo studied International Relations and Cooperation for Development. She has collaborated with groups, organizations and social enterprises materializing ideals, raising funds, coordinating projects and consulting on institutional strengthening. She has dedicated her work to improving organizational processes and social intervention methodologies to foment alliances between various actors in different contexts.
Geo is passionate about participating in initiatives that promote and claim that another world is possible.
Geovanna Prado
Institutional donors fundraising coordinator
(She / Her)
Luz Montes
Donor community fundraising assistant
(She / Her)
She graduated with a degree in Cultural Studies and Management from the Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana. She has focused on the management and development of projects with social approach, gender perspective and environment. Luz loves photography and Cultural Studies. She thinks that creating community is an act of resistance and the only way to imagine a different world.
Luz Montes
Donor community fundraising assistant
(She / Her)
Communications
Erika Tamayo
Communications manager
(She / Her)
Erika studied Communications at the Universidad Iberoamericana and has 25 years of professional experience in the private and public sectors, as well as non-profits. She is in charge of designing and coordinating the organization’s online and offline communications strategies. She plays the jarana and she is a perinatal educator. One of her biggest passions is respected childbirth.
Erika Tamayo
Communications manager
(She / Her)
Viridiana Montiel
Communications officer
(She / Her)
She is a graphic designer, graduate of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. She has worked in NGOs as part of communication teams and has specialized in gender, inequality and humanitarian response. She is the co-founder and collaborator of Gatitos Contra la Desigualdad (Kittens Against Inequality), from where she visualizes social injustices in Mexico through social media. She believes that sorority and the redistribution of resources are the basis for ending patriarchy.
Viridiana Montiel
Communications officer
(She / Her)
Tania María Carrillo
Communications officer
(She / Her)
She studied sociology at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and art history at the Universidad Iberoamericana. She has collaborated with education and communication departments in Mexico City artistic institutions and has written about art for different cultural spaces. She is responsible for generating content and images, for illustrating and supporting the development of communication and social media strategies. She is passionate about human relations, art and dance. She recognizes in critical feminisms a political commitment to change realities.
Tania María Carrillo
Communications officer
(She / Her)
Analysis and Institutional Strengthening
Diana Medina
Analysis and institutional strengthening coordinator
(She / Her)
She has a PhD in Social Sciences at FLACSO Argentina and experience in projects of monitoring, evaluation and research. She worked as Coordinator of the Observatorio de Familia as part of the government of Buenos Aires city. Diana was also Manager of Monitoring and Evaluation in Fundación JUCONI and has made other research and evaluation projects in Mexico, Chile and Argentina. She is passionate about critical thinking and the construction of new social realities from feminism.
Diana Medina
Analysis and institutional strengthening coordinator
(She / Her)
Marina Freitez
Monitoring and evaluation officer
(She / her)
She is a social scientist focused on gender studies. Since 2013, she has been working in civil society and public service on agendas like gender, human rights, and monitoring and evaluation issues. Marina is a feminist that loves to dance and is passionate about chess.
Marina Freitez
Monitoring and evaluation officer
(She / Her)
Administration & Accounting
Claudia Liceaga
Administration manager
(She / Her)
Accountant graduated from the Instituto Politécnico Nacional. For Claudia, a great motivation for collaborating with Fondo Semillas is knowing that her work contributes to the empowerment of women and the sustainability of the feminist movement in Mexico. She is an amateur runner with many kilometers already covered.
Claudia Liceaga
Administration manager
(She / Her)
Adrián Carmona
Administration and treasury officer
(He / Him)
He studied accounting in the UNAM, collaborated in the financial area of Oxfam GB beginning in 2004 and subsequently in Oxfam México until 2017. In 2018 he joined Fondo Semillas as a member of the “Women Rebuilding their Communities” project.
Adrián Carmona
Administration and treasury officer
(He / Him)
Monserrat Morán
Accounting officer
(She / Her)
She is an accountant graduated from the Instituto Politécnico Nacional and she was a Law intern at the Universidad de Londres. Monse has worked in the Audit Area for different offices and likes to participate in volunteer activities.
Monserrat Morán
Accounting officer
(She / Her)
Luis Francisco Escandón
Administration officer
(He / Him)
He is an Accounting student at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Fran is studying at the Escuela Superior de Comercio y Administración. He has worked in accounting firms and has focused on supporting activities that seek social justice and the common good. He likes sports, dancing and contributing to environmental responsibility.
Luis Francisco Escandón
Administration officer
(He / Him)
Adriana Duarte
Accounting Administrative Assistant
(She / Her)
Adri is mom of a Little girl. She is accountant graduated from the Instituto Politécnico Nacional. She is committed to support children that face cancer treatments and is passionate about admiring the moon and gardening.
Adriana Duarte
Accounting Administrative Assistant
(She / Her)
Human Resources & General Services
Ana Rodríguez
Human resources and general services coordinator
(She / Her)
Psychologist graduated from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, with experience in clinical, educational, and organizational areas. She has mainly performed in the business environment, focused on processes of human talent development, training, and culture. She is passionate about issues that build critical perspectives to generate concrete actions in favor of fairer and healthier societies. Also, Ana loves dance.
Ana Rodríguez
Human resources and general services coordinator
(She / Her)
Esmeralda Andrade
Human resources and general services officer
(She / Her)
She holds a B.A. in Psychology from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Since 2016, Esmeralda has collaborated with NGOs on aspects related to institutional strengthening, organizational development and the search for suitable profiles to integrate work teams.
Esmeralda Andrade
Human resources and general services officer
(She / Her)
Lilia Torres
Cleaning assistant
(She / Her)
For two years, Lili has been making our office a more orderly, beautiful and well-cared place. She is passionate about helping street dogs and the elderly. In her spare time, she enjoys making things with her hands.
Lilia Torres
Cleaning assistant
(She / Her)
Blanca Torres
General services assistant
(She / Her)
For more than 20 years, Blanca has been an essential member of Fondo Semillas. Her work has been very significant in supporting the different tasks of the whole team. She enjoys listening to music and watching horror movies.
Blanca Torres
General services assistant
(She / Her)
Information Technology
Arturo Valdés
IT developer coordinator
(He / Him)
He studied Systems Engineering and a Master’s Degree in IT Administration at the Tecnológico de Monterrey. He has worked as responsible for the execution of technological strategies in the Junta de Asistencia Privada de la Ciudad de México. He has been a leader of IT projects in national and international institutions, and considers himself an enthusiast of technologies that promote digital transformation for the benefit of organizations.
Arturo Valdés
IT developer coordinator
(He / Him)
Board of directors and Assembly
Click on the photo to see profiles
Sharon Bissell
Co-Chair
(She / Her)
She is a specialist in international cooperation for the Mecanismo Extraordinario de Identificación Forense (Extraordinary Forensic Identification Mechanism). Previously, Sharon was Director of the MacArthur Foundation office in Mexico, an institution that gave donations to an institution that gave donations to NGOs on issues related to reproductive justice, human rights and migration. She was in charge of the design and implementation of philanthropic strategies on social justice. She is also part of the Advisory Council of Acento, Acción Local, a sister fund of Fondo Semillas.
Sharon Bissell
Co-Chair
(She / Her)
Rosenda Maldonado
Co-Chair
(She / Her)
Rosenda is an Otomí indigenous woman from the state of Veracruz. She is a lawyer with more than 20 years of experience in the defense and promotion of human rights, with an emphasis on defending the rights of indigenous women. She is co-founder of the Red Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas Tejiendo Derechos por la Madre Tierra y Territorio (National Network of Indigenous Women Weaving Rights for Mother Earth and Territory), and considers essencial the participation of indigenous women in the different spaces of the public and private sphere of our country.
Rosenda Maldonado
Co-Chair
(She / Her)
Isabel Ocaña
Treasurer
(She / Her)
She is a lawyer with more than twenty years of experience in financial services, and has extensive knowledge in areas such as banking, capital markets, asset management and the regulatory framework of pension funds, internal controls and compliance risk management, always with a focus on ethical behavior and inclusive culture. She is certain that the solution to the problems of injustice and inequity comes not only from the government but from civil society itself. Isabel is convinced that by getting involved and supporting women in their projects we can build a better country.
Isabel Ocaña
Treasurer
(She / Her)
Mónica Meltis
Board Member
(She / Her)
She studied Political Science and International Relations at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México. She has dedicated part of her professional career to research on issues of public health, violence, drug trafficking, femicides and violence against women. Her professional development has focused on NGOs since 2011 and the private sector on political communication issues. She is Executive Director of Data Cívica since 2017, where she has promoted investigation projects on human rights violations and missing persons.
Mónica Meltis
Board Member
(She / Her)
Carolina Coppel
Board Member
(She / Her)
She has committed her professional life to battling poverty and inequality. She understands inequality is due to both lack of resources and capabilities, and also unequal power distribution in society. She believes in the power of collective work, creativity, networks, and civic engagement.
Carolina Coppel
Board Member
(She / Her)
Gabriela Paredes
(She / Her)
She holds a B.A. in Pedagogy from the Universidad Panamericana and is specialized in Human Development at the Humanist Institute of Gestalt Psychotherapy A.C. She has more than 20 years of experience in Human Resources, focused on obtaining high productivity based on the personal empowerment of employees.
Gabriela Paredes
(She / Her)
Edith Calderón
(She / Her)
Born in Michoacan, she studied Business Administration and holds an M.A. in Human Rights from the Universidad Iberoamericana, as well as a specialization in Finances from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México. She is convinced that social change is only possible if citizens value their participation and fully commit to a cause they identify with.
Edith Calderón
(She / Her)
Paloma Bonfil
(She / Her)
Historian and ethno-historian, Paloma also holds a PhD in Rural Sociology. She has dedicated her work to indigenous women from diverse positions, including public office, academy, and civil society. She is convinced we live in a time to sow, and that organized civil society will trigger the profound changes needed to rescue Mexico.
Paloma Bonfil
(She / Her)
Betty Van Cauwelaert
(She / Her)
With more than 40 years living in Mexico, Betty is founder of Grupo Fogra, which maintains the challenge of being an economically viable and socially responsible company. She is interested in social development and deeply convinced that true change will be obtained through women.
Betty Van Cauwelaert
(She / Her)
Yásnaya Aguilar
(She / Her)
She is a member of COLMIX, a group of young Mixes that conducts research and dissemination activities on the Mixe language, history and culture. She studied Hispanic Language and Literatures and completed a Master's Degree in Linguistics at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. She has collaborated on various projects on the dissemination of linguistic diversity, development of grammatical content for educational materials in indigenous languages, and documentation and assistance projects for languages at risk of disappearing.
Yásnaya Aguilar
(She / Her)
Amaranta Gómez
(She / Her)
She is a Zapotec Muxhe from the Istmo de Tehuantepec, Oaxaca. She is an activist and social anthropologist who has worked as a Regional Coordinator of the International Secretariat for Indigenous People on HIV / AIDS, Sexuality and Human Rights (SIPIA, in Spanish). Her intersectional and intercultural vision makes her work a crossroad of opportunities in the Human Rights agenda in Mexico and internationally.
Amaranta Gómez
(She / Her)
Lucero González
(She / Her)
Founder of Fondo Semillas. She is a feminist, sociologist, and photographer who was accidently born in Mexico City, but as she says, is more Oaxacan than a tlayuda. She focuses her gaze and heart on women, whom she portrays, listens to, orients, scrutinizes, and questions. She directs the Museo de Mujeres Artistas Mexicanas (Museum of Mexican Female Artists).
Lucero González
(She / Her)
Luna Marán
(She / Her)
She was born in Guelatao de Juarez, a Zapotec community in Oaxaca, where she has held four community positions. Luna has worked for more than a decade in non-school training, where gender equity, diversity and communality are main cross-cutting principles. She is co-founder of the Campamento Audiovisual Itinerante (2012-2021), Cine Too Lab (2018), Aquí Cine (2012-2016), among other projects. She tells dignifying stories that show the world where she grew up and where she lives actually through photography and films.
Luna Marán
(She / Her)
Sayak Valencia
(She / Her)
Philosopher, transfeminist and queer. Sayak has a PhD in Philosophy, Theory and Feminist Criticism from the Universidad Computense de Madrid, and has previous studies in aesthetics, contemporary art and feminist epistemologies. She is currently a full-time professor and researcher at the Colegio de la Frontera Norte in Tijuana, Baja California. Among her outstanding works is Gore Capitalism (2010).
Sayak Valencia
(She / Her)
