Sara Carmona is a Program Officer providing support for Democracy International’s Justice, Rights, and Security (JURIS) program, a rapid response mechanism that enables swift responses to emerging critical issues on the global stage. Her current portfolio of activities include Peru, The Gambia, Kyrgyz Republic, Sierra Leone, Guatemala, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. She previously served as Peace, Justice, and Security Program Coordinator at the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF). In this role, Ms. Carmona worked on citizen security, crime and violence prevention, and law enforcement professionalization programming in Latin America and the Caribbean. She is particularly interested in democratic transitions, human rights, arms trafficking, and juvenile restorative justice.

Ms. Carmona holds a Master of Arts in International Development Studies from the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, where she specialized in post-conflict reconstruction and gender equality. She also holds a BA in International Studies (Politics and Diplomacy), with double minors in French and Arabic language, and a regional concentration in the Middle East from Texas A&M University. She speaks fluent English, Spanish and French.