Jason De León is Executive Director of Colibrí Center for Human Rights, as well as Director of the Undocumented Migration Project, a 501(c)(3) research, arts, and education collective focused on raising awareness about issues related to migration. De León is also Professor of Anthropology and Chicana, Chicano, and Central American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of the award-winning book “The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail” and a 2017 MacArthur Fellow.

Austin Ella Shipman serves as the interim Director of Development and Operations for the Colibrí Center for Human Rights. She is the Assistant Director of the Undocumented Migration Project and has been involved with the organization since its inception in 2009. She holds a BA in sociocultural anthropology and Spanish from the University of Washington and is working towards an MA in social sector leadership and nonprofit management from the University of Chicago.

Mirza Monterroso is Colibrí’s Missing Migrant Program Director. Originally from Guatemala, Mirza specializes in archeology and has earned her M.A. in Forensic Science. She worked for several years in Mayan archaeology sites and caves in Guatemala, Belize, and México. In 2006, she began working as a forensic archeologist, digging clandestine graves created during the Guatemalan genocide. She has been an expert witness in cases of violations of human rights and crimes committed against the civil population. Mirza also taught several courses in forensic anthropology at the Universidad de Rafael Landívar and the Universidad de San Carlos in Guatemala. In 2016, she joined the Colibrí Center as the DNA Program Manager.

Isabella has worked with Mirza Monterroso in the Missing Migrant and DNA Program since September 2018. Before moving to Tucson, she worked as an educator in the US, Malawi, and Guatemala. She graduated with a B.A. in sociology and Spanish from the University of Missouri – Kansas City and is currently working towards a dual master’s degree in Latin American studies and public administration at the University of Arizona. Isabella grew up in St. Louis, Missouri.

Perla is Colibrí’s Family Network Director. She is originally from Hermosillo, Sonora, and migrated to the US with her family in 1999 and was raised in Tucson, AZ. Perla earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Pre-law from the University of Arizona, where she focused on immigration law reforms and justice for migrant rights.

Post-college, Perla has continued her focus on social services while working as a Case Manager for the Office of Refugee Resettlement working in the reunification of unaccompanied minors in the US-Mexico border with families who reside in the US. She continued her work as the Children’s Specialist for the Guatemalan consulate in the Border Protection team.

Perla continues her dedication to migrant rights as Colibrí’s Family Network Director. She will continue a legacy of work to build solidarity, community, a movement among families who have experienced loss at the border.