Virginia Ossana

Senior Program Officer, Capacity & Movement Strengthening at Women Enabled International

As the Senior Program Officer for Capacity and Movement Strengthening, Virginia collaborates in the design and implementation of movement and capacity strengthening strategies to advance rights at the intersection of gender and disability. She conducts research on the human rights of women and gender minorities with disabilities around the world and the opportunities and challenges faced by individual advocates and organizations advancing these rights, most recently having led efforts focused on Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East and the role funders and other key stakeholders may play in supporting intersectional, inclusive, and sustainable movements in these regions and beyond. Virginia also provides key support to movement-led initiatives, including the Colectiva de Latinoamericanas con Discapacidad por los Derechos Humanos, in their efforts to develop and implement capacity-strengthening initiatives to support and grow the leadership of women and gender-diverse people with disabilities in Latin America.

In her role, Virginia acts as an expert advisor to feminist conveners on accessibility and broader best practices. Through her work, she ensures that women and gender-diverse persons with disabilities have direct access to -and are meaningfully included in- movement, advocacy, and decision-making spaces.

Before joining WEI, Virginia worked as a translator at the United Nations and provided linguistic services for various United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private companies. She also volunteered at Red META, in which she coordinated projects to advance the rights of young persons with disabilities in Latin America.

Virginia graduated with a distinction from the University of Westminster’s M.A. in International Liaison. She also holds a B.A in Translation Studies from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina.

Virginia is originally from Argentina and currently lives in England, United Kingdom.