Cynthia Buiza

director, Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights of L.A.

Cynthia Buiza has worked on international refugee, migration and human rights issues for the past 14 years. Prior to joining Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) as Policy and Advocacy Director in 2007, she served for three years as the Program Coordinator for the Children's Rehabilitation Center-Philippines, working with families affected by political armed conflict. Previously she was the Information and Research Officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Regional Office in the Philippines and its implementing partner, Refugee Services Philippines; Deputy Director of the Open Society Institute-Burma Education Project in Thailand; and Regional Policy and Advocacy Officer for the Jesuit Refugee Service Asia Pacific Office. She also consulted with organizations such as Child Workers in Asia, Save the Children-UK, Save the Children-Sweden and Help Age International. Ms. Buiza holds an M.A. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, specializing in human security issues vis-a-vis traditional national security frameworks. She has a B.A. in Social Work from the Philippines, and a Certificate in Refugee Studies from Oxford University, London. She is a published author of poems and essays, and is the co-author of Anywhere But War, a book on armed conflict and internal displacement in the Indonesian Province of Aceh.