ParlAmericas is an institution run by parliamentarians, for parliamentarians. It is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of executive members and sub-regional representatives designated by national parliaments from North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean.
The Board has ex-officio representation from the ParlAmericas International Secretariat, the immediate Past President, the parliament hosting the next Plenary Assembly, the Corporation Board for the organization, as well as a representative from the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States.
ParlAmericas has three permanent working groups, known as Networks, that are dedicated to parliamentary action on the themes of gender equality, open parliament, and climate change. The Networks are governed by an Executive Committee whose Presidents each hold a position of Second Vice-President on the ParlAmericas Board of Directors.
Click here for an organogram of ParlAmericas’ governance.
Board of Directors Booklet
Blanca Ovelar
Paraguay, Senator – President of ParlAmericasMs. Ovelar is an elected national senator of Paraguay for the 2023-2028 term. She held the position of Minister of Education and Culture and Coordinator of the Social Cabinet of the Presidency of the Republic from 2002 to 2007. She has also served as Deputy Minister of Education and National Director of Higher Education, in addition to having been a school teacher, a professor, and a researcher at the National University of Asunción. She was a presidential candidate for the Republic of Paraguay for the 2008-2013 term for the Colorado Party and an elected national senator for the 2013-2018 and 2018-2023 terms. She is currently President of ParlAmericas.
Bridgid Annisette-George
Trinidad and Tobago, Speaker of the House of Representatives – Vice-President of ParlAmericasMrs. Annisette-George first entered Parliament as a Senator and Attorney General on November 8, 2007, and thus became the third woman to hold this post in the history of Trinidad and Tobago, following Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Mrs. Glenda Morean-Phillip. An alumnus of St. Joseph’s Convent, Port-of-Spain, Mrs. Annisette-George is also a graduate of the University of the West Indies, having obtained her Bachelor of Law from that institution in 1981. Before taking up the portfolio of Attorney General, Mrs. Annisette-George was the sole practitioner at Messrs. G.R. Annisette & Co. Mrs. Annisette-George has held a wide variety of positions in both the private and public sector including Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Trinidad and Tobago (2003), Chairman of the Diego Martin Regional Corporation (1999-2003) and associate tutor/lecturer at the Hugh Wooding Law School. She entered Parliament with some 24 years of experience as an Attorney-at-law. She was elected Speaker of the House on September 23, 2015, a position she currently holds.
Verónica Noemí Camino Farjat
Mexico, Senator – 2nd Vice-President of ParlAmericas. President of the Parliamentary Network for Gender EqualityVerónica Noemí Camino Farjat is an elected senator for the state of Yucatán and secretary of the Executive Committee of the current legislature of the Senate of the Republic of Mexico. She has a law degree from Marista University in the state of Yucatán, a master’s degree in public administration, and is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in strategic management and development policies at Anáhuac-Mayab University. In 2015, she was elected as a member of the Honourable Congress of the State of Yucatán. Previously, she served as general director of the State Centre for Social Prevention of Crime and Citizen Participation of the State of Yucatán and as executive secretary of the Inter-Institutional Commission for Crime Prevention. In addition, during the years 2007-2012, she acted as head of the Department of Training, Education, and Outreach at the State Center for Municipal Development of the State of Yucatán and as state coordinator of ”Agenda desde lo local” (The Local Agenda).
Javier Macaya Danús
Chile, Senator – 2nd Vice-President and President of the ParlAmericas Open Parliament NetworkSenator Macaya is a lawyer, having obtained his law degree from the Catholic University of Chile. He has also received a Master’s in management from the Adolfo Ibáñez University and a Diploma in criminal legal reform from the University of Valparaíso. He was a lawyer in the Municipal Corporation of Viña del Mar for social development. He is the President of the Independent Democratic Union Party (UDI). In December 2009 he was elected as a Member of the Chamber of Deputies in representation of UDI for the 6th region of Libertador Bernardo O Higgins, district No. 34 (legislative period 2010-2014), being re-elected in 2013. In 2017 he was re-elected for Rancagua, district N° 15 for 2018-2022. He is currently a member of the Bicameral Group on Transparency which leads the National Congress of Chile’s efforts and action plans on open parliament.
Rosa Galvez
Canada, Senator – 2nd Vice-President of ParlAmericas. President of the Parliamentary Network on Climate Change and SustainabilityMs. Rosa Galvez, originally from Peru, is one of Canada’s leading experts in pollution control and its effect on human health. She has a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from McGill University and has been a professor at Université Laval à Québec since 1994, heading the Civil and Water Engineering Department from 2010 to 2016. She specializes in water and soil decontamination, waste management and residues, and environmental impact and risk assessment. Senator Galvez is a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec, the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering and Engineers Without Borders. Senator Galvez was appointed to the Senate on December 6, 2016, representing Québec (Bedford) and is an independent senator. Her work as a legislator focuses on strengthening environmental protection, the gender perspective and income equality, as well as transparency in government. Senator Galvez was elected President of the Parliamentary Network on Climate Change and Sustainability during its 5th Gathering, held in June 2021. She is also the Treasurer of the ParlAmericas Corporation.
