Meet Our Team

Rachel Joseph

Executive director

Rachel first went to Colombia on the first stop of a planned trip around Latin America, but was so entranced she never left! While living there, she worked as a journalist and travelled extensively, which gave her an insight into the stark contrasts of the country - the beauty, magic and harsh inequalities. Her experiences inspired her to join the voluntary sector, and she joined COTA in 2004. During her time at COTA, she has worked with the team to increase our impact on the lives of vulnerable children, by providing more funding and increasing our field staff to be able to provide more effective capacity building support to our project partners.

Duncan Millar

Head of Programmes

Duncan joined COTA in November 2007. He oversees our partnerships with Colombian organisations and manages our programme team. His job is to ensure that COTA makes as great a difference as possible to the lives of vulnerable children in Colombia. He has many years experience of fundraising and programme work in the voluntary sector. He studied in Colombia and has worked in the UK and Zambia.

Susie Steven

Finance Officer

Susie manages the finances at COTA, and has extensive finance management experience in the charity sector, especially in the area of women's rights, and Latin America. She has worked at COTA since September 2009.

Heidy Araque

Events and Community Fundraiser

Heidy was born and brought up in Colombia and studied International Relations and Development Studies in London. She is one of the many Colombians who love their country and work every day to make it a better place, only she's currently doing so from our London office. Heidy is often moved by our supporters' solidarity and inspired by our partners' commitment. She has worked at COTA since 2006.

Jennifer Browne

Trust Fundraiser and Project Development Coordinator

Jennifer became committed to promoting children’s rights in Latin America after working in a primary school in Guatemala in 2005. Since then she has travelled extensively throughout the region, most recently to Colombia. After receiving a Masters degree in Human Rights, she gained experience in fundraising and programme development through working in women’s and children’s rights charities, before joining COTA in September 2011. She is in charge of raising and reporting on funds and feels very lucky to be able to contribute to the important and valuable work that COTA and our partners are doing in Colombia. 

Victoria Illingworth

Fundraising and Finance Assistant

Victoria is in charge of processing all the donations COTA receives. She also manages our social media and website. Her passion for working at COTA comes from having studied development studies at university and her interest in Latin America from growing up in Costa Rica. She just joined us in January this year, and is excited about making a difference in the lives of vulnerable children in Colombia through COTA.

Barbara Inglin

Field Officer - Cali

Barbara started work with COTA as a volunteer in April 2002. In 2004, she returned to Colombia to set-up the Field Office, enabling COTA to have direct and continuous contact with our partners for the first time. She oversees the running of the Field Office, the representation of COTA in Colombia, and is directly responsible for accompanying and monitoring partner projects in the Cali region. She believes strongly in the role of the voluntary sector in promoting children's rights, and enjoys the way her work in the Field Office enables her to support Colombian NGOs in ensuring that vulnerable children have a safe and happy childhood and can develop their potential for the future.

Gina Ortiz

Field Officer - Bogotá

Gina is Colombian and has worked with COTA since October 2008. She is responsible for advising, monitoring and accompanying the development of our partner projects in Bogotá, Cartagena and Chinchiná. She also is in charge of investigating new areas of work and the identification of potential partners in the region. She has experience working with NGOs in Colombia and Peru, and believes that supporting and working with children will guide the South American region to grow and develop in the right direction.

Johanna Gaviria

Administrator - Colombia

Johanna has worked with COTA since August 2009 and is our first administrator in Colombia. Johanna takes care of the office finance and admin in Cali, enabling our field officers to focus on supporting the projects and our partner NGOs, helping them get children's lives moving in a happier direction.

Paige Stephens

Events and Outreach Assistant 

Paige joined COTA in January and has been helping with events. More about Paige soon!  

Our Trustees