Staff
Diana Samarasan has worked for over 12 years in disability, international health and human rights. She is the Director of the Disability Rights Fund. In her previous position, Diana directed the Mental Disability Advocacy Center (MDAC) in Budapest, Hungary -- a legal advocacy organization which litigates abuses of rights of persons with mental disabilities in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Before that, she worked with the American Refugee Committee and Doctors of the World, addressing issues such as access of vulnerable populations to reproductive health services, tuberculosis control, and deinstitutionalization. A graduate of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, Diana has advanced degrees in Public Administration and Psychology. Diana is a Board member of the United States International Council on Disability (USCID) and on the Steering Committee of the New England International Donors (NEID) network.
Michael Szporluk, Program Officer at the Disability Rights Fund, has worked for over 10 years in various capacities connected to strengthening local civil society and promoting the rights of marginalized populations. Before joining the Disability Rights Fund, he worked with Mercy Corps on community mobilization projects, organizational strengthening efforts and local grassroots advocacy campaigns. In this capacity, part of his work has been on mainstreaming disability and employing a gender lens for program design. Michael has also worked for the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia, and as a manager for the Macedonian–based Policy Dialogue Initiative at the European Center for Minority Issues. He has a Master's in Public Policy with a concentration in the non-profit sector from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
Catalina Devandas Aguilar, Program Officer at the Disability Rights Fund, has worked on disability, development and human rights since early 2000. She is a Costa Rican lawyer born with spina bifida who has been directly involved as an activist with Disabled Persons' Organizations (DPOs) at national, regional and international levels. She participated in the negotiation process of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Catalina has also worked at the World Bank’s Disability and Inclusive Development team for the Latin American and the Caribbean region; and for the Secretariat for the CRPD, at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Human Rights in Madrid, Spain. Catalina is a Board Member of the Latin American coalition of DPOs, RIADIS.
Paul Deany, DRF’s Program Officer for the Pacific and Asia, has 15 years international development experience focusing on disability, HIV/AIDS and community development, working with World Vision, the UN Development Program, UNAIDS, the Burnet Institute and various community-based organizations. He has worked in Europe, Australia, Africa and extensively throughout Asia, especially India, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, the Philippines, Pakistan and Nepal. For the past five years, he was Advocacy Officer at CBM Australia. This time included being founding Coordinator of the Australian Disability and Development Consortium (ADDC), a regional rights-based network focusing attention, expertise and action on disability in developing countries. Qualified with a Bachelor of Social Work and Masters of Primary Health Care, Paul is passionate about social justice, disability and poverty issues.
Kerry Thompson, DRF’s Program Associate, is an active advocate for the deaf community with an emphasis on making medical care more accessible for the deaf and hard of hearing. She is also co-founder and spokeswoman for www.text4deaf.com, a technology website that aims to bridge the communication gap between the deaf and hearing communities. A recent graduate of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education with a Master’s in Human Development and Psychology, Kerry’s academic focus was on disability rights in the broader context of international human rights. Her academic experience included human rights courses at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and at the Law School. Kerry brings to DRF professional grants management experience from her five years of work as a Research Finance Specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Research and Grants Management Unit. In her spare time, Kerry is a sign language instructor and a dance instructor.