Julia Sanchez is a Canadian of Peruvian origin, an economist and development practitioner. She currently serves as the Secretary General of ActionAid International, a global federation working for a world free from poverty and injustice.

After a successful career in civil society of more than 25 years, she decided to extend her contribution towards a more just and equitable world through direct involvement in politics. She became the New Democratic Party of Canada’s candidate for the Canadian Parliament for a by-election that took place in February 2019. Though she was not successful in this bid, she managed to elevate the issues of social justice and climate change, and came in second in the race.

Before that, she was the President-CEO of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation (CCIC), a post she held from 2011 to 2018. Julia has extensive experience in top‐level international development management, including 13 years living and working in developing countries with Canadian and international organizations.

Throughout her career, Julia has provided leadership to a wide variety of programs in 16 countries – in Latin America, Asia, and Africa – in areas such as humanitarian assistance, reconstruction, governance, democratic development, community-based economic development, and international volunteering. She also spent two years in charge of National Campaigns for the Global Campaign for Climate Action.

Julia is active in national and global networks on issues of civil society, freedom of association and freedom of speech, development effectiveness, and democratic development. After being the Treasurer and Director of CIVICUS, she is currently the Chair of the Board. She was previously Co-chair of the CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (2016 – 2018). She has served, among others, as a member of the strategy group of Voices/Voix (a coalition documenting the silencing of dissent in Canada), member of the advisory council of Imagine Canada, of the advisory panel for the Commissioner on the Environment and Sustainable Development, and Canadian civil society focal point for Community of Democracies.

Julia holds a double major in Political Science and Economics (1985) and an MA in Economics (1996) from McGill University.