Laura Avila serves as a Grants Liaison at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, where she coordinates, engages, and manages community engagement and grants for GI-TOC, focusing mainly on global environmental crime initiatives. With over five years of experience in field research, Laura has extensively explored the impacts of organized crime on populations, with a specific emphasis on gender-based violence. She has also led gender awareness sessions.

Laura holds a master’s degree in Development Studies, specializing in Conflict, Human Rights, and Gender, from the Institute of Social Studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam. She is fluent in English and Spanish, and has a basic French proficiency.