INVISIBLE | Session 20 | Ana Yris Guzmán, Nuestra Escuela, Puerto Rico

Co-founder and Executive President of the Alternative Educational Organization based in Puerto Rico, Nuestra Escuela (Our School). This entity was founded in 2000 by Ana Yris and her husband, also an educator, Justo Méndez Arámburu. In addition to their local centers, they promoted the model development in Shule Yetu, the headquarters of Nuestra Escuela in Africa, and created in 2012 the initiative Encuentro Nuestra America (Encounter of Our America), the most important alternative education meeting in Latin America. As a specialist in academic and biopsychosocial approach, Guzmán Torres has vast experience working on educational projects with children and young people who, for various reasons, have moved away from the traditional school. Her work has been recognized by the Hispanics in Philanthropy organization, the School of Social Workers of Puerto Rico, and the Puerto Rico Senate. Ana Yris has been part of the Aflatoun Network since 2010 and is certified as a Regional Trainer of Aflatoun in the Americas, creating collaborative links with Child and Youth Finance International (CYFI) and leading in Puerto Rico the annual Global Money Week celebration. As a keynote speaker, she has shared experiences at the World Forum for Early Childhood in Puerto Rico, where she presented Aflatot at IDEC 2015 “International Democratic Education Conference” in New Zealand and the National Conference of Alternatives for a New Education (CONANE) in Brazil. Also presented IDEC 2016 as a keynote speaker in Finland and has been recognized with the INDEX Award for Dominican excellence, for her work as a Dominican woman in Puerto Rico. She was also selected to participate in the Global Ambassadors women leader program 2019, initiative of Vital Voices and Bank of America. Her effort is guided by the firm commitment to impact socially and economically disadvantaged humans, contributing to create an equitable society.