What Led Ortega to Expel Hundreds of Political Opponents?
A Latin America Advisor Q&A featuring experts’ views on Nicaragua’s recent decision to expel hundreds of political opponents to the United States.
Deborah Ullmer is the regional director for the Latin America and the Caribbean Programs at the National Democratic Institute (NDI). She has more than 20 years of experience managing a range of democracy assistance and human rights programs. Most recently, she served as Freedom House’s director for Latin America and the Caribbean programs and as the chief of party for a USAID Office of the Transition Initiative’s program in Nicaragua. Ullmer served at the NDI from 1996 through 2018, where she focused primarily on the Latin America portfolio, with a brief foray as deputy director for Southern and East Africa programs from 2010 to 2014.
Through her positions in Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras and Nicaragua, Ullmer has spent approximately twelve years working and living in Latin America. She served as senior country director for NDI in Honduras for a portfolio of projects ranging from citizen security, public integrity and transparency, human rights, election monitoring and political reform advocacy from 2014 to 2018. She also served as country director for NDI in Nicaragua for a political parties and elections strengthening program from 2004 to 2010. Additionally, she provided assistance to national election monitoring groups in Guatemala and Guyana, where she served as resident representative in 2003 and from 1996 to 1998, respectively. Ms. Ullmer also organized joint international observation missions between NDI and the Carter Center for presidential elections in the Palestinian Authority in 2005 and the Dominican Republic in 2000.
Earlier, she helped establish NDI’s Latin American regional political leadership training program. In addition, she gained US domestic and international fundraising experience as NDI’s development director. Before joining the Institute, Ullmer spent three years as a legislative assistant with the office of Ohio Congressman David Hobson. She earned a BA in Political Science and Modern Languages from Seton Hall University, and took graduate courses in Latin American Studies at the American University’s School of International Service. She is pursuing an Executive Master’s degree in International Peace and Conflict Resolution at the American University’s School of International Service.
Ullmer was an event speaker at the Dialogue.
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