Dr. Cecilia Cardesa joined ConTextos as Global CEO in February 2025. She brings decades of experience in trauma-informed leadership, community-centered strategy, and storytelling as a catalyst for healing and connection. For over twenty years, her work has spanned education, mental health, and organizational development, grounded in practices that build resilience and deepen relationships across diverse communities.

Before joining ConTextos, Cecilia served as the founding Director of Trauma-Informed and Resilience Programs at Esperanza, where she led initiatives supporting K–14 educators and students. Prior to that, she worked with the Center for Victims of Torture, advancing trauma-informed care across systems and contributing to global healing practices. Her leadership journey includes executive director roles at Women’s Campaign International, Military Assistance Project, Voices Without Borders, and Dress for Success Philadelphia. At Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, she led the development of a national Latine community engagement strategy.

In 2016, she founded TraumaVenture, a consulting practice focused on shifting mental health and trauma narratives through people-centered, hope-rooted programming. Her work bridges global and local efforts—from accompanying women religious in sub-Saharan Africa with the African Sisters Education Collaborative (ASEC) to advising U.S.-based social impact organizations. A through-line of collaboration, care, and compassion guides her leadership sensibilities and approaches.

Cecilia began her professional journey in 1997 at Global Refuge (formerly Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service). Her international advocacy includes serving as a delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 2007 and 2013) and leading global CSW parallel events workshops on mental health and sustainability (2021 and 2022). Her work has been recognized with several honors, including the 2016 Vera Institute Momentum Award for her work with entrepreneurs in El Salvador through the Business Council for Peace (BPeace) and the 2019 Mandela Washington Fellowship Reciprocal Exchange in Malawi (Mental Health). She has served on numerous boards, including as Board Chair of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. 

Born a possibilitarian and passionate about co-creating spaces where lived experience shapes collective transformation, Cecilia began her academic journey in community college. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Villanova University. She holds a Master of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies from West Chester University of Pennsylvania, and both a Master’s and Doctorate (PennGSE) from the University of Pennsylvania. An applied research practitioner, Dr. Cardesa’s academic scholarship has explored storytelling (Master’s thesis, 2011) as a means of connection and meaning-making, with a special focus on the role of work as a healing agent (Doctoral Dissertation, 2014). While at Penn, Cecilia also served as planning committee member for the student-run 2013 Wharton Social Impact Conference.