Patricia, a dual national (Colombian and British), defines herself as a pacifist, humanist and environmentalist. She is one of the founding members of ILA. She is a retired Associate Professor of specialist language, Translation and Interpreting (Swansea University, Wales, UK). She has the following qualifications: BEd (Pedagogic University, Bogotá); Dipl. Translation & Simultaneous Interpreting (Rosario University, Bogotá); Dipl. Applied Linguistics (Reading University, UK); MLitt. in Latin American Studies (Bristol University); PhD in Afro-Latin American Poetry (Swansea University); Chartered Linguist (CIoL). Her research interests are Afro-Latin American poetry, Interpreting and E-learning.

Her community activity is reflected in her role as Director of Heritage & Communication of ILA-WALES CIC organisation, through which she leads Wellbeing and Ibero-Latin American Heritage Dance Projects (together with Ruth Davies), as well as activities such as poetry and guitar recitals, art, photography, IT and music workshops.

Patricia is a proud mother of two grown-up talented children (Emma and Nick) and of two amazing grandchildren (Eva and Jope). She loves reading, writing short stories and poetry, travelling, swimming and photography.

Originally from China, Tim joined ILA WALES in March 2020 and brings his expertise as a Lecturer in Finance. With a PhD in Banking and Finance, Tim contributes to the organisation by ensuring sound financial management and strategic growth. His collaborative approach and dedication help support ILA WALES in its mission. Tim’s passion for fostering inclusion and his keen financial insights make him a valued member of the team, working closely to empower the community.

I am a qualified and experienced accountant. My role is to keep the accounts of the Wellbeing Project, Heritage Dance Project and ILA-WALES CIC contribution to the HarMINDise Youth Project. Moreover, I will keep accounts of any other projects that we organise in the future. I also volunteer at some of the events organised by ILA-WALES CIC and attend some meetings representing our organisation.

Definitely I consider myself a humanist. All my vocation, background and education revolve around the human being and its multitude of possibilities. I am a qualified and experienced counsellor.

I bring a healthy optimism, which is another drive for me, because what motivates me most is the belief that we can always do better and be better despite our flaws, negative experiences and our past.

Finally, all of the values above are being reflected in my work for the charitable sector and especially for my fellow refugees through ILA-WALES CIC.
I am a grateful person who stands for sharing opportunities with others and our organisation is a springboard for anyone willing to integrate into UK society and to thrive doing so.

I am a communications specialist with over 17 years of experience in Corporate Communications, Organisational Culture, Digital Marketing, and Social Media Development projects, focused on reducing violence in high-risk communities. Currently advising ILA-Wales CIC on visual website development.

As Webmaster and Marketing Advisor, my main role is to manage and optimise the organisation’s website to ensure its accessibility, functionality, and appeal. I focus on improving the user experience by ensuring that the site is easy to navigate and well-structured. Although online donations are not yet available, I am working on their future implementation.My goal is to support the organisation’s growth and impact through the use of digital tools while continuing to develop our fundraising capabilities

Hi, my name is Ruth, and I was a founding member of ILA Association when it was first formed. Now it is ILA-WALES CIC, a not-for-profit Community Interest Company, and we have been very busy.

I come from Swansea, and I have returned to live here after 15 years abroad in: Denmark, Angola and Japan. Now I live here and run my own Acupuncture Clinic. I enjoy Latin and folk dancing and have been helping to facilitate the Heritage Dance Project with Patricia. I also provide group Auricular Acupuncture sessions for members as part of the ‘Wellbeing Project.’
In my spare time, I do swimming, Yoga and bodyboarding in summer.

I worked for 15 years on sustainability for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), focusing primarily on global climate change and biodiversity issues affecting birds and other wildlife in Wales. I chaired the Swansea Council Natural Environment Panel for 5 years and undertook a 9-month Inquiry into the Council’s environmental management, leading to improvements and supporting additional staff. I have a degree from the University of Southampton in Politics and International Studies and worked for many years in senior management and administrative positions at Reading and Leicester Universities.

My personal focus is with restoring the world for Nature, i.e., biodiversity, which currently is crashing. Living sustainably is the way forward. Currently, I am engaged with creating a community garden and several ILA-WALES members are involved providing practical help. I have also led the ILA-WALES engagement with the Environment Centre’s Big Climate Leap (BCL) Project, which provides training on carbon footprint, climate and food etc.

I am a British self-employed translator and interpreter with Latin American and Spanish ancestry, and one of the founding members of ILA. I have a BA Single Honours in Hispanic Studies, as well as an MA in Translation with Language Technology, both from Swansea University. I also have a Certificate in Simultaneous Interpreting from Valencia University, and I have recently acquired full membership of the Institute of Translators and Interpreters.

I am primarily responsible for dealing with membership to ILA-WALES CIC. I regularly check our membership registration form to see if any new members have signed up, and if so, I add them to our Membership List and send them new membership cards. I also have to verify whether the members are eligible to join for free or must pay a fee, as we have a roughly 50/50 split between both groups. I very much enjoy my role in ILA-WALES CIC and hope for it to continue to grow and flourish.

I also support ILA-WALES CIC endeavours to raise funds and find sponsors, as well as volunteering in events/projects and interpreting to enable communication for members who are not proficient in English yet.

I love travelling, reading and watching rugby.

Malcolm’s career was in local government housing, followed by consultancy work, including assignments with the United Nations, He now enjoys travelling and making films, much of it in or about Latin America. He is a volunteer with Llanelli Multicultural Network and a correspondent with the Latin American Bureau.

Malcolm has produced films for the UN, the El Sueño Existe Festivals, Race Council Cymru, NGOs working in Africa, and a Connecting to Nature project in Llanelli. One of these films, made in Ghana, won a best documentary award at a film festival in 2013. He has self-produced documentary films on a variety of subjects, including Japanese migration to Brazil, and a community in Santiago de Chile, and his films can be viewed at www.youtube.co.uk/MalFromWales where they have received around 200,000 views.