grantees » Sandra Milena Hernández Garrido

This grantee is still in the process of their leadership development with the JWH initiative. This profile will be completed once the grantee has finalised their activities.

As a self-motivated Columbian woman, Sandra contributes her talents to the AMICHOCÓ organisation as the Commercial & Branding Manager. AMICHOCÓ is an environmental NGO devoted to the protection of the Colombian Chocó Bio-region and dedicated to fostering three focus areas: green and fair markets, environmental education and capacity building of grassroots organisations. Sandra contributes to all three focus areas, especially through her work with Oro Verde, a sustainable mining program. She is responsible for connecting Oro Verde artisanal miners from Chocó with international markets and guaranteeing a traceable supply chain in order to fulfil Fairtrade and Fairmined Ecological Standards. She also raises international awareness for the local miners in the Chocó region, as well as the region’s significance as a biodiversity hotspot. The eagerness in her work is contagious and she has inspired countless grassroots organisations and influenced many individuals over the years to support AMICHOCÓ.  

Sandra aspires to achieve higher social responsibility performance at AMICHOCÓ. She believes that disruptive business models can generate not only economic dividends, but can also maximize impacts both socially and environmentally.  In the heart of London, she will use her JWH Initiative grant to pursue a Master’s in Social Entrepreneurship at Goldsmiths, University of London. She describes her experience thus far as being “intense and rewarding” and already sees progress in her ability to manage innovative approaches to societal problems. The program began with courses on entrepreneurial modelling and social entrepreneurship theory. These courses provided a foundation for additional courses on social enterprise policy in the UK and internationally and a practical course on calculating social return on investment. Sandra’s commitment to biodiversity conservation and social justice is already commendable, but she has even greater ambitions and believes the JWH Initiative will propel her towards a career which promotes entrepreneurship and innovation with a global perspective and local solutions.