Lisel Alamilla is a conservationist and politician from

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

. In 2012, Alamilla was appointed as a senator and member of the Belize Cabinet as Minister of Forestry, Fisheries & Sustainable Development. She served until 2015. Alamilla won the 2012 Whitley Award for Inspirational Conservational Leadership.

Early life and education

Lisel Alamilla was born on September 5, 1967, her parents are Maclovio Alamilla and Rose Magda Alamilla. She has four siblings Luis, Giovanni, Tania and Eder++. She was born

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, w ...

. As a child she lived in Belize City and

Benque Viejo del Carmen Benque Viejo del Carmen ("Benque") is the westernmost town in Belize, by road west and south of Belize City, at the Guatemalan border. San Ignacio, Belize, San Ignacio lies 13 km to the east and Melchor de Mencos just across the border. The ...

. Alamilla earned a master's degree in Conservation Social Science from the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...

College of Natural Resources in 1995. She earned her bachelor's degree in 1993 from

Northeastern Illinois University Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is a public university in Chicago, Illinois. NEIU serves approximately 9,000 students in the region and is a Hispanic-serving institution. The main campus is located in the community area of North Park wi ...

. She is a graduate from Saint John's Junior College and Saint Catherine's Academy, an all girls high school. Lisel Alamilla was the executive director of the Ya’axché Conservation Trust from 2008 until 2012, where she worked to protect the Mayan Golden Landscape in southern Belize. Prior to her job at Ya’axché, Alamilla worked at

Fauna and Flora International Fauna & Flora International (FFI) is an international conservation charity and non-governmental organization dedicated to protecting the planet's threatened wildlife and habitats. Founded in 1903, it is the world's oldest international conserv ...

as Country Director for Belize. In 2012, Alamilla won the Whitley Award for Inspirational Conservational Leadership from the Whitney Fund for Nature.

Political career

In 2012, Alamilla was appointed as a senator and member of the Belize Cabinet as Minister of Forestry, Fisheries & Sustainable Development by Prime Minister,

Dean Barrow Dean Oliver Barrow, SC PC (born March 2, 1951) is a politician from Belize who served as prime minister of Belize from 2008 until 2020 and as leader of Belize's United Democratic Party. An attorney by profession, Barrow served as Belize's ...

. With new appointments by Barrow in November 2015, Alamilla is no longer a senator or Belize Cabinet Minister. In November 2015 Alamilla was appointed to establish and Chair the Toledo Maya Land Rights Commission which is tasked to implement in consultation with the Maya people or their representative the Consent Order, which aims to develop the legislative, administrative and governance framework to recognize Maya customary land tenure is the Toledo District, Belize.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alamilla, Lisel 1967 births Living people People from Belize City United Democratic Party (Belize) politicians Government ministers of Belize Members of the Senate (Belize) Women government ministers of Belize 21st-century Belizean women politicians Belizean conservationists University of Idaho alumni Northeastern Illinois University alumni People from Benque Viejo del Carmen