HomeThe OrganizationThe Team
THE ORGANIZATION

The Team

LATEST UPDATE 2021 EN

Co-Director - Steven Dudley is the co-founder and co-director of InSight Crime and a senior research fellow at American University’s Center for Latin American and Latino Studies in Washington, DC. In 2020, Dudley published his second book, MS-13: The Making of America’s Most Notorious Gang (HarperCollins), which in 2019 won the Lukas Prize for work-in-progress. Dudley is the former bureau chief of the Miami Herald in the Andean Region and the author of Walking Ghosts: Murder and Guerrilla Politics in Colombia (Routledge 2004). Dudley has also reported from Haiti, Brazil, Nicaragua, Cuba and Miami for National Public Radio and the Washington Post, among others. He holds a BA in Latin American History from Cornell University and an MA in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. He was a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and is a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Twitter: @stevensdudley - [email protected]

Co- Director - Jeremy McDermott is co-founder and co-director of InSight Crime. McDermott has more than two decades of experience reporting from around Latin America. He is a former British Army officer, who saw active service in Northern Ireland and Bosnia. Upon retiring from the military he became a war correspondent, covering the Balkans, based in Bosnia, then the Middle East from Beirut, before being sent to Colombia to cover the conflict. He has traveled extensively throughout Latin America. Before setting up InSight Crime he worked for many of Britain’s most prestigious media outlets, including the BBC, the Daily Telegraph and The Economist. He specializes in drug trafficking, organized crime and the Colombian civil conflict. He has an MA from the University of Edinburgh.
Twitter: @jerrymcdermott - [email protected]

Chief Operating Officer - María Elena Ortegón has a degree in Business Administration (2006) and Public Accounting (2008), as well as a specialization in Business Law from the Universidad Externado de Colombia (2009). She worked as a manager in the hotel and real estate sector for seven years. She has worked for InSight Crime since March 2014.
Twitter: @nariaortegon - [email protected]

Deputy Director of Content – Mike LaSusa is a journalist with more than a decade of experience covering security and law throughout the Americas. He earned a masters degree in international affairs from American University and a bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Miami. He first joined InSight Crime in 2014 and rejoined the organization in July 2022, overseeing content production across all projects and formats.
Twitter: @mikelasusa – 

Managing Editor – Chris Dalby has a degree in American Studies and Film and Television Studies from the University in Wales, Aberystwyth. He was formerly Latin American editor for the Xinhua News Agency and a reporter on international relations based in Mexico City, Beijing and Kuala Lumpur. He joined InSight Crime in August 2018, where he manages both daily reporting and long-term investigations.
Twitter: @ChrisdalbyIC – [email protected]

Project Manager - Juan Diego Posada has a degree in Political Science from the Universidad Nacional in Colombia and a degree in Journalism from the Universidad de Antioquia. He has worked as a freelance journalist, as well as for newspapers like El Colombiano and Blu Radio. He has worked for InSight Crime since March 2018.
[email protected]

English Editor - Liza Schmidt is a journalist with a dual master’s degree in Global Journalism and Latin American and Caribbean Studies from New York University (NYU) and a bachelor’s in Human Development from Brown University. She previously worked as an editor for NACLA and writer for Latin America News Dispatch. She joined InSight Crime in May 2023.Twitter: @lizamayschmidt

Project Manager - Luisa Maria Acosta Forero obtained a degree in Economics in 2016 from the Universidad Externado de Colombia, where she is studying for a master’s degree in Government and Public Policy. She has worked for InSight Crime since June 2015.
[email protected]

Project Manager - Parker Asmann graduated from DePaul University in Chicago with degrees in Journalism and Spanish, and a minor in Latin American studies. He was a freelance reporter for various publications before joining InSight Crime in 2017.
Twitter: @PJAsmann - [email protected]

Project Manager - Victoria Dittmar graduated with a degree in International Relations and Development from the University of Sussex. She then completed a Master's degree in Sociology at the University of Oxford. She has worked with InSight Crime since 2016.
Twitter: @antjevictoria - [email protected]

Investigator - Douwe Den Held studied at Utrecht University where he obtained a BSc degree in Psychology and a BA degree in Liberal Arts of Sciences, focusing on intra-state conflicts. He conducted fieldwork in Medellín on the interaction between state and non-state actors, both legal and illegal, for his MA in Conflict Studies and Human Rights. He joined InSight Crime in 2019.
Twitter: @Douwedenheld - [email protected]

Investigator - Juan Diego Cárdenas has a degree in International Relations and an emphasis in Security, Peace and Conflicts from the Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá. He worked at the same university as a tutor for International Institutions, Global Governance, Latin American Studies and IR Introduction lectures. He joined InSight Crime in July 2018. [email protected]

Investigator - Alex Papadovassilakis graduated from Cardiff University with a degree in European Union Studies. He then completed a Master’s degree in Development Studies at the Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies in Geneva. He has previously worked as a report writer for the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform and Geneva Centre for Security Policy, and joined InSight Crime in 2019.
Twitter: @AlexPapadov - [email protected]

Investigator - Alicia Flórez is finishing her degree in economics with an emphasis in quantitative economics from EAFIT University in Colombia. She also studied one semester at Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium. She was an intern for InSight Crime in 2018 and was hired full-time in 2019.

Investigator - Sara García is a historian with a Master’s degree in Peacebuilding from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia). She joined InSight Crime in 2020.

Investigator – Henry Shuldiner graduated from Hamilton College with a degree in Literature and completed his master’s degree in International Relations at Syracuse University. He was previously a recipient of U.S. Fulbright fellowship in Colombia and has worked at several Latin America-focused policy and human rights organizations. He joined InSight Crime in January 2022.
Twitter: @HenryShuldiner – 

Investigator – Juan Camilo Jaramillo Political scientist graduated from the Javeriana University in Colombia, with an emphasis in Conflict Resolution and Peace Research. He studied a master’s degree in international security at the Barcelona Institute of International Studies (IBEI) and has experience working in security and defense, armed conflicts, and organized crime in Latin America. He joined InSight Crime in early 2018.

Design - Elisa Roldán holds a degree in graphic design, advertising and communications from the University of Medellín (2012). She has worked in advertising graphic design, editorial design and textile design for the last five years. She joined the InSight Crime team in December 2016. [email protected]

Design - Ana Isabel Rico graduated from EAFIT University in Medellín, Colombia, where she obtained a degree in product design engineering. She has worked for InSight Crime since August 2017.
[email protected]

Translator - Diego García has a degree in English and Spanish Education and an MA in Colombian Literature from the Universidad de Antioquia. He has an ABD degree in Romance Languages and Literature from University of Cincinnati, Ohio. García has been an independent editor and translator for several years and has worked for InSight Crime since 2015. [email protected]

Social Media - Alejandra Rodríguez is a Communication Specialist from the Universidad EAFIT in Medellín, Colombia. She joined InSight Crime in 2019.
Twitter @AlejaRV

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