Laura Donis:
Co-founder & CEO
Graduated in Social Work from the Complutense University of Madrid, Master in International Cooperation and Management of Non-Profit Entities from the University of A Coruña and Expert in Migration Programs and Development Cooperation from the School of Cooperation Professionals of the Community of Madrid.
Expert in Family Intervention programs from the University of A Coruña and in Systemic Psychotherapy, participating in this line in several R&D Research Projects.
In the field of cultural management, Laura specializes in mediation programs cultural, inclusion and accessibility with more than 15 years of experience in the management of social inclusion projects in Spain and South America. Laura has worked with different consultancy firms and social entities, highlighting her work in International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation. At the Official College of Graduates in Social Work of Galicia and Hablarenarte, Platform International Cultural Projects, Laura coordinated educational and cultural mediation programs between 2012 and 2020.
Since 2013 Laura has directed the Empower Parents program, a network that provides learning tools and resources to parents of children with autism, receiving international awards from the American Alliance of Museums AAM-US, the Department of State and the European Center for Creative Economy .
In 2020, together with Nuria González and Ana Gómez, Laura established EMPOWER, an entity oriented to research, training and development of inclusive cultural programs and accesible services.
Nuria González:
Co-founder
Nuria obtained a degree in economics from the Complutense University of Madrid. Her first contact with autism came through volunteer work during her studies.
Later, the discovery that her first child had autism gave her the definitive drive to become an inclusion activist.
Nuria's first contact in the associative world comes from the hand of the TrasTEA Association that works with people with autism, and where she is a member of the board of directors.
Nuria joined the Empower Parents program in 2016, as a beneficiary family. She is enthusiastic about art, culture, and everything that a restless mind can discover. In 2020, Nuria founded EMPOWER together with Laura Donis and Ana Gómez, collaborating in transfer and training programs for professionals in cultural spaces.
Nuria currently works for a company that employs more than 650 professionals with autism.
Maria Braga:
Artistic Mediation
Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Arts University Bournemouth, United Kingdom and Master in Art Therapy and Art Education for Social Inclusion from the UAM, UCM and UVA. María's experience goes through collaboration with different social and cultural entities in Spain, Portugal and Chile.
Art for her is a tool for personal empowerment and social transformation, developing workshops with people with cognitive functional diversity and with disadvantaged communities in the Flor de Arte project of the Coanil Foundation and in Techo para Chile.
In Madrid, María has collaborated with different cultural programs and social entities, conducting artistic and digital art workshops; PAUTA association with adults with ASD; in the ARGADINI Cultural Assistants Project for adults with intellectual disabilities and in the Empower Parents program, where we work with families with sons and daughters with autism.
María is part of the EMPOWER education team, taking care of the program Empower Parents that we develop at the ICO Museum in Madrid.
Carmen Martos:
Artistic Mediation
Graduated in Art History from the Complutense University of Madrid and Master of Art Therapy and Art Education for Social Inclusion from the UAM, UCM and UVA.
Carmen has studied, for a year, the Degree in Intercultural Development and Management (Anthropology and Pedagogy) at UNAM Mexico. During this exchange stay, she participated in different cultural projects with independent organizations in Chiapas, Mexico.
Carmen understands culture and artistic creation as a means for transformation and social well-being. Along these lines, she has collaborated with different independent cultural spaces in Madrid, Mexico and Berlin.
Carmen is part of the EMPOWER education team, collaborating in the program Empower Parents that we develop at the ICO Museum in Madrid.