WASHINGTON, DC — February 4, 2026: In a transformative restructure, the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) announced a new Board Chair and five new members from Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local communities to its Board of Directors, strengthening representation, diversity, and leadership across its governance.
For the first time since its creation, RRI’s Board of Directors will be chaired by a local community leader from Mexico, and includes an Afro-descendant woman and an Indigenous youth leader as members. Additionally, it includes two Indigenous leaders from North America, one from a tribal nation in the U.S. and the other from a First Nation in Canada, to bridge the existing divide between Indigenous movements across the Global North and South.
Recognized as the world’s largest solidarity network dedicated to the rights and development of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities, RRI collaborates with over 200 partners across the world to promote their collective rights, livelihoods, gender justice, youth leadership, and climate resilience.
RRI’s Board of Directors unanimously selected its new Chair, Gustavo Sánchez Valle, a local community leader who leads the RED MOCAF Network, a Mexican Network of Forest Peoples’ Organizations that has contributed greatly to the country’s rural development. He is also the Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB) and a member of the Coordination of the Global Forum of Local Communities on Climate Change, which was launched at COP30 in Brazil in 2025.
Among new members, the Board appointed Dr. Barbara Reynolds, an Afro-descendant woman and former Chair of the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent; Cindy Yohana, a youth leader from the Wairasa Indigenous community in Indonesia, and member of the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (AMAN) youth branch Barisan Pemuda Adat Nusantara; Jason Rasevych, a member of the Ginoogaming First Nation in Canada and President of the Anishnawbe Business Professional Association; Beverly Litdog Longid, an Indigenous Igorot from the Bontok-Kankanaey People in the Philippines; and Kyle Whyte, an Indigenous philosopher and environmental justice scholar from the Potawatomi Tribal Nation in the United States.
Gustavo Sánchez Valle has been involved in the RED MOCAF Network for almost 30 years and in RRI’s coalition for over a decade. Throughout his career, he has promoted the agenda of Indigenous and community rights, economic initiatives, and cultural identity in Mexico and around the world. He has also participated in the collective process of developing the proposal for the Criteria for Identification and Self-Identification of Local Communities in collaboration with various organizations.
Gustavo Sánchez Valle said on his appointment as Board chair, “I am proud to embark on this journey with the perspective of organizations from the Global South representing local communities, Indigenous Peoples, and Afro-descendant Peoples from around the world. I am greatly inspired by the work of my predecessor, Dr. Peggy Smith, from whom I have learned so much. I will honor her legacy by putting all my effort and commitment into this moment of great global change and challenge. I am excited to carry out this mission by supporting organizations that are on the front lines, defending their lands, their territories, and the ecosystems of this planet.”
Dr. Peggy Smith, RRI’s outgoing Board Chair and an Indigenous scholar of Cree ancestry from Canada’s James Bay Treaty #9 area, said, “Gustavo’s appointment as Board Chair is a significant moment of influence and coalition-building for RRI. It represents the first time a local community leader will govern its decision-making, I am proud to have served our global coalition in pursuing its mission, and thrilled to see it continue its commitment to being led and governed by the communities it serves. I am especially excited that RRI is starting a new initiative to advance North-South collaboration and learning among Indigenous rights movements across the world.”
Dr. Barbara Reynolds, an Afro-descendant leader from Guyana, joins the RRI Board with over 30 years of experience in education, child protection, and human rights. Previously, she was the chief of education at Save the Children UK and a senior advisor for UNICEF. Currently, she is the vice president for administration, advancement and planning at the University of the Southern Caribbean and former chair of the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent. This is the first time that an Afro-descendant leader has been appointed as a member of the RRI Board.
Cindy Yohana is the first ever youth leader to serve on the RRI Board. From the Wairasa Indigenous community on Sumba Island, Indonesia, Cindy has six years of experience in governance, leadership, and advocacy. She currently serves as a leader for Indigenous Youth of the Archipelago, where she supports organizing and network expansion. She is also the Indigenous Education Facilitator at AMAN.
Jason Rasevych is from Canada’s Ginoogaming First Nation, a Treaty #9 signatory in Northwestern Ontario. He joins RRI’s Board with over 20 years of global experience in leading Indigenous community development and corporate Indigenous relations strategies. In 2019, he co-founded the Anishnawbe Business Professional Association to advocate for the inclusion of Indigenous businesses in Canada’s economy. He currently serves as the Board Director of Waawoono Consultancy.
Beverly “Sakongan” Litdog Longid is an Indigenous Peoples’ rights advocate from the Igorot Bontok–Kankanaey community in the Philippines. She joins the Board with over 20 years of experience in Indigenous Peoples’ organizing, advocacy, and leadership at local, national, regional, and global levels. Previously, she served as the global coordinator of the International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation. She is currently the international solidarity officer of Katribu, and the chair of the executive council member of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact(AIPP).
Kyle Whyte is a Citizen of the Potawatomi Nation, a researcher of environmental justice for Indigenous Peoples, and a professor at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability. Kyle co-founded the Pathways Alliance for Change + Transformation (PACT), a strategic alliance of research organizations and academic allies that strengthens Indigenous-led solutions and self-determination. He served as a U.S. Science Envoy for the Biden Administration from 2023 to 2024, and on the Department of the Interior’s Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science from 2014 to 2017.
In their new roles, these Board members will help guide RRI’s strategic direction as the coalition continues to advance the land and resource rights of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and Afro-descendant Peoples across the globe.
Dr. Solange Bandiaky-Badji, RRI President and Coordinator said: “We are proud of the contributions made by our Board Chair and members in the last two decades, and excited by the progress made with the addition of new representation from Indigenous, local, and Afro-descendant communities as well as women and youth. This representation comes at a critical time. Now more than ever, we must elevate these communities’ voices in their fight for collective land rights and the preservation of their sacred traditions and natural resources. It is time for us to also strengthen the relationship between Indigenous Peoples from the Global North and South, so we can work together to ensure that global policymakers and governments start seeing them as leaders, not bystanders, in global development and climate action.”
On behalf of the coalition, Dr. Bandiaky-Badji also extended her gratitude to outgoing Board Chair, Peggy Smith, whose leadership helped strengthen the coalition, expand its global reach, and advance key wins for rightsholders across the world.