Denise Dourado Dora is a lawyer and human rights defender. She is currently Regional Director of Article 19, an international organization that defends freedom of expression and information. She holds a Master's degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex, UK, and a MA in History, Politics and Cultural Goods from Fundação Getulio Vargas, Brazil. She is a co-founder of THEMIS - Gender, Justice and Human Rights, an organization with 30 years of community justice programs focused on women's rights and legal empowerment in Brazil. Denise held the position of Ombudsperson for the Public Defender's Office of Rio Grande do Sul (2015 - 2017), and serves on the boards of the Ibirapitanga Institute, Conectas Human Rights and NAMATI.