Judit
Arenas

Judit Arenas is a executive director and senior adviser to the founder and chairman of APCO. She is a seasoned public affairs and strategic communications professional with over 20 years of related experience.

Prior to joining APCO, she was the director of external relations for the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) where she led IDLO’s external positioning as the only intergovernmental organization focused exclusively on promoting the rule of law. She served concurrently as deputy permanent observer to the United Nations in New York. Her responsibilities included oversight for advocacy, government relations, public affairs and strategic communication efforts to contribute to building a culture of justice.

At the United Nations, Ms. Arenas was IDLO’s chief negotiator for 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development where she contributed to the adoption of Goal 16 on peace and justice. She is a member of the UN Global Compact’s B4ROL (Business for the Rule of Law) Steering Committee and regularly works with governments, civil society and the private sector to build strategic partnerships on good governance, rule of law, and development issues.

Ms. Arenas has over 20 years’ experience in strategic communications, branding, media and government relations and crisis and issue management. She has also designed positioning strategies for governments at the international, national and local level and worked with companies and private sector leaders to improve their global positioning and help them penetrate new markets. Ms. Arenas has designed and implemented high-profile campaigns on various issues, ensuring participation of opinion formers and celebrities and has experience of working closely with international press in all parts of the world. She has served as an adviser on several political campaigns and has developed positioning strategies for elected officials.

Her career in the non-profit sector includes roles as chief of staff to the Secretary General of Amnesty International, as Global Media Director for Amnesty and as deputy coordinator for the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. Ms. Arenas has extensive field experience and is a recognized speaker on governance, rule of law, transparency, gender and rule of law issues, including as a TedX speaker.

A dual British-Mexican national, she undertook post-graduate research at University College London, UK.

Ms. Arenas is a member of the advisory council of GenM, the youth organization that brings together Mexico’s top young political, business and social leaders. She is a founding member of Laurentia Project and sits on both their Mexico and U.S. boards. Until mid-2017 she served as a trustee of SciDev.Net, the world’s leading news non-profit organization on science and technology for global development