The Election Committee Recommends Re-election in SAIH

The Election Committee recommends the re-election of the President and Vice Presidents of SAIH for the 2026–2027 term. The committee points to experience, continuity, and the candidates’ overall competence.

Recommendation for President

The Election Committee recommends the re-election of Henriette Reierson Johnstone as president of SAIH for the period 1st of July 2026 to 30th of June 2027.

Henriette Reierson Johnstone is re-running as the current president of SAIH. During her engagement in SAIH Henriette has held several positions, serving in the Executive Committee for the past three years, first as Vice President and then President for the past year. Her experience in the Executive Committee has allowed her to gain a thorough understanding of the possibilities and responsibilities of the leadership position.

In the past year, Henriette has actively worked towards SAIH’s goals of decolonization and of strengthening protection mechanisms and we are confident that she created a solid foundation to build on that work in the coming period. Henriette shows good understanding of the changing environment for aid organisations, coming with the Norwegian aid reform (“Vendepunkt”), and her comprehension of SAIH’s position on human rights activism and shifting power to partners will prove to be a strong resource. Additionally, Henriette has had a strong presence in political arenas and successfully represented SAIH in the public debate, both nationally and internationally.

The Election Committee believes that Henriette's vision for SAIH, alongside her experience and skills will make her a great representative for our organization in the coming period.

Recommendation for vice-presidents

The Election Committee recommends the re-election of Nicole Becerra Vivanco and Thais Alfaro Sandoval as vice-presidents of SAIH for the period 1st of July 2026 to 30th of June 2027.

Nicole Becerra Vivanco has had a long-standing engagement in SAIH, first joining the local chapter at Blindern in 2013. Throughout the years she has gained a deep and diverse knowledge of SAIH, having held several different positions. For the past year she has served as vice president of SAIH and is now re-running for that position.

As one of her responsibilities the past year, Nicole has been part of the decolonization working group. She shows strong motivation for continuing this work and following up on concrete plans, such as updating SAIH´s decolonization tool-kit. We believe she will bring important continuity to a newly established working group. In addition Nicole shows clear ideas for how to strengthen the local chapters and connect the different parts of the organization, in order to deliver on SAIH´s strategy.

As a person Nicole is calm, structured, and able to prioritise, important qualities for a team where the workload is often big and the workdays hectic. With her background in political science she brings knowledge of the political landscape, something she has been able to develop in the role as vice president and shows eagerness to work even more on in the coming period. Nicole wants to use everything she has learned in the past year to be even more strategic and effective. The Election Committee is confident that Nicole will continue to be a great vice president for SAIH, bringing both continuity and new ideas.

Thais Alfaro Sandoval is currently holding the position as vice president of SAIH and is re-running for the position. Before joining SAIH Ås in 2024, Thais worked as a human rights defender in her home country Nicaragua and arrived in Norway through the Students at Risk programme. She also has extensive experience with organizational leadership and political advocacy.

During the past year Thais has played an important role in developing and strengthening SAIHs protection work, contributing both internally as well as externally by playing an active role in public debates. She shows strong motivation and commitment to continuing this in the coming period. Thais brings both knowledge and lived experience into this work, and the Election Committee believes she has more to contribute to this important aspect of SAIH´s strategy.

Building on her previous experience with political advocacy, Thais has also shown the ability to adapt to a new and different context. Throughout the past year she has developed a good understanding of the Norwegian civil society and political landscape, and shows eagerness to further apply this to her connections with member organizations and other stakeholders in Norway, while also strengthening SAIH´s connections internationally.

Thais has shown a big work capacity, engagement and commitment to the role, and the Election Committee is confident that she will continue to serve SAIH well in the coming period.

The overall assessment for the Executive Committee 2026/2027

This year‘s election period presents a row of strong candidates for the Executive Committee. There are a total of one candidate running for president and five for vice-president. All the candidates display different and valuable inputs which can serve the organisation in positive ways.

In the process of recommendation, the Election Committee considered personal qualities, professional skills, understanding of SAIH’s topics and the ability to deliver on the strategy.

The Executive Committee works closely as a team and we believe that the recommended candidates complement each other, in their personal qualities and their vision for the upcoming period. This Executive Committee has already shown the ability to collaborate effectively, and the Election Committee believes that building on that experience, continuity and these candidates´ unique qualities is what will serve SAIH in the best way in the coming period.

The Election Committee’s work

The Election Committee started its work in the early fall of 2025. It participated in SAIH‘s fall and winter gathering and presented to the National Council in October as well as at the joint Board and National Council seminar in February, it has also offered to present at local chapter meetings and have been done so for those who have requested it. The Election Committee has had conversations with local chapter activists, member organizations, SAIHs Director and the current President.

The Election Committee’s recommendation for the Executive Committee is the result of a thorough assessment of the candidates’ skills and characteristics, the composition of candidates and how they will be able to cooperate, as well as the organisation’s needs. All candidates for the Executive Committee have been interviewed by the Election Committee.

Only two of the Election Committee members have participated in the interview and evaluation of the candidate for President, due to issues of impartiality.

The Election Committee’s members

The Election Committee was elected at the annual meeting in 2025. The Election Committee consists of Camille Afonso, Emil Svihus and Selma Bratberg.