Keynote Speakers

Dra. Florencia Herrera

My name is Florencia Herrera. I am a sociologist from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and a Ph.D. in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Barcelona. I am an Associate Professor at the School of Sociology at Diego Portales University (Chile). My areas of interest are related to parenting -including its non-hegemonic forms, such as LGBT parenting, assisted reproduction, and adoption-and disability and qualitative methodologies. My experience as a researcher and a mother with visual disabilities has led me to investigate the parenting experiences of people with disabilities in Chile. I am the primary researcher in the FONDECYT Regular project No. 1210575, “Reproductive processes and parental experiences of people with disabilities in Chile” (2021-2024). I am the director of the Disability and Citizenship Millennium Nucleus (DISCA). This project studies the processes by which people with disabilities become citizens. I have also published children’s books on disability, democracy, and inclusion.

Alberto Vásquez Encalada

Alberto Vásquez Encalada is a lawyer and expert in human rights, disability, and mental health. He is co-director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Inclusive Policies (CIP) in Geneva. He has an MA in International and Comparative Disability Law and Policy from the National University of Ireland, Galway. He previously served as a Research Coordinator at the Office of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In addition, he has worked as a consultant for different United Nations agencies, including the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. In Peru, he has worked as Principal Advisor of the Commission for Social Inclusion and People with Disabilities of the Congress of the Republic, as well as a commissioner in the Program on the rights of people with disabilities of the Ombudsman’s Office. He is the President of Society and Disability – SODIS and a member of the board of directors of the Disability Rights Fund (DRF), the Bank Information Center (BIC), and the Latin American Network for Psychosocial Diversity.

Dra. Irmgard Tischner

Irmgard is a critical (health) psychologist and Professor of Qualitative Health and Social Research at Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Germany; she has been a member of ISCHP since her time as a Ph.D. student – which seems a very long time ago. Irmgard has a keen interest in health, gender, and social justice issues, such as the positioning and representation of women in contemporary societies and social inequalities in health in neoliberal societies, among other issues. Her research focuses on the productive nature of language and the dominant discourses on health, gender, and society, exploring discourses of body weight and responsibility for health. She is currently part of an international research project exploring gender interactions in online meetings. Irmgard predominantly uses discourse and reflexive thematic analysis to interpret her data. In her spare time, she can be found cycling (on a recumbent) or hiking in the Bavarian countryside.