We learned this morning that our newest Global Network board member Luis Gutiérrez-Esparza from Mexico City has unexpectedly passed away. This is sad and shocking news for us.
Luis had been on our email list for several years and came to our Sweden space conference last June. His humble and open personality quickly endeared him to many of us. We enjoyed his quick wit and were thrilled to have him agree to join our board of advisers - our first board member from Latin America.
Luis was a journalist and an academic and as soon as he got back to Mexico he wrote an article for a newspaper about our conference. Since our board members are spread around the world we mostly communicate via email and he was always one of the first to respond to any board matters.
I learned this tragic news from GN board convener Dave Webb in England. He wrote in part, "It's a great shock. I saw him not so long ago in Sarajevo and he seemed fine. We spent quite a bit of time together."
We become family very quickly in the activist world - our work, our meetings, and our lives are intense. When we make new friends we hold them close to our hearts. This loss will be hard to handle. Luis was a good man and was becoming a good friend to many of us.
We send our love and best wishes to his grieving family and friends in Mexico.
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