Catarina de Albuquerque joined Sanitation and Water for All in 2014. Her priorities as CEO include providing strategic leadership to the partnership, as well as being an influential and powerful advocate for SWA and managing the secretariat. Before joining SWA, de Albuquerque was the first United Nations special rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation. She was awarded the human rights golden medal by the Portuguese Parliament for outstanding work in the area of human rights.