Access Now is excited to announce that, after more than 15 years of operations, the organization is transitioning to a new co-leadership model to strengthen internal resilience and to ensure the organization remains a reliable and trusted partner in the fight for digital rights. As of January 2026, Arzu Geybulla has joined Access Now as Co-Executive Director, partnering with Alejandro Mayoral Baños to co-lead Access Now through the evolving human rights landscape of the next year and beyond.
I am delighted to take on this new role of Co-Executive Director at Access Now. Communities on the frontlines of defending rights, and fighting for accountability and transparency — online and off — are facing sustained and escalating attacks, as powerful global actors retreat from the responsibility they once claimed, withdrawing political will, resources, and influence that could have challenged those driving this harmful and volatile environment. In this context, organizations like Access Now must be clear about where we stand: as strong, principled partners that do not sidestep pressure, but instead use our position to support, protect, and amplify the communities most impacted. I step into this role with a strong sense of responsibility and resolve, and I look forward to working closely with this exceptional team of advocates and experts to meet this moment with clarity, courage, and accountability.Arzu Geybulla, Co-Executive Director at Access Now
An Azerbaijani journalist and human rights advocate, and long-serving member of the Access Now Board, Arzu Geybulla brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role of Co-Executive Director. Throughout her career, she has focused on amplifying underrepresented stories through her work as a journalist, advocate, and researcher — including writing for Al Jazeera and CNN International, serving as Regional Editor for the South Caucasus and Turkey at Global Voices, conducting research at Human Rights Watch, founding Azerbaijan Internet Watch, and co-founding an exiled advocacy group, Free Voices Collective. As Co-Executive Director, Arzu leads on organizational impact, drawing on her deep and varied background to strengthen Access Now’s programmatic work.
I am thrilled to have Arzu Geybulla taking the leadership reins beside me at Access Now. More than ever, organizations like ours need to be bold and brave in how we respond to an ever more challenging human rights sector — I am proud that Access Now is fortifying itself for the complexity of the terrain we navigate and doing everything in our power to ensure sustainability and success for us as an organization.”Alejandro Mayoral Baños, Co-Executive Director at Access Now
Like many NGOs across sectors and geographies, Access Now has faced ongoing threats to how it operates — ranging from narrowing funding pools to rising authoritarianism and increasing human rights abuses. Access Now’s Board made the decision to transition into a co-leadership model to bolster the organization’s leadership capacity, better balance strategic and organizational workloads, and further the team’s programmatic and fundraising efforts, with the full support of senior management.