26th Annual CAF Conference

Rebecca Bill Chavez

President & CEO, Inter-American Dialogue

President and CEO of the Inter-American Dialogue. She is a member of the Truman Center for National Policy Board of Directors, the Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LCWINS) Steering Committee, the Princeton University Institute for Regional and International Studies Advisory Board, and the Foreign Policy for America Advisory Board. Chavez served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Western Hemisphere Affairs from 2013 until 2016 where she prioritized Women, Peace, and Security initiatives, combatting the militarization of law enforcement, and expanding defense institution building programs

Pablo Bartol

Manager for Social and Human Development, CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-; Former Minister of Social Development, Uruguay

Pablo Bartol holds a degree in International Relations from the Universidad de la República (Uruguay) and a Master's Degree in Business Management from the Universidad de Montevideo (Uruguay) and a Master's Degree in Organizational Governance from the Universidad de Navarra (Spain). He has previously served as Minister of Social Development of Uruguay (March 2020 - May 2021), Social Policy Advisor to the National Party of Uruguay (February 2019 - February 2020), Professor of Business Policy at the Business School of the University of Montevideo (IEEM) (2009 - 2018), Visiting Professor for MBA courses at university institutes in Brazil, Mexico and Chile, and Advisor to social and educational organizations in Uruguay and Argentina. In 1997, he founded the Los Pinos Educational Center in Casavalle, and he served as director for the institution for 21 years.

Alicia Montalvo

Manager for Climate Action and Positive Biodiversity, CAF-Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-

É, desde setembro de 2020, Conselheira Chefe do Escritório Econômico e Comercial da Embaixada da Espanha na Colômbia, representando também a ICEX Espanha Exportação e Investimento. Anteriormente, desde setembro de 2017, é Diretora Executiva para a Espanha no Banco Interamericano de Desenvolvimento, com sede em Washington. É licenciada em Economia pela Universidade de Valência e Mestre em Administração Pública MPA2 pela Universidade de Harvard (1992) (Bolsa Fulbright).
Técnica Comercial e Economista do Estado do Governo de Espanha, desde 2014 exerce o cargo de Diretora Geral da ICEX Espanha Exportação e Investimento, do Ministério da Economia e Competitividade, com responsabilidade pelos serviços às empresas, programas de formação, cooperação institucional e transformação digital . Anteriormente, desde 2012, foi Diretora de Infraestruturas, Ambiente, Energia e TIC desta mesma entidade. De 2008 a 2012, foi Diretora Geral do Escritório Espanhol de Mudanças Climáticas do Ministério do Meio Ambiente espanhol, onde foi responsável, entre outros, pelo processo de negociação internacional sobre mudanças climáticas nas COPs da Convenção-Quadro das Nações Unidas e em os fóruns da União Europeia. Ele também foi membro do Comitê de Transição responsável pela criação do Fundo Verde. Anteriormente, desenvolveu sua carreira no Ministério de Economia e Finanças da Espanha, sendo Diretora Geral Adjunta de Economia Internacional e, como tal, membro dos Comitês de Política Econômica da União Europeia e da OCDE por seis anos. Foi também Diretora de Política Comercial e Investimentos Estrangeiros, responsável pelo Fundo de Assistência ao Desenvolvimento e Diretora Geral Adjunta de Gestão da Dívida Externa e Avaliação de Projetos, lançando os primeiros programas de conversão de dívida em investimento. Foi professora associada na Universidade Carlos III de Madrid, no Departamento de Economia Aplicada, leccionando a disciplina de Economia dos Recursos Naturais (1993-2000).

Ana María Baiardi

Manager for Gender, Inclusion and Diversity, CAF-Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-

Ana María Baiardi Quesnel has several postgraduate degrees from the University of Perugia, Complutense University of Madrid, the Institute for Advanced Strategic Studies and Long Island University, and a diploma in Equality Agent in the framework of the Master's Degree in Interdisciplinary Intervention in Gender Violence and Equality Agent from the International University of Valencia, Spain. She was the minister of Women of Paraguay and vice president of the International Commission of Women of the OAS between 2013 and 2018. She has served as Ambassador of Paraguay in Peru and Italy as well as a representative to MERCOSUR and FAO. She has published various works on Gender Equality, Gender-based Domestic Violence, Violence against Women in the business environment, among others.

Manuel Orozco

Director, Migration and Remittances Program, Inter-American Dialogue

Manuel Orozco is the director of the Migration, Remittances, and Development Program at the Inter-American Dialogue. He also serves as a senior fellow at Harvard University’s Center for International Development and as a senior adviser with the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Orozco has conducted extensive research, policy analysis and advocacy on issues relating to global flows of remittances as well as migration and development worldwide. He is chair of Central America and the Caribbean at the US Foreign Service Institute and senior researcher at the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University.

Andrea Bernal

News Anchor and reporter, NTN24

Ecuadorian journalist holding more than 20 years of experience in broadcast journalism and a Master’s degree in Political Management from the George Washington University. Has also worked as a correspondent of the Ecuadorian network, Ecuavisa, in Washington, D.C. She also directs her own opinion show, “Zoom a la Noticia”.

Gabriela Frías

Business Anchor for CNN en Español

(Mexico) is a business anchor for CNN en Español, where she has worked since 2000. She is the host of En Efectivo, the network's personal finance show, and was previously assistant director of the Department of External Relations of the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico City.

Laura Chinchilla

Former President, Costa Rica; Co-Chair, Inter-American Dialogue

Political scientist and was the first woman to be elected president of Costa Rica (2010-2014). Previously, she served as minister of public security (1996-1998), congresswoman (2002-2006), minister of justice (2006-2008), and vice president (2006-2008). During her political career, Mrs. Chinchilla prompted police and justice reform measures to tackle crime and violence, digital and open government, the promotion of women's rights, and early childhood protection. She also promoted environmental sustainability policies, especially on preserving marine biodiversity, for which she was distinguished with international awards.

Sergio Díaz-Granados

Executive President, CAF -Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-

Sergio Díaz-Granados has extensive experience in public and private service, both nationally and internationally, with special emphasis on regional development and integration issues. Before assuming the presidency of CAF, he served as Executive Director for Colombia at the Inter-American Development Bank. He previously held the positions of Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia, Vice Minister of Business Development and President of the Boards of Directors of Bancóldex and ProColombia. He also has been a congressman and chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee of the Colombia’s House of Representatives.

Rebecca Bill Chavez

President & CEO, Inter-American Dialogue

President and CEO of the Inter-American Dialogue. She is a member of the Truman Center for National Policy Board of Directors, the Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LCWINS) Steering Committee, the Princeton University Institute for Regional and International Studies Advisory Board, and the Foreign Policy for America Advisory Board. Chavez served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Western Hemisphere Affairs from 2013 until 2016 where she prioritized Women, Peace, and Security initiatives, combatting the militarization of law enforcement, and expanding defense institution building programs

Thomas Shannon

Co-chair of the Inter-American Dialogue, former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs

(United States) spent over 30 years in the US Foreign Service, most recently as undersecretary of state for political affairs in the US Department of State. He also served as the US ambassador to Brazil. Currently he is a senior international policy advisor at Arnold & Porter, and co-chair of the Inter-American Dialogue Board of Directors.

Christian Asinelli

Corporate Vicepresident of Strategic Programming, CAF -Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-

Christian Asinelli is a political scientist from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA), has a Master's degree in Public Administration and Policy from the Universidad de San Andrés (UdeSA) and postgraduate degrees in Urban Economics (Universidad Torcuato Di Tella) and in Sociourbana Management (FLACSO). In 2019, he received his Ph.D in Political Science from the National University of San Martín (Argentina).

During the last sixteen years he has been appointed in different roles in the public sector and the international arena: Alternate National Director of the State Modernization Project at the Chief of Staff of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Nation (2005); Deputy of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (2007-2010); Undersecretary of Evaluation of Projects with External Financing of the Chief of Staff of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Nation (2011-2014); Corporate Director of Institutional Development of CAF (2014-2017); President of the Fundación Banco Ciudad (2019) and Undersecretary of International Financial Relations for Development, Secretariat of Strategic Affairs, Presidency of the Nation. He was a Fellow of the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Program (2010), the Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies-MIT (2011) and the Singularity University Executive Program (2017). He is the author of the books Buenos Aires: The city we have, the city we want (Buenos Aires, 2009); Modernization of the Argentine State: policies, management and professional scene (Buenos Aires, Edition, 2015) and Financing Development: The role of multilateral banking in Latin America (Buenos Aires, 2021).

Frank Mora

U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States

Sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States on December 30, 2022. Prior to his current position, he was Professor of Politics and International Relations and Senior Researcher at the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University (FIU). From 2013 to 2020, Ambassador Mora served as Director of the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center at FIU. Prior to arriving at FIU, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Western Hemisphere from 2009–2013. He has held several teaching positions, including Professor of National Security Strategy and Latin American Studies at the National War College, National Defense University (2004–2009), and Associate Professor and Chair in the Department of International Studies, Rhodes College (2000–2004).

Nina Hachigian

US Special Representative for City and State Diplomacy

First U.S. special representative for city and state diplomacy. In this role she seeks to bring benefits to, and learn from, local leaders in the United States, and connect them to counterparts around the world. Before rejoining the Department, Ambassador Hachigian served as the first Deputy Mayor for International Affairs for the City of Los Angeles. From 2014 to 2017, Ambassador Hachigian served as the second U.S. Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). She was awarded the State Department’s Superior Honor Award for her service. She is also a founder of WASA, Women Ambassadors Serving America and of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LC-WINS). Earlier, Hachigian was a senior fellow and a senior vice president at the Center for American Progress focused on Asia policy and U.S.-China relations. Prior to that, Hachigian was the director of the RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy for four years. Ambassador Hachigian served on the staff of the National Security Council in the Clinton White House from 1998-1999.

Felicia Knaul

Director of the Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, University of Miami

Felicia Marie Knaul, BA (International Development, University of Toronto), MA, Ph.D. (Economics, Harvard University), has dedicated more than three decades to academic, advocacy and policy work in global health focused on reducing inequities and improving the condition of vulnerable groups, primarily in low- and middle-income countries and especially in Latin America and the Caribbean. At the University of Miami, she is a Professor at the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Director of the Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, and a Full Member of the Cancer Control Program at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. From 2009 to 2015, Dr. Knaul was Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Harvard Global Equity Initiative, an inter-faculty program chaired by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen. Her research focuses on global health, cancer, and especially breast cancer, access to pain relief and palliative care, health systems, and reform, health financing, women and health, medical employment, poverty and inequity, female labor force participation, and at-risk children and youth. 

Beatriz Londoño

Former Minister of Health and Social Protection, Colombia

Beatriz Londoño Soto is a Colombian physician and administrative politician who previously served as the Ambassador of Colombia to Switzerland and as the 2nd Minister of Health and Social Protection of Colombia in the Administration of President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón. She had previously served as Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare under the administration of her predecessor from 2010 to 2011, and as Director of the Colombian Family Welfare Institute from 2002 to 2006

Brian Nichols

Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Brian A. Nichols became Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs on September 15, 2021. Assistant Secretary Nichols previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Zimbabwe from 2018 to 2021. In that role, he promoted democracy, rule of law and human rights in Zimbabwe while managing multi-dimensional humanitarian crises brought on by corruption, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, Assistant Secretary Nichols served as the U.S. Ambassador to Peru from 2014 to 2017. He pioneered strategies against illegal gold mining, illegal logging, wildlife trafficking, and environmental degradation. He supported American trade and investment in Peru, increasing agricultural sales to over $1 billion annually, defending the rights of American investors, and building the Hemisphere’s largest public-private partnership—the U.S.-Peru Cacao Alliance.

Genevieve Connors

Practice Manager for Environment, Natural Resources, and the Blue Economy in the LAC Region, World Bank

Director of Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy Practice in the LAC region of the World Bank, which she joined in early 2022. Her group is responsible for operational business lines in various sectors, including forestry, biodiversity, pollution, oceans and climate change, as well as environmental risk management for LAC within the Bank's environmental and social framework. Prior to this, Connors was practice manager for advisory and operations in the Climate Change Group, where she oversaw monitoring and reporting on climate mainstreaming and climate finance in Bank operations since 2017. From 2014 to 2017, she was program head for water and sustainability in the World Bank's India Country Office, and was based in New Delhi, where she worked on operations and analytical work in the World Bank's sustainability sectors, including water, environment, agriculture, rural development, disaster management, and climate change. From 2013 to 2015, Connors oversaw the implementation of the National Ganges River Basin Project, the $1 billion loan to the Government of India to support the cleanup of the Ganges River. She was also a member of the core team for the South Asia Water Initiative, which aimed to increase regional cooperation in the management of Himalayan river systems. She holds a B.A. from Columbia, an M.Phil. from Cambridge and a Ph.D. from MIT.

Hilen Meirovich

Climate Change Head, IDB Invest

Hilen is the Head of Climate Change at IDB Invest, based in Washington, D.C. She leads a specialize team of experts that seek to provide added value and innovation to IDB Invest transactions. To do so, Hilen has mobilized in technical assistance resources from climate funds and bilateral donors focusing on supporting private sector actions. Among some of the recent closed transactions are examples of agribusinesses where drone technology is used to deploy organic material for pest management, climate risks analysis of infrastructure projects as well as sustainable finance and green bond certification for banks. Hilen also chairs the Think Sustainable Network, a unique network of financiers, investors and insurance companies, investing in the LAC region. Hilen has more than 17 years of experience working on climate in the IDB Group. An expert on enabling environments for climate investments, Hilen has solid experience in working with public sector actors and private companies to promote and consolidate climate actions and strategies, as well as leverage international funds for climate that can attract private investments in Latin America and the Caribbean. She has received the Ortiz Mena Award for Best Innovative Loan for an operation that combined fiscal and climate adaptation measures to reduce the impacts of climate in Central America. Before joining IDB Invest, Hilen worked at IDB as a climate policy expert for 8 years. Hilen is a Political scientist from Universidad Católica de Cordoba, Argentina. She received a Master’s degree from Hebrew University, Israel and a Master’s degree and PhD degree from Georgetown University, USA

Daniela Stevens

Director of the Energy Transition and Climate Program, Inter-American Dialogue

Dr. Daniela Stevens is director of the Energy Transition and Climate Program at the Inter-American Dialogue. Before joining the Dialogue, Stevens was assistant professor in the International Relations Division of the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE) in Mexico City, where she taught Latin American Studies and International Relations, coordinated the faculty seminars, served on the Board of Professors, and was an active member of the anti-discrimination committee. Stevens has published widely in specialized environmental and climate journals, such as Global Environmental Politics by MIT Press, and written opinion pieces for Nexos and commentary for El Universal. Stevens holds a master’s degree in Political Science from El Colegio de México and a PhD in Comparative Politics from the School of Public Affairs at American University, where she was also an adjunct professor of Comparative Politics and a guest lecturer of the Climate Policy honors class. As a graduate intern at the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute, she performed sectoral analyses of the Mexican power sector and examined the environmental implications of the USMCA

Kelly Gallego

Executive President, Abracam

Kelly Massaro is Executive President of ABRACAM. Graduated in Business Administration, she has 21 years of experience in the financial and foreign exchange market, with extensive knowledge in compliance. He leads ABRACAM's institutional relationship with regulators, market agents and other associations of the national and international financial industry. Actively coordinated actions for the creation of the ABRACAM Seal of Conformity and Exchange Certification. Chairs the Financial Commission of Mercosur (CIASEFIM).

Andrew Selee

President, Migration Policy Institute

Andrew Selee has been the President of the Migration Policy Institute since 2017. Prior to that, he was at the Wilson Center as founding Director of the Mexico Institute, Vice President for Programs, and Executive Vice President. He also served as staff in the US Congress and worked for many years with migrant youth in Tijuana, Mexico. He is the author of several books including Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together (PublicAffairs, 2018), and he is currently at work on a book on Latin American migration policies. His recent opinion articles have appeared in the New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and Americas Quarterly. He teaches courses on migration at Georgetown University.

Mariana Costa

Co-founder & CEO, Laboratoria

Co-founder and CEO at Laboratoria, a social enterprise that enables women from underserved backgrounds to start and grow a career in technology. With learning centers across Latin America, Laboratoria is working to build a more diverse, inclusive, and competitive digital economy in the region that can create opportunities for all people.

For her work as a social entrepreneur, Costa has received multiple recognitions, including being named one of Peru’s leading innovators by MIT and one the world’s most influential women by the BBC. She holds a BSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Columbia University in New York.

Tania Banens

Vice President, Products, Sustainability, Financial Inclusion & Innovation, Mastercard

Tania Banens is Vice President, Product Management, Sustainability and Financial Inclusion at Mastercard, Latin America and Caribbean.  Tania leads the development and go-to-market strategies for ESG solutions.  In this role Tania serves as the solution architect for Mastercard's participation in the Partnership for Central America (a coalition of private sector entities focused on advancing economic prosperity in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador), defining the go-to-market strategies for accelerating financial inclusion with scalable and replicable models, and driving adoption of environmental and sustainable solutions that engage consumers. Prior to this role, Tania led the Digital First and integrated digital solutions, and Financial Planning & Analysis at Mastercard.  Prior to joining Mastercard, Tania led sales, strategy and finance teams in a variety of industries ranging from Fortune 500s to startups and non-profits focused on the design and execution of new & disruptive models, strategy and business development. 

Antonia Urreloja

Former Foreign Minister, Chile

Chilean lawyer with a postgraduate degree in Human Rights and Transitional Justice. She has extensive experience in various legal fields, including international law, human rights, and constitutional law. Her professional experience has mainly focused on the field of human rights, working in international organizations, NGOs, and government entities. She has held positions as a researcher, lawyer, advisor, project coordinator, Advisor to the Secretary General of the OAS, President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile for one year during the government of President Gabriel Boric.

Sergio Sagastume

CEO, Amigo Paisano

Industrial engineer with a master’s degree in business administration from ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. He has more than 20 years of experience in the remittance market. Currently, Sagastume is the co-founder and CEO of Amigo Paisano, a fintech company that provides an easy and fast way to send remittances to Latin America. In 2022, Amigo Paisano became the first Latin American Fintech company to achieve a success story with META. Before Amigo Paisano, Sagastume served as CEO of R&T, a remittance company that worked with the biggest bank in Guatemala, Banrural. Together, they processed more than US$9.3 billion in remittances, representing over 51.7 percent of the country’s remittance market share. 

Juan Gonzalez

Senior Director for the Western Hemisphere, National Security Counci

Juan Gonzalez (United States) is senior advisor and special assistant to the president and National Security Council senior director for the Western Hemisphere for the Biden administration. He was previously a senior fellow at the Penn Biden Center for Global Diplomacy and Global Engagement and principal at JSG Strategy. Gonzalez served as deputy assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, where he led US diplomatic engagement in Central America and the Caribbean. From 2013 to 2015, he was special advisor to Vice President Joe Biden, and he accompanied the Vice President on seven visits to Latin America and coordinated the launch of the US-Mexico High-Level Economic Dialogue, the Caribbean Energy Security Initiative, and the Alliance for Prosperity in the Northern Triangle of Central America. Gonzalez was also National Security Council Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs from 2011 to 2013. Prior to the White House, he served as chief of staff to Assistant Secretary of State Arturo Valenzuela.

 

Nestor Mendez

Assistant Secretary General, Organization of American States 

Elected to be the ninth assistant secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS). He began serving his five-year term with a commitment to work closely with the Secretary General and the member states to reinvigorate and modernize the institution. Upon receiving the mandate from member states, he pledged his “unwavering commitment to seize the opportunity that is before us to work together to transform the OAS into the Organization that we want and that the people of the Americas deserve.” Prior to his election, Mendez was a career diplomat in the Foreign Service of Belize. He served as the ambassador to the United States of America, permanent representative to the OAS, and non-resident high commissioner to Canada. He holds a master’s Degree in international policy and practice from George Washington University in Washington, DC, a graduate level certificate in diplomatic studies from Oxford University in Oxford, United Kingdom, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University College of Belize in Belize City, Belize.