25th Annual CAF Conference

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.

(Uruguay) is the secretary general of the Organization of American States. Previously, he was Uruguay's minister of foreign affairs and ambassador to China, after occupying senior diplomatic posts in his country’s foreign ministry and at its embassies in Germany and Iran. He is a lawyer by profession. 

President of the Inter-American Dialogue and an adjunct professor of Latin American politics at Georgetown University. He previously directed the Latin American and Caribbean Program at the National Endowment for Democracy and the Ford Foundation’s Governance and Human Rights Program. Since 1994, Shifter has played a key role in shaping the Dialogue’s agenda, commissioning policy-relevant articles and reports. 

(Bolivia) was the president of CAF-Development Bank of Latin America- from 1991to 2017, treasurer of the Inter-American Development Bank, and minister of Planning and Coordination of Bolivia. He currently serves as chairman of The Trust for the Americas and The Council of International Relations of Latin America (RIAL), co-vice chair of the Inter-American Dialogue and member of several boards and advisory councils.

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.

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.  

(Colombia) is the director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC/UNESCO Santiago) in Chile. Prior to joining UNESCO, she worked for the Inter-American Development Bank for over a decade, where she was responsible for leading technical dialogue, loan operations and technical cooperation programs in education for various countries in Latin America.

 (Spain) is the secretary general of the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI). He is the author and co-author of texts and articles on education and has worked as a consultant in education in almost all countries of Latin America and Spain. Jabonero was a professor at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and has received numerous distinctions including the Orden de Alfonso X El Sabio.

(Colombia) is the Colombian Minister of National Education since August 2018. She is a social economist with over 20 years of experience in social politics with an emphasis on education. She has worked in the Colombian public sector as an adviser to the Direction of Economic Studies at the National Planning Department and as an adviser and deputy director of Sector Development at Bogota’s District Department of Finance. Before becoming Minister of Education, Angulo served as deputy director of Management Support for Higher Education Institutions and director of Promotion of Higher Education at the Ministry of Education. Between 2011 and 2015, she was Executive Director of Fundación Empresarios por la Educación, and in 2016, the Mayor of Bogotá appointed her as the District Secretary of Education.

(Trinidad and Tobago) is the current minister of Education and member of Parliament for St. Ann’s East. Prior to this role, she was an educator at St. Francois Girls’ College and a senior lecturer at the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago. She was first elected as a member of Parliament in 2015, and she also served as minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts from 2015 to 2020.

(Ecuador) has served as Ecuador's Minister of Education since May 2021. The Minister has a degree in International Relations from the Universidad de San Andrés in Buenos Aires, a master's degree in Special Education from the Universidad Tecnológica Equinoccial, and a Higher Diploma in Project Design, Management, and Evaluation from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO). In her professional career, she won an education development competition at UNESCO to head educational issues in the Andean region, served as an advisor to the vice minister of the Ministry of Education of Ecuador, and served as the undersecretary of Special and Inclusive Education Foundations of Ecuador.

(Uruguay) is the president of Plan Ceibal. He has worked as an associate professor in the Department of Education at Universidad Católica de Uruguay, focusing on active pedagogical practices, gamification, and playful environments of the 21st century. He has won several awards and distinctions including the International Leadership Program for youth leadership from the US State Department and the Morosoli Award.

(Colombia) is the founder and director of Fundación Escuela Nueva. She is a laureate of the first edition of the Yidan Prize for Education Development (2017) and 2013 WISE Prize for Education. She is co-author of the renowned Escuela Nueva model and was its first National Coordinator. Colbert has pioneered this educational innovation from many organizational spheres: as vice-minister of Education of Colombia, UNICEF´s education adviser for LAC and now from Fundación Escuela Nueva (FEN).

 (Argentina) is the Senior Advisor to the Presidency of IE and former Dean of the IE School of Public and Global Affairs in Madrid. She has been minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina and former chief of staff of the secretary-general of the United Nations.  She is founder of the Group of Women Leaders, Voices for Change and Inclusion and holds multiple board positions (profit and non-profit), among them the Inter-American Dialogue, the International Crisis Group and the Kofi Annan Foundation. 

(Mexico) is the executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL). She has previously served as under-secretary general for management at headquarters in New York, director of ECLAC’s Environment and Human Settlements Division, and coordinator of the Latin American and Caribbean Sustainable Development Program of the UN Development Programme (UNDP). 

He is a lawyer from the UBA with postgraduate research at the London School of Economics. He currently serves as Secretary for Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of the Nation and President of the Economic and Social Council. He previously worked for 14 years at the Inter-American Development Bank and before that he worked as Secretary of Public Function, Minister of Justice, Security and Human Rights, and Legislator for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Pope Francis appointed him as Member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. He is the author and editor of 17 books on state development issues. He is 59 years old and has 4 children.

(France) is the chief executive officer of the Agence Française de Développement (AFD). As an expert in economics and international financial institutions, he has held high-level positions in a career devoted to development and Africa. After serving as chief of staff for the French minister of Economy and Finance, he was appointed as deputy general secretary of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Development. In 2017, he also became chairman of the International Development Finance Club (IDFC) and organized the 2020 Finance in Common Summit (FICS).  

He is the Vice President of the World Bank for the Latin American and Caribbean region. Under his direction, the Bank's operations in the region are focused on boosting growth, reducing poverty, supporting equity, and protecting the environment. Previously, he served as the World Bank's director for Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia and Uganda, based in Nairobi. Prior to his posting in Africa, he served as Senior Director of the World Bank Group's Global Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Practice, where he led a global team of more than 450 economists. Since his joining the World Bank in 2002 he has also been assigned two terms as country director in the Latin America and Caribbean region. Before he joined the Bank, he was a public official in the Colombian government, holding positions in the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Commerce. He has an MS and PhD in development economics from Stanford University. He has taught at the Department of Economics at the Universidad de los Andes, in Bogotá, and at the University of Maryland, College Park.

(Spain) is the chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis. She also serves as senior fellow at the think-tank BRUEGEL and a non-resident senior fellow at the East Asian Institute of the National University Singapore. Alicia is an adjunct professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, a member of the Council of Advisors on Economic Affairs to the Spanish Government and an advisor to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s research arm. Alicia has also served as the chief economist for Emerging Markets at BBVA, member of the Asian Research Program at the Bank of International Settlements, head of the International Economy Division of the Bank of Spain, member of the Counsel to the Executive Board of the ECB, head of Emerging Economies at the Research Department at Banco Santander, and economist at the International Monetary Fund. Alicia holds a Ph.D. in Economics from George Washington University.

(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.

(Argentina) has been President of Argentina since December 10, 2019. Previously he held the positions of director of Summaries/ Proceedings and deputy director-general of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Economy during the presidency of Raúl Alfonsín, superintendent of Insurance between 1989 and 1995, and was the founder and first executive vice president of the BAPRO Group between 1995 and 2000. In August 2000, he was elected legislator for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. On May 25, 2003, he assumed as chief/head of the Cabinet of Ministers. Fernández has a degree from the Law School of the University of Buenos Aires. 

(Colombia) he has a law degree from the Sergio Arboleda University, is an expert in economic affairs, with executive studies at Harvard. He has a master's degree in Public Policy and Public Management from Georgetown University, as well as in Economic Law from American University. He was the Chief of the Culture, Creativity and Solidarity Division at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), where he worked on social innovation, entrepreneurship, youth, and creative economies. He was a consultant to the IDB presidency and served as a senior advisor for Colombia, and Senior Advisor on the Investigation Panel on the Mavi Marmara incident between Turkey and Israel at the U.N. In addition to his legislative activities, Ivan Duque has stood out in several of the country's political developments. In 2016, the Semana magazine and Fundación Líder Colombia chose him as one of the most prominent leaders in the country. On June 17, 2018, he was elected President of Colombia for the 2018-2022 constitutional period with a government program based on Legality, Entrepreneurship and Equality. 

(Panama) He studied at the Valley Forge Military Academy in USA. He has a Business Administration degree from Norwich University, He received a Master’s degree on Business Administration and Ph.D. studies in International Business and Marketing at the University of Texas in Austin. President Cortizo served as a Technical Advisor to the Secretary General of the OAS and in 1986, he was appointed Ambassador Alternate Representative of Panama to the OAS. During his political carrer, he has been Legislator/Senator  for the period 1994-2004 and in 2000, he was elected President of the National Assembly. From 2004 to 2006, President Cortizo served as Minister of Agricultural Development of Panama. In the private sector, President Cortizo was the General Manager of his family concrete products industry and cattle ranch. 

Luis Felipe López-Calva is Global Director of the World Bank Group's Poverty and Equity Global Practice in the Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions (EFI) Vice Presidency. Mr. López-Calva has 25 years of professional experience working with international institutions and advising national governments. He rejoined the World Bank in 2022 from the United Nations Development Program, where he served as UN Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean since 2018. In his previous stint at the World Bank, he held various positions, including Practice Manager of the Poverty and Equity Global Practice for Europe and Central Asia, Co-Director of the World Development Report 2017 Governance and the Law, Lead Economist and Regional Advisor on Poverty in the Poverty and Equity Global Practice for Europe and Central Asia, and Lead Economist in the Poverty, Equity and Gender Unit in PREM's Latin America and the Caribbean Directorate. López-Calva is a member of the Board of Directors of the Global Development Network (GDN) and a member of the Human Development and Capabilities Association. His research interests focus on labor markets, poverty and inequality, institutions and the microeconomics of development. He has published extensively on these topics in academic journals, books and public policy reports. He holds a master's degree in economics from Boston University, as well as a master's degree and a PhD in economics from Cornell University. Lopez-Calva comes to the position of Global Director of the Poverty and Equity Global Practice with a commitment to advance four key priorities:
(i) positioning poverty reduction and equitable growth at the top of the international development agenda;
(ii) expanding the technical expertise of global practice from the measurement and monitoring of poverty and inequality to cutting-edge policy analysis for pro-poor development;
(iii) formulating clear strategic directions for the Global Practice, implementing these priorities in global and regional programs using formal and informal authority, and representing the World Bank Group externally; and
(iv) bring conceptual clarity and operational implications to the debate on the linkages between climate action and equity.

Epsy Campbell Barr is the vice president of Costa Rica. She was previously the foreign minister and a member of the Costa Rican National Assembly. Campbell has been active in Afro-Caribbean affairs since entering politics. In 1996, she founded the Women’s Forum for Central American Integration, which she coordinated until 2001. Concurrently, she also coordinated the Network of Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Latin American Women. Campbell has published books and articles on democracy and inclusion, political and economic participation of women, people of African descent, sexism, and racism, among other topics. She is an expert in social development issues, political participation of women of African descent, and equality.

(India) serves as the assistant secretary-general and UN Women’s deputy executive director since August 2019. Before joining UN Women, Ms. Bhatia had a distinguished career at the World Bank Group, serving in various senior leadership and management positions, both at Headquarters and in the field. She has extensive experience in the area of international development, strategy, resource mobilization, strategic partnerships and organizational change management.   

(Colombia) is minister counselor at the Colombian embassy in Washington DC. He has served as advisor of Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos for afro Colombian population affairs,  and executive director of the National Association of Mayors of municipalities with afrocolombian population. 

(Colombia) is the executive director of the Colombo American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham Colombia). Previously, she was minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia, president of ProColombia, manager of the 'Colombia es Pasión' campaign and vice-president of 'Imagen País'.

(USA) serves as the executive vice president, chief external affairs officer for Millicom since November 2020. Previously, Karim was the senior vice president for International External and Regulatory Affairs at AT&T and worked as government affairs manager for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East at Intel. Karim is a current board member of the International Institute of Communications, a GSMA Chief Policy & Regulatory Officer Group member, and a Meridian Executive Committee Corporate Council member. He has extensive experience with multinational public relations, communications, and global engagement strategies.  

(Mexico) is a political analyst, columnist and academic. Her work has centered on Mexican democratization, corruption, the construction of citizenship and political economy issues from a comparative perspective. She is a winner of the National Journalism Award and was awarded the "Legion of Honor" by the government of France for her work on human rights, freedom of expression and human rights in Mexico. Forbes magazine named her one of the 50 most powerful women in Mexico and one of the most influential people on Twitter.

(Brazil) is Associate Professor at the School of International Relations at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) in São Paulo. He is also a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC, a non-resident Fellow at the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) in Berlin and a columnist for EL PAÍS and Americas Quarterly. His research focuses on rising powers, global order and Brazilian foreign policy.

(Chile) is associate professor at the Universidad de Santiago de Chile and a global fellow with the Latin American Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center. She is a researcher with expertise in urban violence, police reform and organized crime in Latin America. She has held key advisory positions at multilateral and national organizations and serves as a member of the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters to the Secretary General of the United Nations.

Patricia Politzer (Chile) is a member of the Constitutional Convention. She is also a founding member of Radio Cooperativa, HOY magazine and La Época. In the past, she has served as press director for Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) and was President of the National Television Council. In 2017 he received the Lenka Franulic Award and in 1992 he received the Monsignor Oscar Romero award presented by SERPAJ - Servicio Paz y Justicia.

(Dominica) is the executive secretary for Integral Development at the Organization of American States (OAS). From 2008 to 2011, she was the OAS representative to Belize, and she previously served as the head of the Technical Cooperation Section at the OAS Secretariat for Integral Development. She helped pioneer the OAS Small Tourism Enterprise Program for small and medium businesses. She is a founding member of the Center for Community Resource Development. 

(Barbados) is the special adviser to the Secretary-General on Climate Action and assistant secretary-general for the Climate Action Team. In this role, he works to ensure enhanced levels of ambition on climate change, focusing on Member State support, coalition-building, UN system engagement, and public mobilization to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Previously, Hart served as the executive director for the Caribbean at the Inter-American Development Bank and ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States for Barbados. Throughout his career, Hart has served in several climate change leadership positions, including as climate advisor for the Caribbean Development Bank, chief climate change negotiator for Barbados, and as coordinator and lead negotiator on finance for the Alliance of Small Island Developing States.

(United Kingdom) was appointed as the UK Government's regional ambassador for Latin America and the Caribbean, COP26, in March 2020. She joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (now FCDO) in 2001 from the Research Councils (now UKRI) to build and lead the FCO’s global Science and Innovation Network (UKSIN). After going to India as director of corporate services in 2006 and working on migration issues in London in 2009, Fiona led the FCO’s strategy on Latin America (the Canning Agenda) as deputy director, Americas, from 2011. She served as Her Majesty's ambassador to Chile from 2014 to 2018, later returning to the UK to work on the Americas, Overseas Territories, climate diplomacy and preparations for COP26.

(Paraguay) is vice-president for Sectors and Knowledge at Inter-American Development Bank. Prior to joining the IDB, he served as minister of Finance of Paraguay. In that role, he led a comprehensive tax-reform initiative aimed at improving the progressive capacity of the tax system, increasing government revenue to finance health and education reforms, and incentivizing labour formalization. He also coordinated efforts to restructure the pension system, reform public expenditure and the civil service.

(Italy) is the senior director of Programmes Coordination and director a.i. of the Means of Implementation (MoI) Division of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).  As senior director he provides strategic direction and oversight and the MoI Division supports international cooperation on the mobilization of financial resources, technology development and transfer, and building of individual, institutional and systemic capacity to enable and support Parties to take enhanced action on climate change. Prior to his current position, he served as Chief of Staff of the secretariat for seven years.

(Brasil) es asesora senior de infraestructura sostenible de la Iniciativa de Política Climática. Cuenta con una carrera de 30 años en el área socio-ambiental, trabajando en políticas públicas y privadas para la conservación y uso sostenible de los recursos naturales, cambio climático, producción y desarrollo sostenible. Ha trabajado en organizaciones de la sociedad civil nacionales e internacionales. Fue secretaria nacional de Biodiversidad y Bosques, en el Ministerio del Ambiente, y ha asesorado las Juntas Directivas de multinacionales como Vale SA y JBS SA.

(Spain) is the deputy executive director at the Green Climate Fund. Previously, he was director and representative of the UN Office for Project and Services in the MERCOSUR region, based in Argentina. He was formerly division manager of Investment and Development Banking at the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. Javier also worked as the executive VP for two privately held banks of Grupo Fierro. His career in banking and finance began with Banco Santander/BSCH in the United States, Hong Kong, and Japan. Javier was the first chairman of the Board at IASE, The International Association for Sustainable Economy. He holds a dual MBA from Northwestern University/Kellogg (USA), an EMBA from Hong Kong University of Sciences & Technology (China), and a Ph.D. in Sustainability Management from INHA University in South Korea.  

(Colombia) is a senior advisor with Albright Stonebridge Group-Dentons Global Advisors, on issues related to Latin American politics, United States-Latin America trade, investment and public affairs. She previously worked at the Colombian Embassy in Washington, D.C., focusing on public affairs, trade and congressional affairs. She co-hosts the global affairs podcast Altamar, is a regular columnist on international affairs for El País in Colombia, and hosts the Georgetown Americas Institute interview series The American Table, as well as acting political analyst and speaker for media outlets and companies in Latin America, the US, and Europe.