Canadian international affairs professional of Colombian origin. Currently at MBZ University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) - the world's first AI research university - leading its global engagements and the activation of a World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
SELECTED AFFILIATIONS
Harvard Kennedy School, MPA
World Economic Forum • World Bank, GEF
Global Affairs Canada • MBZUAI
University of British Columbia
Focus
I work between worlds: countries, institutions, and disciplines. Over the past decade that has meant Canadian foreign policy and governance at Global Affairs Canada, advancing climate and biodiversity finance at the World Bank's Global Environment Facility, and a youth civic & sustainability initiative I founded in Vancouver. Today that work is artificial intelligence.
Global engagement, diplomacy & partnerships
Building the relationships and platforms through which governments, universities, industry, and international organizations cooperate - currently at MBZUAI and the WEF Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Policy & strategy across domains
A decade spanning diplomacy, governance, climate and development finance, and emerging technology - from Global Affairs Canada to the World Bank's Global Environment Facility.
Speaking & convening
Talks and moderation on international cooperation, AI, and climate - including the World Economic Forum in Davos, TEDx in Vancouver, and events alongside the UN General Assembly. A global campaign I co-led (Davos Lab) reached more than two million people to shape a more inclusive post-pandemic recovery.
My Story
Colombia. Mississippi. Switzerland. Vancouver. Abu Dhabi. I've spent much of my life arriving somewhere new, usually in a different language. I was born in Colombia during a period of conflict, learned English after my family resettled in Mississippi, and learned German during a year in Switzerland on a Rotary Youth Exchange. Canada is the country I call home, and where my core values were shaped.
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That work has crossed boundaries of every kind: founding IdeasXChange, a youth civic initiative in Vancouver; advancing inclusive governance with the United Nations in Colombia and at Global Affairs Canada; and working on climate and biodiversity finance at the World Bank's Global Environment Facility, including field work in Small Island Developing States in the Pacific and Caribbean.
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Along the way I went back to school, got an MPA at Harvard Kennedy School thanks to a Rotary scholarship, and cross-registered at MIT. That's where governance, climate, and technology came together for me.
Today I'm in Abu Dhabi, at the world's first AI research university, leading its global engagements and the activation of a World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
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Why now? Because I'm fascinated and concerned by one question: how do we as a society navigate a technological shift this profound without leaving people behind, while protecting the fragile planet we all call home? The problems I care about don't sit in separate boxes: economic mobility, social cohesion, and the health of our planet are all interconnected - and ensuring technology delivers for all matters now more than ever.
Panel speaker engagement at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum on Tackling Mistrust.
Speaking alongside the UN General Assembly with the FII Institute - New York, September 2022
Co-Presenting Findings of the Youth Recovery Report to leaders at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. 2022.
Panel speaker engagement at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum on Tackling Mistrust.