I was born in San Jose, Costa Rica, but have also lived in Chile, Mexico, Guatemala and the United States.
Prior to joining Georgia Tech as a post-doc and later Assistant Professor, I obtained a B.A. in economics from Yale University. After completing this undergraduate degree, I worked in Guatemala’s Planning Agency, SEGEPLAN, in a number of projects related to labor marekts and rural development.
Following this professional experience, I returned to the United States to complete a Master’s degree in International Development and Regional Planning at MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Graduation would once again lead me back to Guatemala, where I was employed first at the Universidad Rafael Landivar’s Instituto de Investigaciones Economicas y Sociales (IDIES) and later at the United Nations Development Program, where I contributed to the national Human Development Report.
In 2009 I returned to MIT for my PhD. At the Institute for Work and Employment Research (IWER) in the Sloan School of Management, I combined my professional experience with my interest in economic sociology, management, industrial relations and political economy of development to pursue a research program focused on processes of industrial transformation in Latin America. I explored the trajectories of organizational change in selected agro-industries, deploying a mix of qualitative research methods to understand the actions and decisions of the actors involved. I obtained my PhD in September, 2014.
In addition to my professional and academic interests, I was a competitive swimmer, and enjoy biking and playing (and watching) soccer.