Katia joined the ANDE team as the Central America and Mexico Chapter Coordinator in 2012. During this time, Katia has been working to facilitate and interconnect regional and global ecosystem actors that support small and growing businesses. Katia has been actively working in identifying the different challenges that entrepreneurs face in the region, creating information relevant to the local knowledge and forging collaborations to minimize those barriers. Katia has been part of various selection panels for various accelerator programs, conferences and working groups to support the development of entrepreneurship in Mexico and Central America. Previously to ANDE, Katia worked for two years at MTQ Consulting with economic and social development programs in her native El Salvador and the Central American region. While there, she proposed, systematized and evaluated a variety of projects focused on economic inclusion for at-risk youth artisanal fishermen and talent within the plastic industry. During her time in El Salvador, Katia was an entrepreneur herself, being on the founding team of a business and asocial impact project to support the education of kids through playtime. Katia has an MBA in Creative Enterprises from the Complutense University in Madrid, and has a B.A. in International Affairs and Sociocultural Anthropology from George Washington University.