Rebeca Moreno Jimenez is a data scientist and AI policy specialist working at the intersection of humanitarian action, technology strategy, and international development.

Currently serving as Innovation Officer and Lead Data Scientist at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Innovation team, she leads the agency's approach to responsible AI adoption, both operationally and strategically. Rebeca manages UNHCR's global Data Innovation Fund, overseeing data and AI projects through their full lifecycle, from incubation to deployment, while conducting ethics, human rights, and safety assessments to ensure responsible innovation in fragile and conflict-affected settings.

Rebeca co-drafted UNHCR's institutional AI approach in alignment with UN system-wide cross-cutting principles for responsible AI, which she operationalizes through the Data Innovation Fund to ensure responsible AI adoption across the agency's 136-country operations. Drawing on her dual expertise as both AI practitioner and AI policy strategist, she has represented UNHCR at international AI fora, including the ITU AI for Good Global Summit, WEF Davos AI House, and regional policy dialogues with governments and multilateral organizations.

Her humanitarian sector career began in 2015, supporting UNHCR operations and emergencies across Latin America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and MENA. Previously, she supported the WFP Emergency Operations team, researching the impact of aid funding shortfalls on Syrian refugees in Jordan.

In the international development sector, she worked for the World Bank's Mexico country office advancing access to information, open data policy, and privacy policy initiatives.

In the peacebuilding sector, Rebeca served as ICT Policy Consultant for GAPS Uganda, a grassroots nonprofit focused on transitional justice and mass atrocity prevention, where she designed early warning systems using context-appropriate technology for low-connectivity settings.

Beyond her UN work, Rebeca is a social entrepreneur. In 2008, she founded Oportunidades para Internacionalistas, a regional network that grew from a Facebook group during the global financial crisis to over 50,000 members, significantly impacting job matching for Latin American youth. She also co-founded Urban Watchers, a civic tech start-up supported by Columbia University's SIPA Global Policy Challenge.

Education:
Rebeca holds a B.A. in International Relations and Master of Public Policy (MPP) from Tecnológico de Monterrey (Monterrey Tech, ITESM), Mexico's leading technical university. Additionally, she has a Foreign Policy certification from American University, and completed an Executive Education program at Harvard Kennedy School. As a Fulbright Scholar, she earned her Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), specializing in technology policy management and humanitarian affairs.