Rebeca is an experienced professional in the humanitarian, peacebuilding, and international development sectors. Currently, she serves in a dual capacity as the Innovation Officer and Lead Data Scientist at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Innovation Service. In this role, she focuses on leveraging data science, big data, and artificial intelligence to improve protection and decision-making in the humanitarian sector. Since she joined UNHCR in 2015, she has supported UNHCR country operations and humanitarian emergencies in various operational contexts in Latin America, Asia, Europe, Africa and MENA.
Additionally, Rebeca has worked with WFP Emergency Operations, researching funding shortfalls for WFP's support to Syrian refugees in Jordan. In international development, she spent five years at the World Bank's Mexico country operation, contributing to open data initiatives, communications, and access to information/privacy policy efforts. She has also made significant contributions to the peacebuilding sector. As an ICT Policy Consultant for GAPS Uganda, a grassroots nonprofit advocating for transitional justice and the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities, she focused on enhancing early warning and response measures through appropriate technology for Uganda's context.
Rebeca founded "Oportunidades para Internacionalistas," a regional network that began as a Facebook group in response to the 2008 crisis, aimed at helping Latin American youth find professional and educational opportunities. The network has grown to over 50,000 members, significantly impacting job matching in the region. She is also a co-founder of @UrbanWatchers, a start-up launched in New York City, supported by Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) Annual Global Policy Challenge.
Her educational background includes a B.A. in International Relations and a Master of Public Policy from ITESM Campus Monterrey. She holds a Certificate in Foreign Policy from American University and completed an Executive Education Program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Additionally, she is a former Fulbright Scholar at SIPA, Columbia University, where she earned a Master of Public Administration specializing in technology policy management and humanitarian affairs.