Laura Sofía Castro Email & Phone Number

Bogotá, Bogota, Co

London Area, United Kingdom

CE is a non-profit incubation program with a track record of 40+ charities started in the past 4 years. - Selected into a ten-person cohort based on showing promising traits for impact entrepreneurship (1800 applicants, <1% acceptance rate).- Participated in a 2 month project-based training to learn and practice key skills to be successful at directing a startup.- Constructed sophisticated cost-effectiveness models, M&E plans, and geographic assessments.

Ecuador

Externship funded by AIM. - Performed a quick diagnostic of the existing MEL system to identify main pain points and bottlenecks.- Updated and standardized the existing MEL system to reduce data entry mistakes and improve user experience.- Designed recruitment process and successfully hired MEL expert from 200+ applicants.

Bogotá, Capital District, Colombia

The Innovation Lab is a unit within the Early Childhood Directorate of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare. The Lab's mission is to develop and scale evidence-based solutions to address public policy challenges in early childhood and improve the lives of nearly 2 million children, pregnant women, and their families in Colombia.- Coordinated daily activities of approximately 5 staff members to ensure the smooth operation of the lab.- Provided technical MEL guidance to support the path to scale of incubated projects within the lab.- Assisted in stakeholder engagement, advocacy activities, and identifying potential funding sources for projects in Colombia.

Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire

- Provided technical review and feedback on MEL plans and data collection methods.- Managed relationships with clients and stakeholders. - Created methodological frameworks to improve use of evidence and impact calculations.- Trained partner team members on high-quality M&E data collection and analysis.

New York, New York

- Contributed to a portfolio of RFE engagements for various clients, tailoring MEL solutions.- Facilitated external MEL workshops and assisted in write-up and presentation of deliverables.- Participated in the development of new RFE engagements, contributing to design and proposals.

London, United Kingdom

Impact Evaluation Research Assistant to Professor Alexis Diamond* Used genetic matching to replicate and extend a quantitative analysis of the impacts of UN Multidimensional Peace-Keeping-Operations in post-conflict countries* Wrote brief communicating replication findings and translating them into policy recommendations* Evaluated the impact of Justin Trudeau’s election in parliamentary gender balance using the quasi-experimental method of synthetic control* Proposed a highly practical, action-oriented, and effective approach to measuring professional development workshops for university students through an encouragement design

Bogotá D.C. Area, Colombia

* Conducted actionable research around innovative reproductive healthcare delivery business models to incorporate research-backed solutions to our strategic business advice* Constructed a database of 100+ organizations aiding the reunification process of families separated under the ‘Zero Tolerance” policy in the US* Researched and wrote think-piece to promote key findings on policy research and recommendations towards the migration crisis in Latin America* Assisted the team with researching, scheduling, organizing, and executing conference calls with topic experts; taking notes and drafting summaries, invitations, and agendas* Designed PowerPoint slides to effectively align a variety of audiences on our project, including partners, clients, external advisors, and colleagues* Crafted and presented a growth strategy focused on the use of evidence and impact calculations to select future projects to the senior team

Remote

* Assisted in the creation of academy ensuring young people in Latin America take action on causes affecting their communities; 100% of alumni create their own venture * Set up system for email triaging, canned responses, and other communication tasks* Contributed to brand image, website design, proofreading and other content development tasks* Served as an active ambassador of the organization internationally in outreach presentations* Actively built relationships with other key industry leaders* Advised administrative systems including creation of CRM database on Salesforce

Hyderabad Area, India

* Supported contributions to accelerate the delivery of the 2030 Agenda target of revitalizing global partnerships for sustainable development (SDG 17)* Collected and compiled qualitative data through empathy interviews regarding communication bottlenecks between the government, CSR initiatives, and non-profit organizations; with the objective of increasing the impact of poverty-alleviating interventions* Designed wireframes for the official CSR collaboration platform of the Telangana government

Gangnam-Gu, Seoul, Korea

* Sourced and built the next generation of social entrepreneurs through the development and implementation of a workshop based on design thinking and means-ends analysis* Designed activity to teach effective approaches to build M&E strategies and measure impact* Prototyped recruitment tool to identify high-potential social entrepreneurs* Recognized as high-performance intern due to proactivity.

Latin America

* Managed cross-functional activities of six interns, creating collective and personalized timelines for the timely deliverables of campaign materials and other outreach components* Crafted a communications strategy optimized to succeed according to the idiosyncrasies of the region, including out-of-the-box digital campaign for students ages 16 – 22* Initiated and maintained relationships with organizations working with young people to serve as talent pools for outreach campaigns; served as main point of contact for partners, ensuring that goals on all sides were met* Traveled through the region delivering clear presentations to government officials and hundreds of students*Actively built relationships with implementation partners in the city; brainstormed and organized events designed to reinforce community values and build cultural understanding for 100+ international students

San Francisco Bay Area

* Coordinated work between the office team and other teams, helping create a smooth information exchange between teams* Consolidated FAQ and canned responses from multiple teams; managed online customer support service and respond to online queries* Supported other teams as needed including handling event coordination, office suite work, proofreading, editing, research and business writing* Sat on front desk reception as needed, responded to telephone and email inquiries, registered and greeted visitors* Scheduled meetings and managed calendars for multiple meeting rooms* Maintained order and cleanliness of the conference rooms, pantry, reception area, and other common areas* Ensured that the technology and any tools or equipment required to successfully and flawlessly perform the work is operating effectively

San Francisco Bay Area

* Researched and implemented best practices in suicide prevention models for college students. * Designed, developed and populated Mental Health blog on Wordpress.

San Francisco Bay Area

* Supported administrative tasks in preparation for biggest annual fundraiser, including recording gifts on Salesforce, contacting and managing samples from suppliers, and location scouting* Translated documentaries and copyedited other promotion materials to improve corporate storytelling* Documented and summarized annual team meeting contents in a clear and actionable fashion

San Francisco

* Created customized presentations and other promotion materials in preparation for benefit auctions* Provided independent and flexible support for benefit auctions, creatively solving diverse on-site problems as they arose* Created and managed Excel database to record gifts in real time during events* Documented and summarized event performance in a clear and actionable fashion* Provided contributions to the strategy and organizational development of the business

Santiago, Chile

* Managed three social media channels in preparation for a social entrepreneurship workshop focused on design thinking, allowing young people (ages 14–18) to become the most effective agent of change they can be* Performed all steps of content creation including brainstorming, user interview, graphic design, copyediting, and scheduling

Bachelor Of Science, Summa Cum Laude, Government, Economics And Human Behavior // Minor: Philosophy, Ethics And Law, 3.78 / 4

Activities and Societies: Undergraduate Capstone: An evaluation of Feminism as a cause field under an Effective Altruist framework..

International Baccalaureate Bilingual Diploma, 40/45

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