SUMMA initiates its activities

As part of the technical cooperation between the Inter-American Development Bank and Fundación Chile, it was established that the Executive Direction of SUMMA would be located at Fundación Chile in Santiago.

In that understanding, on October 3rd of 2016, Fundación Chile welcomed SUMMA´s team, which will be accommodated in the Education Innovation Center, led by Ana María Raad.

The Executive Direction of SUMMA is currently made up of four members:

Javier González, who took on the role of Director of SUMMA, holds a bachelor and master’s degree of Economics from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Master’s degree and PhD (c) in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge. Additionally, he is Affiliated Lecturer at the Centre of Development Studies, University of Cambridge. He has been a senior consultant to UNESCO, the World Bank, IDB and OXFAM, amongst other international organizations. He has been Cabinet Advisor on Education and Innovation Policy to the Chilean Ministry of Finance, Executive Secretary to the Ministers’ Council for Advanced Human Capital Formation, and Director of Studies at the Chilean National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT). He has also been Member of the Board of Directors of Fundación Chile.

Andrea Medina, who oversees the coordination of Education Policies. She is an economist from the University of Chile; has a degree in Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Public Policy; a master’s degree in International Studies; and PhD(c) in Economics from the Maastricht University – University of the United Nations. She has served as researcher in macroeconomics and social policies for several divisions within CEPAL, the Chilean Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Dante Castillo, who holds the position of Coordinator of Innovative Education Policies and Practices, is a sociologist from the University of Chile, holds a master’s degree in Culture and Society from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a degree in Marketing from the University Adolfo Ibáñez. He has worked in social investigation both in the public and private sector. He has worked at the University of Chile on matters of education, labor market and citizenship; at the University of Cambridge as researcher on higher education policies. He has worked professionally in market research, and research in information and communication technologies and innovation processes.

Liora Schwartz will work as researcher of SUMMA. Before coming onboard the team at SUMMA, Liora worked as a consultant for the Education Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) at the Chile office, and as a consultant for the Competitiveness and Innovation Division of the IDB in Washington D.C. During that time, she worked on several publications regarding institutional arrangements of the educational system, entrepreneurship, social innovation, and in the Innovation Lab, a social innovation platform. Liora has a master’s degree in Economics and Public Policy from the University Adolfo Ibáñez and a bachelor degree in Economics from the same institution.