Our Team

José Luis Palma Cabrera

Studied Actuarial Science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, specializing in public health at Boston University, Massachusetts, as well as doing graduate courses in Health Services Administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He started in the field of demography in the early ‘70s as a research assistant at the Centro de Estudios Económicos y Demográficos (Center for Economic and Demographic Studies) at the Colegio de México, where he worked until 1978, and the National Population Council (CONAPO), where he worked as a researcher until 1983. From 1990 to 1994 he returned to work in this institution, as director general of population programs. Among his responsibilities were various activities in the international arena as an official representative of Mexico, including: Head of the Mexican delegation at the meetings of the Population Commission of the United Nations; Technical Secretary of the National Coordinating Committee of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD); technical coordinator of the Latin American and Caribbean Action Plan on Population and Development; Mexican delegate at various meetings before and during the ICPD 1994, and Mexico’s representative at the Group of 15 (Group SSC) on Population and Family Planning.

In the field of public health, from 1983 to 1990 he worked at the Directorate General of Family Planning of the Ministry of Health, where he occupied, among others, the positions of Director of Programming and Evaluation and Director of Research.

From 1995 to 1997 he was technical secretary of the Ministry of Health of Mexico City, and then from 1997 to 1999 worked as deputy general manager of Planning, at the Directorate General of Extension of Medical Coverage.

He has been Honorary Chairman of the Subcommittee on Demographics and Statistics at the National Committee for Ageing, 1999-2001, and Honorary Director of Population and Health for the Mexican Society of Public Health, 2000-2002.

He is the founder and director general of INSAD, which has consulted on and coordinated projects for various organizations, among them the Population Council, the International Cooperation Agency of the Government of Japan, the World Bank, the Pan American Health Organization, the Department of Economics at Princeton University, The International HIV/AIDS Alliance, the Center for International Cooperation at New York University, the Department of Economics at Stanford University, the Mexican Ministry of Health, the MacArthur Foundation and the Packard Foundation, among others.

He is author and co-author of 21 publications in national and international books and journals, on population and health issues.

Yolanda Palma Cabrera

Studied Actuarial Science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, obtaining an MSc in Statistics from the University of Manchester, England, and a PhD in Demography from the University of Paris.

She has managed international projects for the Population Council, the Pan American Health Organization, the World Health Organization, the Center for International Cooperation at the University of New York, Pathfinder Mexico, The Alan Guttmacher Institute, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

In her career she has held senior positions in the Ministry of Health and the National Population Council. Principal investigator in the sociodemographic area, founder and first director of INSAD.

Director of the Department of Population at El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, and currently professor and researcher at this institution.

Her areas of expertise are sociodemographic surveys, reproductive health, adolescents, and, more recently, migration. She has published several articles in national and international journals.

Manuel Urbina Fuentes

Is a surgeon graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

MSc in Public Health from the School of Public Health in Houston, University of Texas, USA, and Certification in Advanced Methods in Epidemiology and Health Services Administration and Community Medicine at the University of Minnesota, USA, and London, UK.

He has 30 years’ experience in the public sector. He has served as Undersecretary of Health; Medical Deputy General Director, ISSSTE; Secretary General of the National Population Council; Director General of Public Health Services in Mexico City; Director General of Extension of Coverage and the Health and Nutrition component of the Education, Health and Nutrition program (PROGRESA), and National Coordinator of the Family Planning Program.

He is a titular member of the National Academy of Medicine and is currently chairman of the Department of Public Health and Medical Sociology, and coordinator of the Permanent Committee for the Study of Social Determinants in Mexico. He has been president of the Mexican Society of Public Health.

He received the General Health Council’s Gerardo Varela Public Health Award in 2009, granted by the Government of Mexico, and was in 2013 awarded the Sanitary Merit Medal of the Mexican Society of Public Health.

Since 2007 he has been an independent consultant and associate professor at INSAD, where he has done consulting and research projects for governmental and non-governmental and national and international institutions, in the fields of health services management, demography, public health, performance evaluation, research into health services, and social development.

He is currently Vice President of the Executive Committee of Pathfinder International in Boston, MA. This is a pioneering organization with 55 years of history of programs of sexual and reproductive health, family planning, and the development of strategies for attention to adolescents in 22 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

He is author and co-author of publications in academic books and journals, both national and international, on population and health issues.

Ricardo Vernon Carter

Has a PhD in Sociology and MSc in Communication for Social Change at the University of Chicago. He is also a graduate in Information Science and Technology from the Ibero-American University, and holds a degree in Administration from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

He worked at the Population Council for 22 years, where he served as: Regional Director for Latin America and Caribbean of the Program of Operative Research, Frontiers in Reproductive Health (1998-2008); Representative in Mexico (2005-2008); Deputy director for Mexico, Central America and Caribbean for the programs of operative research in reproductive health INOPAL II and INOPAL III (1991-1998); and Programs Associate and Representative in Colombia (1986-1989). In these roles he led teams of professionals residing in seven countries dedicated to providing technical and financial assistance to more than 25 public and private organizations in 12 Latin American and African countries. His experience also includes serving as Director General of Opinión Profesional, (1989-1999), Director of Programming and Evaluation (1983-1986) at the Directorate General of Family Planning of the Mexican Ministry of Health, Project Coordinator (1982-1983) at the TELEVISA Institute for Communication Research, and Assistant Director (1980 – 1982) and research assistant (1978 -1980) at the Community and Family Study Center at the University of Chicago; Researcher (1976 – 1977) at the Mexican Institute of Communication Studies, Vice President of Research, TELEVISA; and Research fellow (1976) in the Department of Public Health Research, Mexican Social Security Institute.

Since August 2008, he has been Consultant/Research partner at INSAD, where he has won and managed projects for various foundations and institutions, such as the United Nations Population Fund in Latin America (UNFPA/LACRO), GHTECH, the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University, the Ministry of Education, National Council for Educational Development (CONAFE), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Ministry of Public Education (SEP), the National Population Council (CONAPO), the Inter-American Social Development Bank (IDB), and the Future’s Group, among the most recent.

He has authored or coauthored more than 100 publications on sexual and reproductive health and other social development issues, including articles in peer-reviewed journals, books, chapters of books, manuals, monographs, institutional reports and project reports.

Javier Enrique Jiménez Bolón

Holds a degree in in Actuarial Science from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He specialized in sample surveys at the Statistical Institute of Spain, as well as Quantitative Methods Applied to Epidemiology at the Autonomous Metropolitan University in Xochimilco (UAM-X) and Programs for Social Marketing at the Center for Social Development in Chicago, USA.

From January 1979 to date he has been Titular Professor and Researcher of the BSc in Sociology at the UAM-X, giving modular units related to: research methodology, techniques of sample surveys, descriptive and inferential statistics, information processing, socio-statistical analysis, and multivariate models.

From 1983 to 1990 he worked at the Ministry of Health’s Directorate General of Family Planning, where he served, among other posts, as the Director of Programming and Evaluation.

From 1990 to 1994 he was Consultant Coordinator and Director of State Councils of the National Population Council (CONAPO). Interior Ministry.

From 1995 to 2000 he worked at the Ministry of Health as consultant coordinator of the Sub-secretariat of Sector Coordination, as well as Deputy Director General for Planning and Evaluation of the General Directorate for Extension of Coverage, responsible for planning and evaluation of the health component of PROGRESA (Program for Opportunities for Human Development) and the Program for Expanded Coverage (PAC), and Chief Financial and Administrative Officer of the Directorate General of Public Health in Mexico City.

From 2001 to 2006 he held various positions at the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers (ISSSTE), including: Sub-Director of Management and Evaluation in Health, Assistant Coordinator of Transformation and Development, and Assistant Coordinator of Strategic Development of Municipalities.

From January 2007 to date he has been a partner of INSAD, where he has served as a consultant working on monitoring and evaluation of social programs and training in the Logical Framework Methodology. Investigator-evaluator of social programs registered with the National Council for Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL). Trainer in: Results-Based Managing (RBM); Results-Based Budgeting (RBB); Performance Evaluation System (SED); and Matrix Indicators for Results (MIR), with federal, state and local approaches. Reengineering government departments and social organizations.

He is member of the following associations: Mexican Society of Public Health, International Association of Health Economics and the Interdisciplinary Study Group on Ageing.

Christina Alexander

Obtained a BA in Political Science and an MSc in Social Work with a specialization in International Social Welfare Policy, from the University of Columbia in New York, USA.

During her graduate studies, she worked as an assistant in the Sexual Health and Rights Project (SHARP) of the Open Society Institute in New York, where she provided administrative and substantive support to SHARP team members. Specifically, she was in charge of the management of research on policies/practices impacting on the health and sexual rights of marginalized populations in countries of strategic interest, especially with regard to law enforcement and those programs and lines of action that can better empower these communities.

In Quintana Roo she established a community foundation called Anat Kah in 2007. Under her leadership, Anat Kah raised more than 150,000 USD in the town of Puerto Aventuras to support various local projects and programs operating in the community. Among them is a community financing program that supports, periodically, a small group of local organizations; the construction of the first phase of a school and a kindergarten; workshops on violence, self-esteem and sexuality to women and high school students; training teachers to incorporate local art and creativity in the classroom; and, most recently, the implementation of a pilot project to educate the community about different kinds of violence, and to make the prevention of violence a priority within the community through promoters of “good treatment”.

She has worked at INSAD since 2011 as coordinator of the area in charge of providing technical assistance in planning and evaluation to civil society organizations in Mexico, as well as areas working on specific research projects, and the evaluation of non-governmental programs and/or projects. Among her activities are the direction of strategy design, planning and completion of each project. This includes the creation of proposals and budgets, as well as the design of indicators and tools to gather information, both quantitative (questionnaires and forms) and qualitative (guides for individual and group interviews, guides for simulated or direct observation). In addition, she supports and guides the efforts of the researchers working on each project.

Mónica González Casillas

Holds a degree in Economics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She completed a diploma in Market Demographics at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM).

From 1991 to 2001 she held several important positions in government agencies, such as: Programming Department of the Directorate of State Population Councils of the National Population Council; the General Directorate of Revenue Policy and International Affairs of the Ministry of Finance; the Programming Department of the National Population Council; the Central Administration for Monitoring and Evaluation of the National Audit of the Ministry of Finance; and the General Directorate of Extension of Coverage of the Sub-secretariat for Sector Coordination at the Ministry of Health.

From March 2001 to date she has been Coordinator of the surveys area at INSAD, where she has conducted field operations on more than 50 surveys and various research projects for agencies such as the Ministry of Health, the World Bank (IBRD), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), The Population Council, the Department of Economics at Princeton University, the Research Institute for Development in France, El Colegio de Mexico, the Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM), the Institute for Social Research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the MacArthur Foundation, Marie Stopes International and the Mexican Foundation for Family Planning (MEXFAM), among others.

Among the latest projects in which she has participated as field coordinator are: ‘Impact assessment of the Young People program in Mexico City’ (2014) for MEXFAM; ‘Post-abortion contraception in users of the services of Marie Stopes International and Mexfam in Mexico City’ (2013) for the Population Council; ‘Refining survey Instruments, defining indicators and generating a quantitative evaluation process manual’ (2013) for the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

In addition to experience in field coordination of different research projects in public health, in the governmental sphere she has participated in the assessment, monitoring and evaluation of the programs that anteceded the Caravanas health program: the Coverage Expansion Program (PAC) and the Program for Education, Health and Nutrition (PROGRESA).

Ricardo Raya

Holds a degree in International Relations from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

In 2000 he joined the INSAD team, participating in different sociodemographic field studies carried out by the institution. He also served as a research assistant for the World Bank, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and the Ministry of Health, among others. In the same year he held the position of coordinator of the administrative area.

He is in charge of the administration and general accounting of the consultancy; he moreover participates directly in the administration and monitoring of the resources of each project the institution carries out.

Estela Rivero Fuentes

Holds a PhD in Demography and Public Affairs from Princeton University, an MSc in Demography from El Colegio de Mexico, and a degree in Actuarial Sciences from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Her professional experience includes over 15 years as an Applied Demographer. In addition, she has roles in academia, international agencies and organizations, the federal government, and social research consultancies. The fact of having worked in various areas means that her research is guided as much by its rigor as the usefulness of its results for the formulation of public policies.

Among Estela’s more recent posts are: her role as Senior Researcher at the Population Council (2014-2015); Academic Coordinator of the PhD in Population Studies at the Center for Demographic, Urban and Environmental Studies (CEDUA) of El Colegio de Mexico, (2009-2011); Research Professor at CEDUA, El Colegio de Mexico (2008-2014); consultant at Beta consultancy, a partner of the project ‘Evaluation of maternal and child services provided by the Ministry of Health of Mexico City for the period 2005-2010’ (2012); consultant at Betakorosi consultancy, and Project Coordinator of the Evaluation of the Caravanas health program 2008 (2009); and Consultant on the Creating Opportunities in Guatemala program, The Population Council, Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (2008).

She belongs to the National System of Researchers, Level I, and is the author and coauthor of 14 articles, book chapters and manuals in national and international journals. Her research interests include sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, internal and international migration, ageing, intergenerational support networks, transitions to adulthood, time use and gender. She has worked at INSAD since June 2015.

Alejandra Alarcón

Obtained a degree in Actuarial Science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and an MSc in Population at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), where she did research into population and health. Her thesis was titled ‘Ageing, health and living arrangements in Mexico’. She has attended courses such as population, aging and health in Mexico, and the conduction and execution of health surveys, among others.

She has worked at INSAD since 2008 as a researcher in the area of design, processing and analysis of surveys. She develops activities related to documentary research, processing and analysis of statistical information, which contribute to meeting the requirements of projects requested by various agencies such as the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the Nacional Monte de Piedad, International Planned Parenthood Federation, the Population Council and the Mexican Foundation for Family Planning (MEXFAM), among others.

She has in addition worked at the National Institute of Social Development in the Directorate General for Gender Equity and Strategic Projects for Development, working on the processing and analysis of statistical information on gender and poverty; at the Ministry of Health in the Health Services Information Systems Division, participating in the collection, processing, statistical reporting and updating of publications on health statistics; and at the National Institute of Statistics and Geography in the Directorate of Sociodemographic studies, where she developed activities such as information processing, compilation, organization, calculation and analysis of a series of indicators relating to issues of population and mortality: These activities allow for the production of different products, including statistical tables, databases, historical compendia of indicators, methodological papers, working papers, publications and information systems.

Giovanni Macías Suárez

Obtained a degree in Health Information Systems Management from the University of Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia, in 1999, and an MSC in Demography from the Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Tijuana, Baja California, in 2004.

He participated as a speaker at the IX National Meeting of Demographic Research in Mexico, ‘Towns and regions: the challenges of diversity’, organized by the Mexican Demography Society; as well as in the Preparatory Conference of the XXVI ALAS Congress, ‘Border society and subjectivities’, organized by the Latin American Sociology Association (ALAS) and the University of Tijuana.

His publications include:
1. Co-author, ‘Servicios de salud de los migrantes mexicanos’. In Condiciones de salud en la frontera norte de México. Gudelia Rangel and Mauricio Hernández, coordinators. El Colegio de la Frontera Norte. February 2009.
2. Co-author, ‘Políticas y recomendaciones para la salud de la frontera norte de México’. In Condiciones de salud en la frontera norte de México. Gudelia Rangel and Mauricio Hernández, coordinators. El Colegio de la Frontera Norte. February 2009.
3. Author, ‘Perfil sociodemográfico de la población’. In Las migraciones Guanajuato-Estados Unidos: Un acercamiento a las distintas dimensiones del fenómeno. Government of the State of Guanajuato, Instituto de Planeación del Estado de Guanajuato, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte. July 2007.
4. Co-author, ‘Servicios de salud de los migrantes guanajuatenses’. In Las migraciones Guanajuato Estados Unidos: Un acercamiento a las distintas dimensiones del fenómeno. Government of the State of Guanajuato, Instituto de Planeación del Estado de Guanajuato, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte. July 2007.
5. Co-author, ‘Infecciones de Transmisión Sexual’. In La Salud Reproductiva en México. Análisis de la Encuesta Nacional de Salud Reproductiva 2003. Health Ministry. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Multidisciplinarias, UNAM. Mexico, 2007.
6. ‘Estudios en 56 áreas urbanas de concentración de pobreza, Aguascalientes’, Secretaría de Desarrollo Social, 2005. These studies were carried out for the 31 Mexican states and the Federal Distrcit (Mexico City).
7. ‘Trauma osteomuscular Características de los Pacientes Admitidos en el Servicio de Urgencias de un Hospital de Tercer Nivel, Medellín 1998’.
8. ‘Situación del Personal de Enfermería en el Servicio de Urgencias en una Institución de Tercer Nivel, en Medellín en 1998’.

Regina Gonzalo Ortúñez

Es Licenciada en Educación y Pedagogía Social por la Universidad del País Vasco, España. Desde hace 14 años ha estado involucrada en el movimiento asociativo y se ha desempeñado principalmente en la gestión, coordinación y operación de proyectos y programas con énfasis en Desarrollo, Derechos Humanos y Género en diferentes países como España, Colombia, Ecuador y México.

Entre otras participaciones ha fungido como coordinadora, asesora y evaluadora en los siguientes programas y proyectos: Programa de Educación para la Niñez en Riesgo y el Programa de VIH-SIDA de la UNESCO en México; Modelo de “Clínicas de empoderamiento político y electoral de las mujeres”; Programa en Pro de la Mujer – Programa para el bienestar familiar en manos de mujeres rurales en la Costa de Oaxaca; Proyecto de voluntariado internacional en Cáritas Asturias, España; Programa “Atención integral de comunidades en situación de conflicto armado en el Valle del Cauca, Colombia”, entre otros.

Asimismo colaboró durante dos años y medio en la Secretaría Ejecutiva del Mecanismo de Seguimiento y Evaluación del Programa de Derechos Humanos del DF como coordinadora de los Espacios de Participación referentes a los Derechos de los Pueblos y Comunidades Indígenas, Derechos de las Personas Víctimas de trata y explotación sexual y comercial y Derechos de las Personas Privadas de la Libertad en Centros de Reclusión dando seguimiento y evaluando las acciones desarrolladas en esta materia por parte del Gobierno de la Ciudad de México.

Todos estos procesos señalados han implicado el desarrollo de un bagaje amplio en la creación de estrategias, creación de documentos, análisis de coyunturas para la incidencia en política pública, en el desarrollo de negociaciones, planes a corto, medio y largo plazo para la operación de las acciones acordadas y la creación de metodologías de seguimiento y evaluación para la medición de los procesos. Esta trayectoria ha implicado la permanente interlocución y comunicación con diferentes instancias públicas, privadas y ciudadanas.

Tom Bakker

Estudió la licenciatura de Geografía Social y la maestría en Estudios Internacionales del Desarrollo en la Universidad de Utrecht. Para realizar su tesis de maestría vivió seis meses en un parque natural en Vietnam, donde hizo una investigación sobre derechos de propiedad de una comunidad indígena. También es maestro en Internacionalización Económica (Universidad de Valencia) y participó en un programa de intercambio en la Universidad de Guadalajara.

Desde 2012 ha estado trabajando en varias organizaciones de la sociedad civil. En el marco de su maestría en Valencia realizó sus prácticas en la Misión Permanente de los Países Bajos ante las Naciones Unidas, y fue coordinador de un proyecto sobre violencia hacia las mujeres en Perú en la ONG holandesa Mensen met een Missie. Posteriormente formó parte de la Oficina de Oportunidades Iguales en el Consejo de la Unión Europea en Bruselas. En México ha trabajado en Fundar, Centro de Análisis e Investigación, A.C., como investigador en temas de violencia doméstica y análisis presupuestario, así como también participó en la facilitación de la Planeación Estratégica.

Desde abril de 2016 forma parte del área de Apoyo a fundaciones y organizaciones de la sociedad civil (OSC) en Insad, donde está involucrado en la investigación de varios proyectos, así como la facilitación de asistencias técnicas para el diseño y elaboración de instrumentos de evaluación, y el acompañamiento a OSC en la revisión de sus proyectos y planes de monitoreo y evaluación.

Renata Ruelas Romo

Holds a degree in Latin American Studies from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She specializes in Gender Studies and the History of Women in Mexico.

She obtained an MSc in International Cooperation and Development from the Dr. Jose Maria Luis Mora Institute, where she conducted research on the participation of the feminist movement in Latin America and the Caribbean during the configuring of the new Development Agenda.

She has been a member of the INSAD team since 2008. She is a researcher and consultant in the area of strengthening civil society organizations and foundations. She currently participates in the project ‘Contributing to the development of successful interventions to improve maternal health and the health and sexual and reproductive rights of rural and indigenous youth in Mexico’, funded by the MacArthur Foundation. She also provides technical assistance to CSOs who want to review their projects and monitoring and evaluation plans; she gives workshops on planning, evaluation and the development of indicators to civil society; and she has facilitated strategic planning for various CSOs and the Ford Foundation.

She has served as principal researcher on the projects ‘Towards the expansion of tested strategies for attention to sexual and reproductive health of adolescents’, funded by the MacArthur Foundation, and ‘Towards the implementation of a support model for civil society organizations in Mexico’, for the Kellogg Foundation. Besides participating as a researcher on various evaluation and research projects carried out within the area for donor agencies and CSOs, such as the HIV/Aids Alliance, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC), and the Semillas fund for Mexican women, among others.

Luisa Hernández Herse

Studied a degree in Social Psychology at the Autonomous Metropolitan University-Xochimilco (UAM-X), specializing in community organization processes. She teaches in the Women’s Studies program at UAM-X, specializing in the analysis of gender and culture. She has worked in the field of civil society organization since 2005, and has provided consulting services to various government agencies.

She joined the INSAD team in 2015 as a researcher in the area of strengthening civil society organizations (CSOs) and foundations. She is currently working on several projects, principal amongst them research into best practices for funds that support grassroots groups and social movements, for the Mexican Society for Women’s Rights as well as Semillas, and the project ‘Contributing to the development of successful interventions to improve maternal health and health and sexual and reproductive rights of rural and indigenous youth in Mexico’, funded by the MacArthur Foundation.

She also provides technical support in the design and development of assessment tools, and supports civil society in the reviewing of its projects and monitoring and evaluation plans.

Catalina Murillo

Studied an MSC in demography at the Colegio de Mexico with a specialization in Applied Econometrics, and a BA in Economics from the Faculty of Economics of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

She has worked at INSAD since August 2012, participating in the ‘Study of the Healthcare System in Oaxaca Services’, and coordinating the project ‘Functional Population Projections of 15 states of the Mexican Republic’, funded by the UNFPA. She has also participated in the evaluation of projects in the area of reproductive health, education and demography; and developing research proposals and evaluation design for health programs in Mexico. In addition she has worked on data analysis in different quantitative and qualitative research projects, with monitoring and follow-up on surveys and/or interviews applied in public health units and institutions that deal with issues related to population.

Since January 2014 she has been a professor in the Economics BA (Poverty seminar) of the Aragon School of Higher Studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She served as researcher at the Center for Demographic, Urban and Environmental Studies of the College of Mexico in 2014, on the project ‘Homes and Environmental Vulnerability’, and before that (2012-2013) as a research assistant on several projects, performing data analysis and literature reviews.

Angélica Gómez

Studied a degree in Latin American Studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Her thesis research focused on the human rights of undocumented Central American migrants crossing Mexico to the United States.

She has worked at INSAD since the start of 2012 as a research assistant in the area of strengthening civil society organizations (CSOs) and foundations.

From that time to date she has contributed to the development of various evaluation and research projects carried out within the area for donor agencies and CSOs, including the Mexican Alliance for a Free Choice, Las Hormigas, Comunidad en desarrollo, and the Fondo Acción Solidaria.

Her work involves the application of in-depth interviews and open and closed questionnaires, systematization of quantitative and qualitative information, documentary research and analysis of information, support in the elaboration of reports, support organizing and developing planning workshops, evaluation and creation of indicators for CSOs, and support in logistics and planning of events related to the area and the consultancy in general.
She is currently the researcher responsible for carrying out and monitoring of the ‘Diagnostic study to identify organizations and groups set up by and working for Afro-Mexican population’ for the Semillas fund.

Laura Reyes Rodríguez

Studied veterinary medicine at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), obtaining an MSC in reproductive health at the School of Public Health of Mexico, at the National Institute of Public Health (ESPM/INSP).

She has worked from the outset in different health institutions. She initially participated in the Department of Epidemiology on the gathering of information from the National Health Survey 2000 (ENSA 2000); she later worked for the National Institute of Public Health at the Center for Research in Nutrition and Health (CINyS) for four years, participating in evaluations of the PROGRESA program, an assessment of the nutrition of children in indigenous shelters in the state of Oaxaca, and various studies on nutrition, on which she served as supervisor. She then studied an MSc and upon finishing rejoined CINyS for another year, serving as supervisor, trainer and coordinator of fieldwork staff.

In 2006 she left the INSP and went to work for INSAD where she has remained to date, albeit intermittently. She has participated in fieldwork as supervisor of several health projects; most recently she has served as a trainer and coordinator, and currently participates in the development and design of working tools for field surveys. She has always worked directly under Mónica González Casillas.

When not working for INSAD, she has participated as supervisor and coordinator in the INSP for the Center for Population Health Research (CISP), training, coordinating and supervising fieldwork for the study of verbal autopsies. On another time-out from INSAD she worked as a consultant for the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IMHE) at the University of Washington, on the Chiapas Health (SM2015) project.

Claudia Suárez Blanch

Holds a BSc in Communication Sciences from the Intercontinental University, Mexico (1987-1991); an MA in Social Anthropology from the Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico (1996-1998); and a PhD in Citizenship: Social inclusion in diversity, from the University of Girona, Spain (2002-2003).

She worked at Afluentes for four years, performing tasks related to research, selection and translation of information for different audiences on the subject of sexual and reproductive health. For nearly five years she worked at the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples (CDI), first as coordinator of the CDI-UNDP ‘Indigenous Peoples of Mexico: Development and Prospects’ project, and later as deputy director of analysis and information design. For two years she was information systems program coordinator at the Este Páis foundation; and at the Institute for Security and Democracy, she coordinated a project that aims to ensure citizen participation in the strengthening of human security in the town of Papantla, Veracruz. Since 2010 she has worked with CIESAS in the identification and characterization of indigenous communities in Mexico.

At INSAD she has collaborated since 2009 in different social program evaluations: evaluation of processes for the Program for Strengthening and Development of Indigenous Cultures (PROFODECI); analysis of the feasibility of carrying out an impact assessment for the Basic Infrastructure Program for the Care of Indigenous Peoples (PIBAI); consistency and results evaluation of the PROFODECI; and specific performance evaluations of federal programs aimed at the indigenous population, 2012-2013.

She has participated in diverse publications, among them: ‘El derecho al Consentimiento Informado: un ejercicio en construcción. Leyes, casos y procedimientos de queja en los servicios de planificación familiar en México’ (coauthor); series of work documents ‘Documentos de Trabajo’, num. 22, 1998. The Population Council / INOPAL III; ‘Marco Internacional y Nacional de los Derechos Sexuales de Adolescentes’ (coauthor), Afluentes, Comisión de Derechos Humanos del Distrito Federal, Mexico, 2005; ‘La reconstrucción de la identidad de los grupos negros de México: un recorrido histórico’, Revista Dimensión Antropológica Año 6, vol. 16. May/August 1999; production and filming of the video ‘Perversidad Infinita. XV Encuentro de la danza de los Diablos de la Costa Chica de Guerrero y Oaxaca’, CONACULTA-INAH, December 2001; ‘Situación sociodemográfica de los pueblos indígenas de México, en Pueblos indígenas y afrodescendientes de América Latina y el Caribe: información sociodemográfica para políticas y programas’ CEPAL/UNFPA/Fondo indígena/CEPED/Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Chile, 2006.

Lourdes Reyes Retana Valdés

Studied a degree in communication at the Ibero-American University, Mexico City. She has taken courses and workshops given by AMAI (Mexican Association of Market and Opinion Intelligence Agencies), as well as refresher seminars on various topics, including: Sociological Analysis of the Consumer, Consumer Behavior, Communication of Results, Knowledge Transfer, Neuro-linguistic Programing, and Marketing for SMEs.

She has thirty years’ experience in qualitative research as moderator and analyst. Among her main functions are the detection of the information needs of the customer to define objectives and develop the research proposal; the design of Guides to Topics; moderating focus groups, in-depth interviews, ethnographic interviews and SWOT workshops; neurobiological measurements applied to marketing; interpretative analysis of information obtained about the needs, perceptions and preferences or rejections of participants regarding the issue under study; and the preparation and reporting of results (Power Point or Word).

From 1987 to 2000 she was interviewer and editor of the quarterly internal magazine and monthly newsletters of the different production plants of Bayer of Mexico.

Besides this she worked as a moderator and analyst during the same period in other companies and institutions, including the FAI (Child Support Foundation), Dec Qualitative Studies, Factum Mercadotécnico, CINCO (Research and Communication Consultants), and Enlace.

From 2005 to date she has worked at INSAD as a coordinator of qualitative studies.

Gregorio Ornelas García

Is a surgeon of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He has taken courses in social medicine at the Autonomous Metropolitan University-Xochimilco; on human resources management at the Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey; and in health economics at the Ibero-American University.

He has held management positions in the Ministry of Health, in the Mexico City Ministry of Health, of the in the General Medical Division of ISSSTE. His areas of development are epidemiology, community medicine and public health as well as the management, planning and evaluation of public policies and programs. He was a professor of the public health course at the Faculty of Medicine, UNAM.

He has worked at INSAD since 2007 as an assistant researcher and as a research associate in specific evaluations of performance and results, in the area of evaluation of public policies and programs, which develops activities related to documentary research, processing and analysis of statistical information, design of evaluation instruments, which contribute to meeting the requirements of projects requested by various agencies such as CONEVAL, the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Health, Coordination of National Institutes of Health, and the governments of states such as Queretaro and Tabasco, among others.

Jacqueline Casillas Martín

Studied a degree in Communication Sciences at the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She worked as a logistics coordinator in general management for private companies such as the construction firm Constructora GICISA Soluciones Integrales, the company KRASA, an importer of medicines, and as head of the Administrative Department at CIDE (Center for Economic Research and Teaching), as an assistant in the area of public administration.

She gave technical assessments to the General Secretariat of Support to Collegiate Bodies of the UNAM, carrying out the revision, evaluation and preparation of rulings for the modification, updating and creation of curricula for academic institutions both belonging to and incorporated in the UNAM, where she also participated in the publication of the book Evaluación en la UNAM, Organización Institucional y Planes de Estudio, coordinated by Dr. Victor Manuel Durand Ponte.

She has ben at INSAD since July 2012, working in administrative logistics, for example, in assistance and supervision in field coordination, in the surveys area on projects such as ‘Studies on the Use of Contraceptives After Abortion’, for The Population Council, ‘Survey on Health and Sexual and Reproductive Rights of Adolescents and Youth in Rural and Indigenous Mexico, 2013’ for the Mexican Alliance for a Free Choice, and ‘Gender violence and violence against women in indigenous municipalities in the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca’, for the CEPAL.

She also worked on the coordination of the International Symposium on Social Determinants of Health, 2010, at the National Academy of Medicine and the National Institute of Public Health, organized by Dr. Manuel Urbina Fuentes.

Verónica Carrasco Maldonado

Joined INSAD at the end of 1999, providing general administrative support on a part-time basis.

Since 2003 she has worked as a secretary and administrative assistant.
Among her main activities are working as a receptionist as well as handling letters, credentials and institutional records. She likewise assists on the logistics for events, meetings and training; handles stationery and catering; manages mail; organizes internal events; and generally supports the staff working in the company.

Other activities as administrative assistant have included organizing accounting documents and preparing receipts. She done coding and capture, primarily for the Harm Reduction (RDD) project of the International Planned Parenthood Federation of the Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR) Family, which was conducted through its Member Associations (AMs) with a group of Latin American countries: Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela (2009-2012). The study’s aim was to provide comprehensive care to women in situations of unwanted pregnancy, and especially to reduce risks to the health of those who decide to interrupt in places where it is not legally permitted.

She has also collaborated in the systematization of questionnaires pre-post monitoring and evaluation workshops held by the strengthening CSOs and foundations area.

Laura Estefany Cronques Cortés