I am a professor of practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). My research and practice focus on improving educational opportunities in developing countries. I earned a Doctor of Education degree from HGSE, a Master's of Public Policy degree from Duke University, and a Bachelor's degree in communications from the Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas, Venezuela.

Before returning to HGSE in July of 2022, I was co-director of the Center for Universal Education at Brookings. I joined Brookings in 2019, after serving for seven years as Chief of the Education Division at the Inter-American Development Bank, where I oversaw the Bank’s lending operations and technical assistance projects throughout Latin America and Caribbean countries. Before joining the IADB, I spent over ten years at The World Bank, where I led research and operations focused on education systems in various low- and middle-income countries. My research focuses on issues affecting education systems in Latin America and the Caribbean and other developing regions.

I was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, and now I split my time between Cambridge, MA, Washington, DC and Naples, FL. I enjoy spending time with my husband, W. David Lawson, and our large, blended family, including my two sons and three step-children and their families. Outside of work, I enjoy boating, water sports, running, practicing yoga, reading, traveling, and playing the piano.