Isabel Berdeja, MA International Development Studies, Class of 2016, #ElliottProud Alumni
Isabel Berdeja, Mexican- born and raised, graduated with a Masters in International Development Studies from the Elliott School in May 2016 and has been MICI’s Civil Society Liaison since May 2017. Prior to her work at the Inter-American Development Bank, Isabel worked on program management at the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) where she focused on capacity-strengthening projects for Civil Society, as well as human rights in Nicaragua and Ecuador and in the energy sector with General Electric Mexico. During her time at ESIA, she was treasurer for the Organization of International Development Board. She received the Freeman Grant to conduct an internship in Borneo for Planet Indonesia, an NGO working on market-based solutions to conservation. She was the 2016 recipient of the Wilbur J. Carr Memorial Award and did her capstone project with Pyxera Global in Kazakhstan, where she worked on a Final Assessment of a three-year USAID-funded project to diversify mono-town economies.
Describe your current position and what are your primary responsibilities?
I currently work at the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB) as a consultant for the Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism (MICI), which is the office that investigates and mediates complaints where communities or the environment have been harmed by IDB- financed projects.
My current role is to act as Civil Society Liaison. In this role, I make sure communities have access to MICI, by implementing our Access Strategy, which prioritizes remote communities and ensures easy access to our services. I make sure all the information is available in the four languages of the bank, and invite communities to be informed about MICI’s work.
Finally, I coordinate with civil society organizations that may accompany communities in the process of presenting a complaint.
What are the current trends driving the future of your career field and what advice would you provide an Elliott School graduate student that is interested in your field of work?
I think it depends on what makes you happy. Unfortunately, the current trend in the development industry is that the issues are donor-driven, and investment is based on impact- results. So, if you want to get a job, focus on the hard skills of Monitoring and Evaluation as well as quantitative and qualitative data analysis. On the other hand, project management skills are always useful. I had access to both at ESIA.
I would tell students to be honest with themselves about where they would enjoy working the most. Then, figure out what skills you need to be there, and work to get them.
When you need inspiration, you … ?
I go for a walk. I hang out with my Elliott-school friends! I call my family or I go to church.
If you could travel anywhere in the cosmos, outside of Earth, where would you go and why?
Mars. I hope I am still alive by the time commercial flights are available!
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The #ElliottProud profile series is managed by the Elliott School Office of Graduate Admissions and highlights graduate program alumni to answer common questions posed by prospective, incoming, and current students. For more information on this series or to submit questions, e-mail the Office of Graduate Admissions at esiagrad@gwu.edu.
The views expressed by students profiled do not necessarily represent those of organizations they work for, are affiliated with, or the Elliott School of International Affairs.
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