Sarita Ruiz Morato is a program associate in the foundation’s Andean Region office in Bogota. She supports the team in research, analysis, and strategy development.

Prior to joining the foundation in 2022, Sarita was a program officer for the Latin America team of the Natural Resource Governance Institute, where her work focused on just energy transition, critical minerals, gender, and monitoring evaluation and learning strategies. Before this, she worked with organizations including Transparency International, Global Integrity, Grupo de Dialogo Minero, and Semester at Sea at Colorado State University.

Sarita is most interested in the governance of natural resources, communities’ land rights, and citizen participation. Lately, she has been increasing her expertise in capacity-building and organizational development. She was 14 years old when she was elected as Bogota´s young counselor to develop public policies for young citizens, a crucial experience in discovering her commitment to overcoming inequality, promoting social justice, and advocating for citizen participation.

Sarita holds a bachelor’s degree in government and international relations from Universidad Externado de Colombia and a master of arts in international relations from Corvinus University of Budapest.