Alfonsina Peñaloza Joins Hewlett Foundation in Mexico City as Global Development and Population Program Officer

Nov 05, 2012

MENLO PARK, Calif. – Alfonsina Peñaloza, an expert in good government practices in Mexico, will join The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in January 2013 as an officer in its Global Development and Population Program, officials announced today.

Alfonsina comes to the Hewlett Foundation from her position as deputy director and interim executive director of Fundación Ethos, in Mexico City, a nonprofit organization that conducts and disseminates research on public policy.

At the Foundation’s Mexico City office, she will make grants to policy research and advocacy organizations that promote greater transparency and accountability in Mexico’s public sector.

The work Alfonsina will support is intended to increase openness in public budgets, making it easier for citizens to hold governments accountable and improve policies that determine how public funds are allocated for basic services. That work, in turn, is part of the Global Development and Population Program’s goal of enhancing conditions for equitable growth in developing countries.

“Alfonsina’s experience makes her an ideal person to carry on the Foundation’s grantmaking,” said Ruth Levine, director of the Global Development and Population Program. “Through this work, she will support citizens in their efforts to make government information more accessible and to ensure that funding goes where it is intended.”

Alfonsina has a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México in Mexico City, with a minor in international politics. She has a master’s degree in gender, development, and globalization from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Earlier in her career, Alfonsina served as deputy director of international affairs and deputy director of social outreach at the Mexican government’s Ministry of Public Administration in Mexico City. Before that, she acted as deputy director at the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations in Mexico City.

“I’m very pleased to be joining the Hewlett Foundation to continue to work on transparency in government and gender issues to make my government a more effective servant to its people,” said Alfonsina. “Although we have come a long way, there is still more progress to be made.”