Hilen is the Head of Climate Change at IDB Invest, based in Washington, D.C. She leads a specialized team of experts who seek to provide added value and innovation to IDB Invest transactions and support the institutional mandate of being a Climate Smart institution. To achieve this, Hilen has mobilized technical assistance resources from climate funds and bilateral donors, focusing on supporting private sector actions. Among some of the recent transactions, there are examples of agribusinesses using drone technology to deploy organic material for pest management, climate risk analysis of infrastructure projects, as well as sustainable finance and green bond certification for banks.
With over 17 years of experience working on climate issues within the IDB Group, Hilen is an expert on creating enabling environments for climate investments. She has substantial experience working with public sector actors and private companies to promote and consolidate climate actions and strategies, as well as leveraging international climate funds that can attract private investment in Latin America and the Caribbean. She has been honored with the Ortiz Mena Award for the Best Innovative Loan for an operation that combined fiscal and climate adaptation measures to mitigate the impacts of climate change in Central America. Prior to joining IDB Invest, Hilen spent 8 years at the IDB as a climate policy expert. She is a Political Scientist from Universidad Católica de Córdoba, Argentina, and holds a Master's degree from Hebrew University, Israel, as well as a Master's and a PhD degree from Georgetown University, USA.