Laura Pabón Alvarado

Economist with a Master's degree in Economics from the Universidad de los Andes and a Master's degree in Public Policy from the University of Chicago. She worked for more than 8 years at the World Bank on labor market, poverty, and social protection issues for countries in Southeast Asia, Latin America and Central Europe. She was Deputy Director of Education at the National Planning Department for more than 2 years.

Currently, she is the Director of the Social Development Direction of the National Planning Department and, since the beginning of 2022, Sub-Director in charge of the General Sub-Direction of Prospective and National Development. Under her responsibility is to plan with strategic foresight and under the guidelines of the General Directorate, the coordination and articulation of the formulation of policies, plans, programs, projects, and other planning instruments, as well as technical assistance in the management cycle of public policy.

She directed and coordinated the lines of the Pact for Equity of the National Development Plan 2018-2022, in the areas of early childhood, health, education, food security, work, poverty, families, among others. In 2020 she was named the Best Public Servant in the national category, a recognition given by the Presidency of the Republic and the Public Function for her work in the leadership of the Solidarity Income (Ingreso Solidario) and VAT Compensation (Compensación del IVA) programs. Solidarity Income was designed and implemented in record time to serve the most vulnerable households in the context of the economic, health and social emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2021, more than three million households in the country had benefited from the program. These achievements also led to Laura Pabón being highlighted by Forbes as one of Colombia's 50 Powerful Women in 2021.