María del Mar Munguía

2022 IVLP Impact Award Project: Strategic Skills for Decision MakingCosta Rica

María del Mar Munguía is an economist with eight years of experience in government. María focused on free trade agreement negotiations with China, Singapore, European Union, Colombia and Perú. She has taught at the university and worked as a consultant. As a consultant she focused on the trade and labor market. Now María is the coordinator of GAN Costa Rica, a private sector Union of Chambers project that received US Department of Labor funds. She helps GAN Costa Rica support vulnerable youth find their first job through worked based learn programs. Maria loves to work with youth and to teach them because she see youth as the future. Children have energy and a lot of interest to explore new opportunities. María dreams of a world with more opportunities for women. 

IVLP Impact Award Project: Strategic Skills for Decision Making

The project consisted of a set of 18 virtual training sessions divided into three topics: soft skills, financial education and STEAM. These sessions developed strategic skills and knowledge for employability in young vulnerable populations. The project introduced underrepresented groups, like women and economically disadvantaged youth to STEAM careers by showing them different approaches to problem solving. The beneficiaries were 55 youth between 14 and 22 years old, from rural areas. By the end of the program, in addition to learning more about the employment opportunities in the region, students had built a CV and conducted mock interviews, thereby preparing them to confidently enter the workforce. The further impact expected is to give the recipient population tools to make important decisions such as: career choice in STEAM, efficient use of financial resources and soft skills for employability.

IVLP Exchange Experience 

María was a participant in the IVLP Project NGO Management III, organized by the U.S. Department of State and Meridian International Center.

María's exchange experience led to the development of his IVLP Impact Award Project: "I loved the opportunity to participate in IVLP because [it] equipped me with the technical and theoretical tools to coordinate an NGO. IVLP gave me a network of people from different parts of the world, opening the doors to many other opportunities, like the IVLP Impact Award."

U.S. Communities Visited Virtually

Colorado Springs, CO; Washington, DC; Orlando, FL; Des Moines, IA; Indianapolis, IN; New Orleans, LA; Springfield, MA; Kansas City, MO; Charlotte, NC; Santa Fe, NW; San Antonio, TX; Seattle, WA; Milwaukee, WI

Country: Costa Rica

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