Maria Paula is a junior researcher at RECSM for the WEB DATA OPP project and a master's student in International Development at the Institut Barcelona Estudis Internacionals (IBEI). Her background in public policy includes working at the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation and Bogotá's District's Participation and Community Action Institute (IDPAC). She also served as a humanitarian affairs intern at the Colombian Mission to the UN in Geneva.

Maria Paula holds a Bachelor 's degree in Political Science from Universidad del Rosario (Colombia) and completed a graduate program in International Cooperation and Development Project Management from Universidad Externado de Colombia and Columbia University. 

Her research interests center around the intersection of development, gender, climate justice, inequality, and quantitative research to drive positive change.