Lourdes María Blanco Pineda
About Lourdes María Blanco Pineda
Lourdes María Blanco Pineda is a specialist in Accountability and Learning at Catholic Relief Services in Guatemala, where she focuses on adaptive management and provides technical guidance on monitoring, evaluation, and learning. She has extensive experience in the field, having held various roles in organizations such as Counterpart International and The International Foundation for Electoral Systems.
Work at Catholic Relief Services
Lourdes María Blanco Pineda currently serves as Especialista de Rendición de Cuentas y Aprendizaje at Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Guatemala. She has been in this role since 2023, focusing on the development and implementation of the Accountability and Learning strategy. Her responsibilities include managing the Feedback and Response Mechanism (MRR) to ensure timely responses to feedback in CRS programs. She provides technical guidance to CRS teams and partners, linking monitoring, reporting, and response with protection and learning throughout the project cycle.
Previous Experience in Monitoring and Evaluation
Prior to her current role at CRS, Lourdes worked as Consultora Profesional en Monitoreo, Evaluación y Aprendizaje at CRS from 2022 to 2023. She also held positions at Counterpart International as Consultora en Monitoreo, Evaluación y Aprendizaje for two months in 2020 and as Coordinadora de Monitoreo y Evaluación from 2018 to 2020. Additionally, she worked at The International Foundation for Electoral Systems in various capacities, including Oficial de Programa and Consultora, contributing to monitoring and evaluation efforts.
Education and Expertise
Lourdes holds a Licenciatura en Relaciones Internacionales from Universidad Rafael Landívar, where she studied from 2009 to 2014. She furthered her education with a Maestría en Políticas Públicas y Monitoreo y Evaluación para el Desarrollo from Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, completing her studies from 2018 to 2020. Her academic background supports her expertise in international cooperation and development, particularly in monitoring and evaluation.
Background in International Organizations
Lourdes has extensive experience working with international organizations and donors. She has collaborated with entities such as USAID, the U.S. Department of State, and the United Nations. Her roles have included providing monitoring and evaluation support in various capacities, such as Asistente de Monitoreo y Evaluación at OIM - ONU Migración and Analista de compras at Grupo CEMACO. This diverse background enhances her understanding of international development and accountability processes.