Mercedes Mateo Díaz

Mercedes Mateo Díaz is the Chief of the Education Division at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), where she leads a team of specialists to support the transformation of educational systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. Her work focuses on rethinking education to strengthen learning ecosystems and equip individuals with 21st-century skills. She has coordinated innovative education projects and contributed to areas such as institutional reform, female labor participation, early childhood education, and social cohesion. Dr. Mateo Díaz holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Louvain and has been a postdoctoral researcher at the Belgian Scientific Research Fund (FNRS) and the European University Institute. On Coursera, she teaches courses like "Aprendizaje, primera infancia y desarrollo de habilidades" and "Políticas educativas efectivas basadas en evidencia," emphasizing evidence-based educational policies and early childhood learning.