Paula Santoyo is a specialist in capacity building and project management, with more than 12 years of experience leading teams, developing methodologies and learning content, and creating monitoring and evaluation tools for civil society organizations and public institutions. From platforms such as Family Health International (FHI 360), Social Impact Inc., and Creative Associates Inc., she has designed strategies to strengthen more than 100 social and community organizations in Mexico and Central America. In recent years, she has specialized in providing technical and financial advisory services, developing grant calls, and designing methodologies on adaptive planning, gender perspective, risk management, and strategic communication.

Through international cooperation and the public sector, she has designed and implemented diagnostics, training programs, and evaluation methodologies in partnership with clients such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Mexican Banking Association (ABM). Her career combines strategic design with field implementation, building bridges between public institutions, international donors, and grassroots organizations to strengthen effectiveness, accountability, and cross-sector collaboration.

Her territorial work spans Chiapas, Oaxaca, Yucatán, Quintana Roo,  Chihuahua, Sonora, Jalisco, Nayarit and Mexico City, where she has collaborated with women’s organizations, Indigenous communities, and grassroots groups. In these contexts, she has facilitated participatory community planning processes, strengthened savings groups, and provided technical support to productive enterprises, while also contributing to initiatives such as the Campaign in Defense of Land and Territory.

She holds a degree in Political Science from ITAM, graduating with honors, and a Master’s in Global Urban Development and Planning from the University of Manchester, where she was awarded the Chevening Scholarship and the Dean’s Award. She has also published research and analysis in collective books and specialized media, connecting academic reflection with community practice.

The guiding thread of her career is the integration of team leadership, technical expertise, and community practice, linking institutional strengthening with listening, mutual learning, and the collective construction of sustainable solutions in contexts of high vulnerability.