On March 17, 2022, ACDI/VOCA’s President & COO Sylvia Megret named Carolina Blackburn as the new executive director of Fundación ACDI/VOCA Latin America (FAVLA). The announcement followed FAVLA’s Board of Directors meeting, in which Megret and other board members voted to promote Blackburn to the role, effective on April 1, 2022.
“ACDI/VOCA is committed to locally led, inclusive, and sustainable development in Colombia and throughout Latin America. I am proud of all that Carolina has done to support the growth and development of FAVLA since its inception in 2018. I am confident that she will continue her efforts in her new role as FAVLA furthers its journey to engage a multitude of partners — just as she has for the past three years as deputy director and while serving ACDI/VOCA-led programs in Colombia since 2016. We welcome her in this new role and look forward to the transformative efforts she will impart to achieve FAVLA’s mission.”
— Sylvia J. Megret
Based in Bogotá, Colombia, Blackburn currently serves as deputy director for FAVLA, which is a nonprofit organization that leverages ACDI/VOCA’s long history in Latin America to promote alliances between the public and private sectors and communities. FAVLA aims to create opportunities for economic and social inclusion among people in Colombia and other countries throughout the region.
“I am proud and honored to support the incredible group of professionals who make up the FAVLA team. I look forward to new challenges and an exciting next phase of alliances and collaboration in the region.”
— Carolina Blackburn
During her visit, Megret also had the opportunity to connect with several programs implemented by ACDI/VOCA in Colombia, including the Program of Alliances for Reconciliation. This six-year USAID-funded program has contributed to increased trust, coexistence, and peace in the country after years of conflict. The program will close this month.
Megret also traveled to the Caribbean region of Colombia to meet participants of an environmental protection and youth leadership project in Cartagena led by the USAID-funded Youth Resilience Activity. While in Cartagena, Megret met with the ACDI/VOCA team leading this activity. She also spoke with allies from the Municipal Youth Council, the District Youth Platform, and the Cartagena and Santa Marta chambers of commerce about youth-led initiatives in the city.
Lastly, Megret met the ACDI/VOCA team in charge of launching the new USAID-funded Indigenous Peoples and Afro-Colombian Empowerment Activity, which will promote self-governance, self-determined economic development, and cultural heritage of ethnic communities in 29 Colombian municipalities over the next five years.
ACDI/VOCA is a trusted global development partner based in Washington, D.C. that has designed and implemented economic and social development projects around the world since 1963. ACDI/VOCA engages governments, private companies, financial institutions, and communities in the design and execution of projects and employs more than 1,000 people globally. ACDI/VOCA has also mobilized skilled U.S. volunteers to assist farmers, NGOs, cooperatives, businesses, and universities overseas for 50 years.
Fundación ACDI/VOCA LA works with public and private entities to empower, transform, and generate opportunities for economic and social inclusion of people, communities, and organizations in Colombia and other countries throughout Latin America. Fundación ACDI/VOCA LA capitalizes on ACDI/VOCA’s long history in Latin America and promotes alliances between public and private entities and communities, aimed at strengthening strategies that lead to the inclusive and sustainable development of countries in the region. It is a nonprofit registered in Colombia and based in Bogotá.
