Ana María Rey Martinez

Ana Maria is responsible for leading the strategy, co-creation, and programme management of the first Van Leer Fellowship: A global community of leaders and social innovators, working in fields that are shaping the present and future of human development, curious about what may lie at the intersection of their area of expertise and the needs of babies, toddlers and the people who care for them.

Before joining the Foundation, she worked at the International Baccalaureate Organisation, first as Operations Coordinator at the Education office and then as an Associate Manager at IB World Schools. Prior to that, she worked for the Dutch organisation for internationalisation in education (Nuffic) where she managed the Latin American programme and led the Study in Holland promotion and alumni strategy for the region. She also served as an Advocacy Officer for the United Network of Young Peacebuilders and advised the Colombian Ministry of Culture on community development and cultural tourism. Through these various roles and spaces, she became passionate about the power of knowledge(s), generative dialogues, and networks to drive transformation.

Ana Maria holds an MA in Development Studies from the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (the Netherlands), an MA in Public Policy from the Central European University (Hungary), and a Bachelor of Arts in Human Ecology from the College of the Atlantic (US). Ana is also a Thomas J. Watson Fellow.

Ana Maria is originally from Colombia and lives in the Netherlands with her husband and two children.