María Estela Rivero Fuentes

Senior Research Associate and Co-Director of the Central America Research Alliance

Areas of Expertise: Mexico and Central America; Education; Gang Violence & Drugs; Gender Equality; Migration; Monitoring & Evaluation; Social Demography and Populations

María Estela Rivero Fuentes (Estela Rivero) is a Senior Research Associate and Co-Director of the Central America Research Alliance (CARA). A social demographer by trade, Rivero has over 20 years of experience evaluating social programs in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean; analyzing and collecting data; and conducting research on gender, migration, youth and violence issues. Her excellent quantitative and qualitative skills, combined with her extensive experience and innovative creativity, have been instrumental for research teams seeking to improve social interventions and programs. Fluent in both Spanish and English, she has worked collaboratively across international and interdisciplinary teams in academia, international research organizations and development agencies. 

Prior to joining the Pulte Institute, Rivero worked as a researcher in Mexico, where she conducted several evaluations of education programs, and was a member of the Technical Committee for the Evaluation of the Federal Registry of Voters. As a part of that role, she evaluated the timely enrollment of youth and its impact on the completeness of the Registry. Relevant to her work at the Institute is also her experience with the Population Council, where she participated in the design and testing of implementations aimed at improving health services in Central America and the Caribbean. She was also assistant professor of Population Studies at the Center for Demographic and Urban Studies at El Colegio de México.

Rivero holds a Ph.D. in demography and public affairs from Princeton University, a master's in demography from El Colegio de Mexico, and a bachelor's in actuarial sciences from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.