Maria Montserrat Castillo

Born in Tlaxcala, Mexico’s smallest state, but growing up across the country and studying abroad twice, Maria has lived in 13 different cities, embracing change and cultural diversity at a young age. This led her to major in International Business at Universidad Iberoamericana Puebla and to become interested in the fields of trade development, economic diplomacy, and policy. 

As a trade enthusiast, she has worked with ProEcuador, a trade promotion agency, providing market intelligence to Ecuadorian exporters, and key insights on intra-industry trade opportunities and Ecuador's competitiveness against the Pacific Alliance members to the FTA negotiating team. Maria has provided trade consulting services as an analyst at Asia Business Consulting, translating market information into market access strategies, identifying and building strategic partnerships to develop business leads, and providing logistics support to source and export goods.

She has also volunteered with the Iniciativa de Integración de las Américas, the Consejo Nacional Juvenil de Ciencia y Humanidades, Korea.Net, and the Toluca Coordination of International Affairs. 

In her spare time, you’ll find her mountain biking, doing yoga, or watching F1.