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October 29, 2022

ILG 2022 Strengthens LALP Alumni Connections

ILG 2022 posing in front of Healy Hall during their first day of in-person orientation
ILG 2022 posing in front of Healy Hall during their first day of in-person orientation

In 2022, after two years of adjustments due to the pandemic, the Latin America Leadership Program (LALP) at Georgetown University set out to redesign its Innovation and Leadership in Government (ILG) program, applying the lessons learned during this time to commemorate the occasion of the ninth edition of the program and the milestone of 25 LALP alumni generations.

In 2014, the first edition of the Innovation and Leadership in Government (ILG) program was launched in light of the urgent need to train public servants in Latin America to promote the political, economic, and social development of the region through public policies and social projects. Beyond providing its participants with a set of conceptual or theoretical frameworks on leadership and public policies, the program was conceived to equip its participants to apply the analytical tools and frameworks necessary for the elaboration and execution of innovative public initiatives, fostering a unique opportunity for experiential learning and a unique platform to strengthen ties among participants from all over the region. After nine years, the ILG program is widely referenced at the regional level and has more than 230 graduates from twenty Latin American countries.

ILG 2022 cheering on the steps of Healy Hall
ILG 2022 cheering on the steps of Healy Hall

This ninth edition, the first hybrid one, was designed with a duration of 5 academic weeks, from September 19 to October 29, 2022, combining part-time virtual sessions with asynchronous work and a final full-time face-to-face immersive week in Washington, DC, coinciding with the last days of the third reunion of LALP alumni, an annual initiative of the students of the Global Competitiveness Leadership (GCL) and Innovation and Leadership in Government (ILG) programs to continue learning and fostering links among the more than 800 leaders of the region that are part of the extensive LALP Alumni network.

This edition of the program included academic sessions with professors from Georgetown University (Ricardo Ernst, José Guerrero, Andrés Márquez-Lara, Álvaro Santos, and Juan Luis Manfredi), and included workshops with guest professors such as Diane Garza, Silverio Zebral, Alberto Rodriguez, and Pilar Jerico. Likewise, the program featured talks with regional experts such as Julio Guzman, Dionisio Gutierrez, Héctor Schamis, Epsy Campbell, Edgar Colman, Rosario Tur, Alejandro Werner, Ancor Suarez Aleman, Ana Castillo, Juan Pablo Salazar, Carlota Sanz, Soledad García Muñoz, and Raquel Artecona.

As a special component this year, and in order to allow for replicability in future iterations of the program, this edition placed particular emphasis on promoting the exchange of knowledge between the alumni network and the participants in the cohort. To this end, alumni of the program presented thematic case studies and served as mentors to support the development of the ILG students’ final projects. The ILG alumni who supported this edition were Romina Sarmiento, Adolfo Arguello, Lorena Balbuena, Andres Vazquez, Elizabeth Pavon, Carlos Mendoza, Isabel Fiafilio, Flavia Tello, Lucas Peverelli, and Sergio Paixao.

As an additional update this year, the program incorporated the traditional profiles of public officials at the local, state, and national levels from the legislative, judicial, and executive branches, as well as profiles with extensive experience in civil society and representatives of multilateral and development organizations in Latin America, including the IDB, UN, and USAID, from 13 Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Panama, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The projects of this ninth cohort demonstrate not only the breadth of their areas of specialization - including sustainability, health, technology and innovation, transportation, infrastructure, education, security, justice, governance, employment, social inclusion and migration - but also their firm commitment to improving their communities, their countries, and the region, in addition to the remarkable impact of their mentors and teachers throughout the program.

The graduation ceremony marked the culmination of this edition and the incorporation of these public leaders into the alumni network, which promotes endless initiatives to foment the economic and social development of the region and strengthen the ties between these regional leaders and Georgetown University.

The ILG 2022 program, organized with the support of Microsoft Latin America, is led by Ricardo Ernst, Academic Director and Professor at the McDonough School of Business; Cristina Ruiz, Associate Director of Programs and Operations; and Michael Guarino, Program Manager, in collaboration with the Department of Executive Education of the McDonough School of Business.

Congratulations ILG 2022!