Juan Sebastián Leiva

Juan Sebastián was born in Bogotá, Colombia. In addition to his home country, he also grew up in Brazil, Egypt, Venezuela, and the U.S. Seeking answers to what he would later identify as development challenges, Sebastián pursued a bachelor’s degree and then a master’s degree in economics at Universidad de los Andes. While completing his degree, Sebastián interned at Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) in Colombia where he learned the importance of generating evidence to solve global poverty issues. During his 4 years at IPA, where he would leave as a senior research associate, Sebastián led and supported the implementation of impact evaluations on diverse topics, including financial education, crime reduction, business strengthening, and governance. He then worked as the program coordinator at UCLA's Project on Resources and Governance managing a portfolio of governance and natural resource projects in sub-Saharan Africa. During the summer of 2022, Sebastián joined the World Resources Institute as a behavioral design intern in The Living Lab for Equitable Climate Action, where he supported research efforts to identify and design impactful behavior change interventions and policies on food, transport, and energy. After Princeton, Sebastián hopes to generate and implement evidence-based policy in developing countries, particularly in Latin America. Sebastián is a passionate fútbol fan, an average dancer, and an avid traveler (covid-permitting), who loves spending time with his family.