Paola Fajardo-Heyward is the Program Manager of the Human Rights Trust Fund within the World Bank’s Social Development Global Department, where she leads efforts to strengthen the integration of human rights across the Bank’s operations. She previously served as the Human Rights Technical Lead at Human Rights Trust Fund from 2021 to 2023, providing technical support to the World Bank’s work with the Chilean Office for Human Rights in evaluating and developing the country’s National Human Rights Action Plans.
Paola has extensive experience as a human rights scholar and former university professor in the United States and Colombia, with research interests focused on the conditions that promote stronger human rights practices and the links between development aid and human rights.
She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Binghamton University (SUNY) and a B.A. in Political Science from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia.