Catalina Quintero

Catalina Quintero is a conflict prevention and peacebuilding leader, organizational development practitioner, executive leadership coach, facilitator, and course instructor with 19+ years of experience working in fragile and conflict-affected environments around the world. She currently teaches the course “Special Topics: Conflict Analysis at International Development Organizations” within the NECR master’s program at Columbia’s School of Professional Studies.

In 2020, Catalina founded Coachiva, a consulting and coaching company focused on bridging conflict management and peacebuilding in the international development field with conflict management and peacebuilding within organizations. Catalina works with senior executives, teams, and institutions from multilateral organizations, government agencies, NGOs, and private sector firms to design and lead trainings, workshops, and coaching programs on a variety of topics including leadership development, teambuilding, DEI integration. She delivers all of her offerings in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, and French. Recently, she worked with USAID's Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization on the Women, Peace and Security Strategy (WPS) consultations, WPS 101 course development, facilitated several staff retreats, and coached all Front Office staff, Directors, and their deputies on leadership and DEI integration. 

Catalina spent 10+ years at the World Bank as a Team Leader, where she developed and spearheaded the World Bank’s first fragility and conflict assessment (“Risk and Resilience Assessment”), now used worldwide, and led 20+ of these assessments, stakeholder consultation processes, and negotiations. She has managed multi-million-dollar peacebuilding projects, led the delivery of capacity-building and training programs, advised and collaborated with World Bank teams, the UN, governments, donors, and civil society organizations across more than 21 countries in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia. Catalina recently worked with the Early Learning Partnership of the World Bank, co-leading and developing the Early Childhood Development (ECD) in Fragility, Conflict, and Violence (FCV)-affected environments program, supporting work with refugee children and their parents. She has also served on the Advisory Board of several publications on pastoralism and conflict in Africa for the international non-governmental organization Search for Common Ground. 

Catalina has also advised the Colombian government on the preparatory framework for the peace negotiations with the FARC guerrillas and ex-combatant reintegration efforts. She started her professional career with the International Arbitration practice of Arnold & Porter LLP law firm. Catalina brings a deep belief to her work: that sustainable change and peace in the world begin with individuals leading from within—with clarity, purpose, and compassion.