Lorena Rodriguez: On Outreach, Advocacy, and Inspiring Others

“I have this personal mantra, which is that information needs to serve for transformation,” says Lorena Rodriguez (‘15), a graduate of the Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) program. Specializing in peacebuilding communication in humanitarian and development contexts, this mantra serves her well: the transformative power of outreach, advocacy and public policy to create meaningful change in complex environments and vulnerable communities is precisely what drives Lorena’s work.

Lorena’s peacebuilding journey has taken her around the world. Born in a small city in Venezuela, Lorena’s multinational identity is a critical part of her outlook on global affairs. In addition to her Venezuelan heritage, she has also lived in Mexico, where she worked with both small civil society organizations and human rights offenders. Presently, she resides in France, where she works with the international NGO Action Contre La Faim (Action Against Hunger) as their Head of Campaigns and Mobilization.

Since she was young, Lorena has been interested in working closely with people. Equipped with a bachelor’s degree in communications, her initial goal was to become a war journalist, travelling the world to cover conflicts and tell the stories of those who were suffering. In her search to better understand conflict, she enrolled in the MPACS program.

In the classroom, Lorena engaged with texts that resonated deeply with her background in communications. Developing a capacity to imagine different paths towards building peace, guided by texts like The Moral Imagination by John Paul Lederach, was a foundational teaching of the MPACS program. Lorena notes that the field of communications also demands this type of imagination. It takes a great deal of creativity, she says, to be able to build a dialogue with people who have been manipulated into fearing the worst.

Lorena opted to pursue an internship-based degree with MPACS. She worked at the United Nations in Cambodia, where she gained experience working in international justice and humanitarian law. After her time in the MPACS program introduced her to a myriad of other careers within the world of peacebuilding, Lorena shifted her focus away from war journalism. She opted to explore new opportunities, including a position with the International Court of Justice at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Although it was an invaluable experience, Lorena found herself frustrated by the distance between the courts and the people they represented. This frustration led her to get involved in the development sector, where she worked for an organization called Peace and Sport, which uses sport as a tool for peace-building and social integration.

After several years, Lorena was ready for yet another new challenge: a switch from a developmental context to a humanitarian one. She joined Action Against Hunger, an international NGO that tackles the main causes of malnutrition and hunger around the world. She now works as the organization’s Head of Campaigns and Mobilization. Supporting over 21 million people in 56 countries worldwide, the organization’s mission to end hunger is one that Lorena cares deeply about:

In her work around the world, Lorena has noticed that ultimately, people do not wish for much. They just want to be able to eat well and be at peace in their communities. In her current role at Action Against Hunger, she works to make that wish a reality for all.

Throughout her career, Lorena has had the opportunity to lead, motivate and support multidisciplinary and multicultural teams. She takes pride in her refusal to put herself in a box, instead committing to working with a diverse group of stakeholders. The varied and meaningful nature of Lorena’s work is what keeps her engaged:

Peacebuilding can be a slow and arduous process, with many factors that are simply out of your hands. The key, then, is to focus on the things you can control. For Lorena, that means treating people with love and empathy. She strives to not only achieve success in her projects, but to make people feel heard and valued.

As a member of the United Nation’s Women Senior Talent Pipeline, Lorena is also passionate about empowering women to pursue their dreams and make an impact in the world. She notes the importance of intentional diversity, not just to meet quotas but to truly embrace multiculturalism in academic settings. She hopes to inspire other women, particularly Latin American women, to step outside of their comfort zone and have confidence in their ability to succeed. She urges future MPACS students not to let language be a barrier to their academic pursuits: