Dr. Betilde Virginia Munoz-Pogossian, PhD

Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian (Venezuelan-American) is director of the Department of Social Inclusion of the Secretariat for Access to Rights and Equity at the Organization of American States (OAS), where she is responsible for directing the work of the OAS in matters of social inclusion and access to human rights with special consideration to populations in vulnerable situations. She has edited, published and co-authored several articles and volumes on issues of Latin American reality. Some of her recent contributions include the articles “The Summit is a Great Chance for Better Cooperation on Migration” (2022) and “One Year Later: Slow Progress on a Key Migration Initiative” (2023), both published by Americas Quarterly, and the book chapter “How to achieve more representation of indigenous and Afro-descendant people in Latin America and the Caribbean” (UNAM 2022). She's been featured as an expert by CNN en Espanol, National Public Radio and NTN24, among other mass communication media.

She is also a founding member and coordinator of the Network of Latin American Female Political Scientists #NoSinMujeres,” a project that seeks to promote, make visible and empower the work of women dedicated to Latin American Political Science. She is a regular columnist for the Venezuelan daily El Nacional, and for the Web portal Caracas Chronicles, as well as a guest columnist in various regional media. She is also a 2021 Fellow of the Draper Hills Fellowship on Democracy, Development and Rule of Law at Stanford University, a member of the Advisory Board of the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University (GMU), and a Senior Associate (Non-Resident) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC.

In 2008, in 2016, 2019 and again in 2020, she won the Outstanding Performance Award granted by the Secretary General of the OAS, in recognition of her extraordinary work and contribution to the American organization. Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian has a Master's degree in International Relations from the University of South Florida and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Florida International University.

Sub-specialties:
• Migration & forced displacement
• Inclusion & Equity
• Policy dialogue & cooperation
• Political Affairs
• Elections & Electoral Reform
• Academic Teaching & Research
• Women in Politics
• Democracy & Human Rights