CARE Colombia Team

Catalina Vargas Villamarin

Country Director

Catalina Vargas has served as the Country Director for CARE Colombia for over three years. In this role, she spearheads initiatives to advance gender equity and social justice by working closely with women-led, local organizations, in alignment with CARE’s localization approach. A committed feminist, gender specialist, and seasoned humanitarian, Catalina advocates for decolonization and antiracism, particularly in the Global South. With more than 18 years of experience in the humanitarian sector, she has previously led regional humanitarian responses in Latin America and the Caribbean, applying a triple nexus approach to integrate development, humanitarian, and peace-building efforts.

Luisa Vega

Program Director

Luisa Vega is a feminist lawyer with over 13 years of dedicated experience in the defense, promotion, and advocacy of human rights, particularly for women, children, and individuals with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. She worked extensively with international cooperation organizations, civil society, and the Colombian government. Since joining CARE nearly four years ago, Luisa initially served as the Gender and Protection in Emergencies Lead for the LAC region. In 2021, she transitioned to her current role as Country Programs Director. She has coordinated and implemented development programs and humanitarian responses in crisis situations caused by armed conflict and mixed migration in Colombia. Her work ensures the effective integration of gender perspectives into these frameworks.

Carolina Duque

Support Unit Director

Carolina is a public accountant and senior management specialist with over 20 years of experience in the operational, financial, and administrative functions of international cooperation organizations. She has been with CARE Colombia for nearly three years.

Carolina has played a critical role in supporting community and economic development programs throughout Colombia. Carolina has extensive expertise in managing funds from major donors, including USAID, BPRM, AECID, and European Cooperation, as well as operating resources from the Colombian government.

Adriana Varon

Human Talent Manager

Adriana is a psychologist with a specialization in virtual learning environments and over a decade of experience in education, instructional design, talent management, organizational culture, and innovation. For the past three years, Adriana has served as the Human Talent Manager at CARE Colombia, where she continues to lead with a focus on cultivating talent and enhancing organizational culture. Prior to CARE, Adriana was the General Director of the Alberto Merani Social Foundation. She has demonstrated a passion for driving organizational growth through innovative solutions and fostering inclusive, human-centered workplace cultures. Adriana is also an accomplished author, having written books on talent development, pedagogy, and critical thinking skills.

Andrés Sarmiento Andrade

Partnerships and Sustainability Manager

Andrés Sarmiento Andrade has been the Partnerships and Sustainability Manager at CARE Colombia since 2022. In this role, he leads resource mobilization efforts to achieve the results of the Programmatic Strategy while enhancing CARE’s positioning and visibility with public, private, and international cooperation stakeholders in Colombia. He also leads the localization agenda, fostering relationships with local partners and women-led organizations to integrate gender and triple nexus approaches. With over 10 years of experience in project design, management, and evaluation, Andrés has worked extensively in both humanitarian response and promoting economic, social, and political development for vulnerable populations. He holds a degree in Political Science from Universidad del Rosario and a master’s degree in Public Policy from Universidad del Valle.