Laura Ospina is a Senior Program Officer, Justice for All for the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies at New York University’s Center on International Cooperation.
For over 12 years Laura has been committed to helping build more just and inclusive societies. Based mostly in Bogotá, she has supported a series of development projects (with USAID, UNDP, INL, SIDA, GIZ) as well policy design and implementation initiatives in Colombia, Rwanda, Guatemala, Ghana, and Moldova, focusing mainly on: strengthening locally-based formal, non-formal and community justice initiatives for vulnerable communities, capacity building of public sector officials to provide more effective, efficient, citizen and gender-oriented justice services, as well as supporting local capacities and empowerment of armed conflict victims.
During her time in the public sector, Laura worked for the Colombian National Planning Department (DNP) where she had a key role in the development of the 2016 Legal Needs Survey, the 2018 Access to Justice Index, the Ten-Year Justice Plan (2017-2027), and served as the DNP delegate for the rule of law and governance group during Colombia’s accession process to the OECD. Prior to joining Pathfinders, Laura worked with USAID’s Justice for a Sustainable Peace Program and Inclusive Justice Activity in Colombia, leading both Programs advocacy efforts to strengthen local justice initiatives (ie. Justice Houses) and the improvement and consolidation of ADR mechanisms in rural and dispersed municipalities. Additionally, during both programs, she led the private sector engagement strategy which promotes private sector investment to support access to justice endeavors in the country.
Laura holds a bachelor’s degree in law (LLB) from Los Andes University in Colombia, a master’s degree in law (LLM) in International Human Rights Law and Criminal Justice from Universiteit Utrecht in the Netherlands, and a master’s degree in International Development from Tulane University.