Liderazgo

Diego Quiroga Ferri

President

Diego has led the Research and International Programs departments at Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) for more than 10 years, strengthening its positioning as the No. 1 university in Internationalization in Latin America according to Times Higher Education; he served as Dean of Research and International Programs and co-directed the Galapagos Institute of Arts and Sciences (GAIAS). He earned his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and his research areas include Urban Ecology, Political Ecology, and Medical Anthropology in regions such as the Galapagos, the Amazon, and the Andes, with a focus on biodiversity, vulnerability, and traditional medicine. Diego maintains that universities must integrate into the innovation ecosystem, respond to community needs, influence public policy, and support the private sector, grounding his philosophy in Liberal Arts and multidisciplinary work to enhance research.

Cesar Zambrano

Vice President

César Zambrano earned his PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from Purdue University (United States). He holds a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Maryville College (United States). He is the Dean of Research at Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador). He has also served as Associate Dean and Dean of Science and Engineering. He is a member of the Research Committee and Coordinator of the Archimedes Scholarship Program. He is a professor in the Chemical Engineering program at the College of Sciences and Engineering. His academic and research work has focused on supramolecular chemistry, the organic synthesis of precursors for molecular capsules, and organometallic and coordination polymers. He is the founder of the scientific journal "Advances in Sciences and Engineering." He has experience in areas such as computational and organometallic chemistry.

Carlos Fernando Mena

Vice President for Research and Global Positioning

Carlos F. Mena holds a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (United States) and an MSc in Environmental Sciences from Florida International University (United States). He is a geographic and environmental engineer from the Escuela Politécnica del Ejército (Ecuador). He is Director of Universidad San Francisco de Quito Galapagos Extension and Co-Director of the Galapagos Science Center (GSC). At the same university, he is also a professor of Geographic Information Systems and leads the Institute of Geography. His research interests include socio-environmental systems, population and environment, land-use change and tropical deforestation, and complex spatially explicit models (cellular automata, agent-based models, remote sensing, and digital image processing). His areas of expertise include the human dimensions of global environmental change and geographic information science.

Damián Ramia Yépez

Vice President for Student Affairs

Damián Ramia holds a Master’s degree in Hospitality Management from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY (United States), with a specialization in Revenue Management. He holds a Bachelor's degree in International Business and has advanced studies in Economics, Business Administration, Marketing, and Languages. He joined Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador) as Director of the Hospitality Program. After successfully designing and implementing several projects, he was appointed Dean of the College of Hospitality, Culinary Arts, and Tourism, where he teaches Revenue Management and Hotel Marketing. He has served as a consultant for companies such as Marriott International, Hotel Quito, Asesoría Profesional Hotelera, and Intercontinental Hotels. He was a certified Internet Marketing consultant in Toronto and Vice President for Latin America at M3-Social Mindz, a company specializing in Web Solutions, Social Marketing, Conversion Architecture, and Custom Applications.

Mauricio Cepeda

Vice President for Administration

Mauricio Cepeda holds a Master’s degree in Hospitality Management from Cornell University (United States) and two Bachelor's degrees from Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ, Ecuador): Finance and Business Administration and Culinary Arts. He serves as Chief Financial and Administrative Officer at USFQ, where he is also a professor. He was Dean of the College of Hospitality and Culinary Arts and Executive Director and General Manager of San Francisco Foodservice, where he managed six food and beverage outlets and a catering service. Among his skills and strengths are extensive knowledge and experience in hospitality and service companies, strong business and quantitative skills such as strategic thinking, teamwork, and leadership. He has experience in areas such as food and beverage management, hotels, restaurants, finance, hospitality marketing, and sommelier studies.

Alexandra Velasco Hornby

Vice President for Business Development

Alexandra Velasco holds a Doctorate in Education with a focus on Organizational Leadership from Northeastern University (United States). She also holds an MBA in Sustainability and Innovation from the University of Oregon (United States). She is Director of Internationalization at Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ, Ecuador), where she develops strategies for international development programs and fundraising. She founded and manages GAIAS Europe, USFQ’s hub in Spain, which connects America and Europe in academic and research initiatives. At USFQ, she established the Office of Innovation and Sustainability and the Smart Campus Group for more efficient resource management, securing the STARS Sustainability accreditation from AASHE, becoming the first campus in South America to obtain it. She has secured external funding, including the IDB-WISE project for Women in Science Entrepreneurship.