Martha Elena Federica Bárcena Coqui

Martha Elena Federica Bárcena Coqui has served as a member of our Board since December 2021. Ms. Bárcena is a member of the Advisory Council of the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, a Senior Advisor to the Center for Strategic International Studies, and a former ambassador of Mexico to the United States. During her tenure from December 2018 to February 2021, she assisted with negotiations that set out the foundations for the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement and dealt with the vast array of issues on one of the most complex bilateral relationships.

Ms. Bárcena previously served as Mexico’s permanent representative to the United Nations agencies based in Rome as well as to the Governing Council of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law from April 2017 to December 2018. She was also the Mexican ambassador to Turkey and concurrent non-resident ambassador to Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan from 2013 to 2017 and previously served as the Mexican ambassador to Denmark and concurrent non-resident ambassador to Norway and Iceland from 2004 to 2013.

Prior to these ambassadorships, Ms. Bárcena served in numerous roles with the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and she has represented Mexico as delegate at the United Nations, UNESCO, and the Organization of American States, as well as head of delegation at the Forum on Migration and Development.

Ms. Bárcena earned bachelor’s degrees from the Universidad Iberoamericana and the Pontifical Gregorian University, a Master in Philosophy from the Universidad Iberoamericana, and a Master in International Relations from the Diplomatic School of Spain.