Sonia Balcazar is a Peruvian economist with extensive on-the-ground experience in international socio-economic development and corporate social responsibility. Sonia was the Regional Development Planning Manager for Rio Tinto’s La Granja Project in Peru from 2007 to 2013. She was responsible for setting up a strategy and monitoring system to improve efficiency and sustainability in creating shared value for the local communities and Rio Tinto by building partnerships with the government and other stakeholders.

Currently, Sonia is a Consultant Associate for the Synergos Institute based in New York, and lecturer at the Executive Training Program on Extractive Industries and Sustainable Development at Columbia University. Prior to joining Rio Tinto she worked for several institutions around the world with different perspectives on development: a financial development corporation—COFIDE—in Peru, the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C., and Oxfam GB in London.

Sonia has a Masters in Socio-Economie du Developpement from the Sorbonne University in Paris, an M.S. in Business from the Johns Hopkins University and an M.A. on Corporate Social Responsibility from the London Metropolitan University.