Paula Moreno is Founder and President of Manos Visibles (Visible Hands), a Colombian NGO that implements development strategies to strengthen urban youth organizations and communities of women, with an emphasis on high-risk ethnic communities. Since 2010, Visible Hands has reached more than 500 community leaders and organizations that influence more than 25,000 Colombians.
Paula is the former Minister of Culture of Colombia, the youngest woman and first Afro descendant to be appointed as a cabinet minister in the country’s history. For her service to the Government of Colombia and the nation as Minister of Culture, Paula was awarded the Order of Saint Charles in 2010 by President Uribe, and in 2011 she was awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle by President of Mexico Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa for her contribution to the improvement of Colombia/Mexico relations during her term as Minister of Culture.
In 2010 she was selected by the Council of the Americas as one of the most influential young leaders in the region for her work on effectively understanding diversity. She received the Unita Blackwell Award in 2009 from the National Conference of Black Mayors of the United States as one of the most influential Black leaders in the world.
Paula has been project manager and advisor for several international organizations including the Inter-American Development Bank, UNESCO, and the European Union. She holds a Master’s Degree in Management Studies from the University of Cambridge and was a United States Fulbright scholar for the program of urban and regional planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
