Miosotis Rivas leaves ONE to become Subregional Chief of ECLAC for the Caribbean

Santo Domingo. - The former director of the National Office of Statistics, economist and development specialist Miosotis Rivas Peña has been appointed as Head of the Subregional Headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) for the Caribbean, based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

His appointment represents recognition of his professional career, marked by a commitment to equity, sustainable development, and institutional strengthening in Latin America and the Caribbean.

With over 25 years of experience in public policy, international organizations, and applied research, Rivas Peña arrives at this position at a crucial moment for the Caribbean region. From his new role, he will be in charge of coordinating studies, technical advice, and strategic cooperation that ECLAC provides to the 16 member states and 13 associate members of the Caribbean, including the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Barbados, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.

Leave a ONE strengthened

Until her appointment, Rivas Peña served as General Director of the National Statistics Office (ONE) of the Dominican Republic, where she led a profound institutional transformation for almost five years. Her management promoted a new narrative about the role of data in society: as key tools for social change, citizen empowerment, knowledge management, and the formulation of evidence-based policies.

Under his leadership, the ONE reached a stage of operational maturity that allowed the successful execution of the X National Population and Housing Census 2022, the first in digital format in the country. He also consolidated the National Statistical System, by promoting the management of the quality of the statistical process, achieving the elaboration under his leadership of important regulations and methodologies, inter-institutional articulation and the technical strengthening of the statistical producing entities.

Rivas Peña also bet on a statistical literacy agenda, with educational campaigns, alliances with universities, media and social organizations, as well as a policy of data democratization and innovation.

He promoted the internationalization of the ONE, with key alliances with the national statistical institutes of the region and at the international level, as well as with institutions such as UN Women, GPSDD, PARIS21, UNFPA, UNICEF and ECLAC itself, where he had to preside over the Conference of Statistics of the Americas. In these spaces, he was characterized by promoting the leadership of women and the human rights approach in the production and use of official data. This strategy positioned ONE as a benchmark in the international arena.

“I have no doubt that this institution has reached cruising speed, so the autopilot can be engaged,” she said excitedly as she said goodbye to the ONE team. A solid and transformative regional trajectory Graduated in Economics from INTEC, Rivas Peña holds two master's degrees: in Economic Policy from the National University of Costa Rica and another in Gender and Development from INTEC. She also has a master's degree in Human Development from the Universidad de los Andes, Colombia. Throughout her career, she has held key positions in organizations such as UN Women, the Central American Integration System (SICA), being the first technical secretary for women, as well as executive director of the Regional Center for the Promotion of MSMEs, both institutions based in El Salvador. He has led regional integration processes, policies for sustainable development, international negotiations, and strategies to mainstream gender equality. She was one of the architects of the first Regional Policy on Gender Equality and Equity of SICA, and in the country, she promoted the incorporation of the gender approach in the National Development Strategy 2030.

A new challenge for the region and a conquest for the Dominican Republic

As Head of the ECLAC Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean, you will be responsible for articulating technical solutions and strategic knowledge in the face of development challenges in a region especially vulnerable to climate change, inequality, and economic volatility.

His appointment not only constitutes a personal achievement, but also a source of pride for the Dominican Republic, which thus reinforces its presence in key spaces of technical diplomacy and regional multilateralism. From this new position, he will continue to promote a more inclusive development vision, based on evidence and with a human face.