# Distant Neighbors or Regional Partners? Reflecting on US-Mexico Relations Under Two New Administrations. A Two-Day Symposium -Day 2 ![Mexico Conference 2025](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_5_4__480x385/public/2025-02/2_0.png?itok=z5UzCBHi) #### calendar\_today Date and Time **March 28, 2025** 08:30AM - 07:30PM EDT #### pin\_drop Location **CGIS South, Tsai Auditorium** Though the newly elected presidents of Mexico and the United States started their terms mere months apart, both signaled the importance of the border to their agenda. As Mexico's first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum has voiced longstanding concerns about the border and U.S. overreach, as well as a range of issues and treaties — from NAFTA to water sharing to nearshoring and energy challenges. In the first weeks of his second term, Donald Trump's swift imposition of tariffs, building of a holding camp for migrants at the border, and targeting Latin Americans for deportation seem to have set an agenda of aggression as opposed to diplomacy. What will the coming months and years bring to these two neighboring nations? We take these historic transitions as a starting point for reflecting on the nature and future of U.S.-Mexico relations, understood not just through policies and dialogues but also with a focus on the ways that bodies, resources, and ideas unite or divide the two nations. The conference features panelists from academia, public service, and the private sector, who share their views on these matters in a series of four panels, a curated luncheon discussion with mayors from border cities, and a keynote from a prominent journalist. This is a two-day conference, [see here](https://www.drclas.harvard.edu/event/conference-distant-neighbors-or-regional-partners-reflecting-us-mexico-relations-under-two) the programming for the first day. *This conference is presented in collaboration with the* [***Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University***](https://cities.harvard.edu/) and the [***Department of the History of Science***](https://histsci.fas.harvard.edu/). **Title: Love despite barriers** The Image of the symposium was the winning entry of a design competition among Mexican design students organized by the Harvard University Mexican Association of Students. The winner was Isis Yoasiry Pérez Hernández, an undergraduate student majoring in Graphic Design at the Ibero-American University, Puebla, Mexico. ## Featured Panelists ### Alfredo Corchado Executive Editor for Puente News Collaborative and former Mexico Border correspondent for The Dallas Morning News. ![Alfredo Corchado portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-03/2_2.jpg?itok=3-DuYdTt) ### Christina Leza Associate Professor of Anthropology at Colorado College. ![Cristina Leza portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-03/3_1.jpg?itok=R1yO9iZz) ### Tony Payan Ph.D. Director of the Center for the U.S. and Mexico at Rice University’s Baker Institute. ![Tony Payan Portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-03/4.jpg?itok=wI9oz3Mn) ### Joaquin Luken Is the Executive Director of the San Diego Tijuana Smart Border Coalition, working to improve border operations between the U.S. and Mexico. ![Luken portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-03/Mexico%20conference%20speakers%20DRCLAS%20%20%281%29.png?itok=FU2ti8jc) ### Santiago Creuheras Fellow/Visiting Scholar at Harvard Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and Former Deputy Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Energy, Ministry for the Environment, Mexico. ![santiago photo profile](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-03/Mexico%20conference%20speakers%20DRCLAS%20.png?itok=_dGQpCJm) ### Rafael Fernandez de Castro Professor and director of the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies (USMEX) at the School of Global Policy and Strategy of UC San Diego. ![Rafael Fernandez Portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-03/5.jpg?itok=ikArYc5M) ### Teddy Cruz Professor of Public Culture and Urbanization in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of California, San Diego. ![Teddy portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-03/6.jpg?itok=SHlbdD6D) ### Gordon Hanson Peter Wertheim Professor of Urban Policy and Academic Dean for Strategy and Engagement at Harvard Kennedy School. ![Gordon portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-03/Mexico%20conference%20speakers%20DRCLAS%20%20%286%29.jpg?itok=79R_ghQV) ### Flavio Olivieri Director of the Center for Excellence in Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship at CETYS University, Baja California, Mexico. ![Flavio Portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-03/8.jpg?itok=2gBRnaFu) ### Fonna Forman Professor of Political Theory at the University of California, San Diego and Founding Director of the UCSD Center on Global Justice. ![Fonna Forman portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-03/7.jpg?itok=7BgmJXKj) ### Meghan Zavala Data & Policy Analyst with Al Otro Lado, a binational nonprofit organization that provides legal and humanitarian assistance to migrants, refugees, and deportees in Mexico and the US. ![Meghan Zavala Portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-03/9.jpg?itok=1BqjJVKs) ### Carmen Maganda Associate Professor and Head of Department, Environment and Sustainability at the Instituto de Ecología (INECOL), in Xalapa, Mexico. ![ca](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-03/10.jpg?itok=wSS-X6qc) ### Rolando Fuentes Research Professor at EGADE Business School - Tecnológico de Monterrey, a non-resident scholar at institutions like the Baker Institute, Oxford Institute, and KAPSARC. ![Rolando fuentes Portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-03/11_1.jpg?itok=JiWNcH1T) ### Stephen Mumme Professor Emeritus at Colorado State University, specializes in U.S.-Mexico water relations and environmental policy. ![Steve Mumme portraiit](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-03/12.jpg?itok=dXb2RG_o) ### Damian Morales Is co-founder of Insurgente Brewery in Tijuana, Mexico. ![Damian Morales Portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-03/13.jpg?itok=Qn1nq2ty) ### David Favela Tech executive at HP, founder and CEO of Border X Brewing and Mujeres Brew House. ![David Favela Portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-03/14.jpg?itok=7ge8JYHa) ### Montserrat Ramiro Independent board member of several companies such as Blackrock México, Alpek, and Arcelor Mittal. ![Montserrat Ramiro Portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-03/15.jpg?itok=OLGwkbfZ) ### Nina Ebner A postdoctoral researcher at the Colegio de México. ![Nina Ebner portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-03/16.jpg?itok=PIRa0U9F) arrow\_back arrow\_forward ## March 28th: Conference Day 2 Agenda This is a two-day conference, the first day is March 27th, see agenda [here](https://www.drclas.harvard.edu/event/conference-distant-neighbors-or-regional-partners-reflecting-us-mexico-relations-under-two). [ Register to Attend Day 2 In-Person arrow\_circle\_right ](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/distant-neighbors-or-regional-partners-reflecting-on-us-mexico-relations-tickets-1092369880719?aff=oddtdtcreator) [ Register to Attend Day 2 Virtually arrow\_circle\_right ](https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_U-T_NL9-TOKy-KxdoORYTQ#/registration) Open all sections Close all sections ### 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM Registration expand\_more ### 9:00 AM – 9:15 AM Welcome Remarks expand\_more ### 9:15 AM – 10:45 AM Panel 1: Shared Challenges expand\_more Open all sections Close all sections ### Moderator: Gabriela Soto Laveaga, Harvard University expand\_more ![Gabriela Soto Laveaga photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/Mexico%20conference%20speakers%20DRCLAS%20.jpg?itok=WZtZIDvo) Professor of the History of Science and Antonio Madero Professor for the Study of Mexico at Harvard University, specializes in modern Latin American history, in particular histories of science, medicine and technology. Her prize-winning research includes, *Jungle Laboratories: Mexican Peasants, National Projects and the Making of the Pill*, won the Robert K. Merton Prize, and recently an article on Octavio Paz in India and Mexican wheat seeds as exported technologies won LASA's Mexico Section Best Article prize. In October 2024 she was elected to the Academia Mexicana de la Historia a singular honor for historians of Mexico, especially for those outside of the country. Some named honors include a fellowship from the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, the Dibner Distinguished Fellow at the Huntington Library, and most recently she was selected to deliver the Centennial lecture for the 100-year anniversary of the History of Science Society in Mérida. Her first museum exhibit, *Measuring Difference,* is currently on display at the CHSI gallery at Harvard University. Her book on Mexico's agrotech impact on India is forthcoming in 2026. Soto Laveaga is Co-chair of the David Rockefeller Center’s Faculty Committee for the Mexico Studies Program and Chair of the Latinidad and Global Diasporas initiative. ### Benito del Aguila, Rosarito Artwalk expand\_more ![Benito del Agua](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/Mexico%20conference%20speakers%20DRCLAS%20_0.png?itok=SNnlgZw4) Active in the Tijuana-San Diego arts scene, Benito Del Águila has collaborated with institutions like LACMA and directed Rosarito Art Fest. He co-founded the Latin American Art Festival, serves on boards for culture in Baja California, and was part of the first Secretariat of Culture of Baja California. He is currently coordinating "La Línea que Nos Une – Conexiones Transfronterizas," showcasing over 50 artists. He holds a Master's in Arts Management from Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila and a Business Certificate for the Arts from the University of San Diego. ### Alfredo Corchado, Puente News Collaborative expand\_more ![Alfredo Corchado portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/2_2_0.jpg?itok=zfS-D2Cn) Is the Executive Editor for Puente News Collaborative and former Mexico Border correspondent for The Dallas Morning News. An acclaimed author, he wrote *Midnight in Mexico* and *Homelands*. Born in Durango, Mexico, and raised in California and Texas, he began journalism at the El Paso Herald-Post, then moved to The Wall Street Journal. A 2009 Nieman Fellow at Harvard, he has won numerous awards, including the Maria Moors Cabor Prize. In 2020, he was Texas' Star Reporter of the Year and received the Justice Trailblazer Award. He also led the Borderlands Program at ASU and was named one of the "Top 5 Border Ambassadors" by the Council of the Americas. Corchado, a UTEP graduate and NAHJ Hall of Fame inductee, splits his time between El Paso and Mexico City. ### Christina Leza, Colorado College expand\_more ![Cristina Leza portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/3_1.jpg?itok=kVsBgNwC) Associate Professor of Anthropology at Colorado College, examines Indigenous rights and activism related to U.S.-Mexico border enforcement. Her book, *Divided Peoples: Policy, Activism, and Indigenous Identities on the U.S.-Mexico Border*, explores Indigenous identities and activism at the border as well as how current border policies impact Indigenous rights. In her work *Hip Hop is Resistance: Defining Indigeneity on the U.S.-Mexico Border*, she analyzes hip hop as a form of Indigenous resistance that expresses Indigenous identities and challenges border policies. She has also published public scholarship on Indigenous border rights including *Handbook on Indigenous Peoples’ Border Crossing Rights Between the United States and Mexico*, co-authored with the Alianza Indígena Sin Fronteras / Indigenous Alliance Without Borders. ### Tony Payan, Rice University expand\_more ![Tony Payan Portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/4.jpg?itok=NvuJr0Co) Ph.D., is director of the Center for the U.S. and Mexico at Rice University’s Baker Institute. He is also a professor of Social Science at the Universidad Automona de Ciudad Juarez. Payan is the author, co-author, or editor of nearly twenty volumes as well as journal articles and chapters on issues that directly affect U.S.-Mexico relations. ### 10:45 AM – 11:00 AM Coffee Break expand\_more ### 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Panel 2: Border Dynamics expand\_more Open all sections Close all sections ### Moderator: Rafael Fernandez de Castro expand\_more ![Rafael Fernandez Portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/5.jpg?itok=XaB3Q49K) Is a professor and the director of the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies (USMEX) at the School of Global Policy and Strategy of UC San Diego. A former foreign policy advisor to President Felipe Calderón, he is an expert in U.S.-Mexico bilateral relations. He is a distinguished scholar in U.S.-Mexico relations, with deep expertise in the bilateral dynamics between both countries. An academic leader, he is the founder and former director of the Department of International Studies at ITAM. A prolific researcher, he has authored several influential books and numerous academic articles on U.S.-Latin America relations and Mexico’s foreign policy. ### Teddy Cruz, UC San Diego expand\_more ![Teddy portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/6.jpg?itok=-Jglechq) (MDes Harvard) is Professor of Public Culture and Urbanization in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of California, San Diego. He is best known for his urban and architectural research of the Tijuana/San Diego border, advancing border neighborhoods as sites of cultural production to rethink urban policy, affordable housing, and public space. ### Fonna Forman, UC San Diego expand\_more ![Fonna Forman portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/7.jpg?itok=g7LzR4M7) (PhD Chicago) is Professor of Political Theory at the University of California, San Diego and Founding Director of the UCSD Center on Global Justice. She is best known for her work on climate justice, borders and climate-forced migration. She serves as Co-Chair of the University of California President’s Global Climate Leadership Council. ### Joaquín Luken, Smart Border Coalition expand\_more ![Luken portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/Mexico%20conference%20speakers%20DRCLAS%20%20%281%29.png?itok=clSkR4-F) Is the Executive Director of the San Diego Tijuana Smart Border Coalition, working to improve border operations between the U.S. and Mexico. With over 20 years of experience in business development, he has held roles at the Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce and South Bay Expressway. Joaquín holds a Business Administration degree from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey and a certificate in Global Strategy & Management from the University of San Diego. ### Flavio Olivieri, CETYS University expand\_more ![Flavio Portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/8.jpg?itok=wICjpz_x) Is Director of the Center for Excellence in Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship at CETYS University, Baja California, Mexico. With a doctorate in Global Developmental Studies, he has over 33 years in economic development. He led the Tijuana Economic Development Corporation and the Cali-Baja Binational mega Region Corporation. He was Chairman of the Board of the South San Diego Economic Development Council and co-founded the Baja California Software Industry Association. An entrepreneur with four startups, he chairs Serena Senior Care, Inc. Olivieri has also held leadership roles at SAIC, Sempra Energy, and AT&T. ### Meghan Zavala, NGO Al Otro Lado expand\_more ![Meghan Zavala Portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/9.jpg?itok=Dz8dRluq) Is Data & Policy Analyst with Al Otro Lado, a binational nonprofit organization that provides legal and humanitarian assistance to migrants, refugees, and deportees in Mexico and the US. Zavala improves program data management, analyze trends in the data to inform program improvement, and leverage data to promote advocacy for the rights of migrants on both sides of the border. From 2023-2024, she led efforts to document 1,400+ families separated by Border Patrol and the agency's practice of holding migrants in open air detention sites (OADS) in San Diego. Zavala received a Master of Public Policy from UCSD's School of Global Policy and Strategy and has worked on migration and border policy issues at the Center for US-Mexico Studies at UCSD, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), and the City of San Diego Office of Immigrant Affairs. ### 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM Lunch Break expand\_more Light lunch will be provided. Attendees may also explore nearby dining options including Chauhaus at the Graduate School of Design and Asaro Bakery and Cafe. ### 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM Roundtable: Evolving Partners or Uneasy Neighbors: A Conversation between Mayors on Both Sides of the Border expand\_more Open all sections Close all sections ### Moderator: Diane E. Davis expand\_more ![Diane Davis portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/Mexico%20conference%20speakers%20DRCLAS%20%20%281%29.jpg?itok=4FhngRgL) Charles Dyer Norton Professor of Regional Planning and Urbanism at Harvard University, has a distinguished career focusing on urban development and governance. Former Chair of Harvard’s Urban Planning and Design Department, she previously led MIT’s International Development Group. Davis’s expertise spans urban violence, governance, and sovereignty, with notable works including *Urban Leviathan: Mexico City in the Twentieth Century* and *Discipline and Development: Middle Classes and Prosperity in East Asia and Latin America*. She has secured fellowships from major foundations and recently led projects funded by Mexico’s INFONAVIT on sustainable social housing and by Volvo on urban transport. Davis is currently a CIFAR Fellow and Co-director of its Humanity’s Urban Future Program, which focuses on Mexico City among several other global cities. Davis is also Co-chair of the David Rockefeller Center’s Faculty Committee for the Mexico Studies Program. ### Mayor Carlos Peña Ortiz of Reynosa, Tamaulipas expand\_more ![Carlos Pena portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/Mexico%20conference%20speakers%20DRCLAS%20%20%282%29.jpg?itok=EHOwV77Y) ### Mayor Cruz Perez Cuellar of Juárez, Chihuahua expand\_more ![Cruz Perez Cuellar portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/Mexico%20conference%20speakers%20DRCLAS%20%20%283%29.jpg?itok=PiHUPDQZ) ### Mayor John Cowen of Brownsville, Texas expand\_more ![John Conway](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/Mexico%20conference%20speakers%20DRCLAS%20_0.jpg?itok=-9wfqPCc) Mr. John Cowen, Jr. is the Honorable Mayor of the City of Brownsville, Texas. Brownsville is at the Southernmost point in the state. It is the 18th largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Rio Grande Valley with a population of almost 200,000. The “2024 Leading Metro Locations Report” recently named the Brownsville-Harlingen metropolitan area as the number one metro location for 2024 for Economic Growth. ### 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM Panel 3: Infrastructural Connections in Environmental Contexts expand\_more Open all sections Close all sections ### Moderator: Santiago Creuheras expand\_more ![santiago photo profile](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/Mexico%20conference%20speakers%20DRCLAS%20.png?itok=q4_M7NX_) Fellow/Visiting Scholar at Harvard Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and Former Deputy Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Energy, Ministry for the Environment, Mexico. ### Carmen Maganda, Instituto de Ecología expand\_more ![ca](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/10.jpg?itok=z0dzMJKb) Is Associate Professor and Head of Department, Environment and Sustainability at the Instituto de Ecología (INECOL), in Xalapa, Mexico. Her work focuses on society-nature relations, environmental governance, and water management. She participates in two large research projects financed by CONAHCYT (Pronaiis) focusing on social impacts of water management. She also leads two community engagement projects on water, citizen participation and water service perceptions in Veracruz, Mexico in association with SENDAS A.C. and Global Water Watch Mexico. These initiatives address critical water management issues and promote community engagement. Because of her engagement with community water governance, Dr. Maganda has been invited to participate in numerous public forums on this topic, including the 2023 United Nations Water Summit. In the past, she has coordinated binational projects on water governance at the Mexico-US border. ### Rolando Fuentes, Tecnológico de Monterrey expand\_more ![Rolando fuentes Portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/11_1.jpg?itok=s58luxQv) Is a Research Professor at EGADE Business School - Tecnológico de Monterrey, a non-resident scholar at institutions like the Baker Institute, Oxford Institute, and KAPSARC, and specializes in energy economics and policy. He has testified for Mexico's Energy Commission and has prior experience as a Senior Economist at KAPSARC. His work was featured in The Economist and has received several accolades, including the Chevening Scholarship and Best Paper Award at the Florence School of Regulation. Fuentes holds a PhD and MSc in Environmental Economics from LSE and UCL. ### Stephen Mumme, Colorado State University expand\_more ![Steve Mumme portraiit](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/12.jpg?itok=-Ew3LT2v) Professor Emeritus at Colorado State University, specializes in U.S.-Mexico water relations and environmental policy. His book, *Border Water: The Politics of U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Water Management, 1945-2015*, offers deep insights into binational water management, environmental challenges, and cross-border cooperation. He continues to serve as a non-resident fellow at the Baker Institute’s Center for the United States and Mexico at Rice University where he contributes policy analysis and commentary on transboundary environmental issues. In 2020, he was honored by the Association for Borderlands Studies with a Lifetime Achievement Award. ### 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM Panel 4: Regional Economic Futures expand\_more Open all sections Close all sections ### Moderator: Gordon Hanson expand\_more ![Gordon portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/Mexico%20conference%20speakers%20DRCLAS%20%20%286%29.jpg?itok=KNjVsy0_) Peter Wertheim Professor of Urban Policy and Academic Dean for Strategy and Engagement at Harvard Kennedy School. ### Damian Morales, Insurgente Brewing expand\_more ![Damian Morales Portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/13.jpg?itok=RLc8NBTq) Is co-founder of Insurgente Brewery in Tijuana, Mexico. Since 2010, Insurgente has been crafting award winning beers and earned medals at both national and international competitions. He has a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of San Diego California and an MBA from the University of Redlands. ### David Favela, Border X Brewing and Mujeres Brew House expand\_more ![David Favela Portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/14.jpg?itok=iv52X-SM) A 20+ year tech executive at HP, founder and CEO of Border X Brewing and Mujeres Brew House and is a James Beard nominated craft brewer for his work integrating Mexican cultural elements into his beers. He is also director of the Talent Foundry program at UC San Diego, which focuses on scaling diverse tech companies through coaching. ### Montserrat Ramiro, UGT Renewables expand\_more ![Montserrat Ramiro Portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/15.jpg?itok=_5ShnlYu) Specializes in energy and environmental policy and regulation. She’s an independent board member of several companies such as Blackrock México, Alpek, and Arcelor Mittal. She heads UGT Renewables Mexico office. From 2014 to 2019 she was Commissioner at Mexico’s Energy Regulatory Commission. In 2017, she became Chair of the OECD’s Network of Economic Regulators. Ramiro has nearly 30 years of experience in the energy industry and environmental sector. Previously, she worked at Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) and was Energy Director at IMCO, an independent think-tank. She’s an Eisenhower Fellow. ### Nina Ebner, Colegio de México expand\_more ![Nina Ebner portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-03/16.jpg?itok=EBTOw-L1) A postdoctoral researcher at the Colegio de México, researches the entangled relationship between the restructuring of export manufacturing, border militarization, and the racialized and gendered politics of low-wage factory labor in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. ### 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM Closing Reception at Tsai Auditorim expand\_more **Organized by:** **Diane E. Davis**, Charles Dyer Norton Professor of Regional Planning and Urbanism at Harvard University, has a distinguished career focusing on urban development and governance. Former Chair of Harvard’s Urban Planning and Design Department, she previously led MIT’s International Development Group. Davis’s expertise spans urban violence, governance, and sovereignty, with notable works including *Urban Leviathan: Mexico City in the Twentieth Century* and *Discipline and Development: Middle Classes and Prosperity in East Asia and Latin America*. She has secured fellowships from major foundations and recently led projects funded by Mexico’s INFONAVIT on sustainable social housing and by Volvo on urban transport. Davis is currently a CIFAR Fellow and Co-director of its Humanity’s Urban Future Program, which focuses on Mexico City among several other global cities. Davis is also Co-chair of the David Rockefeller Center’s Faculty Committee for the Mexico Studies Program. **Gabriela Soto Laveaga**, Professor of the History of Science and Antonio Madero Professor for the Study of Mexico at Harvard University, specializes in modern Latin American history, in particular histories of science, medicine and technology. Her prize-winning research includes, *Jungle Laboratories: Mexican Peasants, National Projects and the Making of the Pill*, won the Robert K. Merton Prize, and recently an article on Octavio Paz in India and Mexican wheat seeds as exported technologies won LASA's Mexico Section Best Article prize. In October 2024 she was elected to the Academia Mexicana de la Historia a singular honor for historians of Mexico, especially for those outside of the country. Some named honors include a fellowship from the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, the Dibner Distinguished Fellow at the Huntington Library, and most recently she was selected to deliver the Centennial lecture for the 100-year anniversary of the History of Science Society in Mérida. Her first museum exhibit, *Measuring Difference,* is currently on display at the CHSI gallery at Harvard University. Her book on Mexico's agrotech impact on India is forthcoming in 2026. Soto Laveaga is Co-chair of the David Rockefeller Center’s Faculty Committee for the Mexico Studies Program and Chair of the Latinidad and Global Diasporas initiative. *The views expressed at this conference are the views and opinions of the speakers and do not represent the official view of DRCLAS or the University.* See also:- [ Mexico ](/programs-initiatives/mexico) - [ Cambridge ](/locations/cambridge-office) - [ Virtual ](/location/virtual) Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#) Save: [ Add to calendar calendar\_today ](https://www.drclas.harvard.edu/node/1588261/event-feed.ics) Copy link link