Cristina Vélez Valencia is currently the Vice president for Public-Private Partnerships of the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá and is in charge of programs to foster regional integration and economic development, as well as the Chamber's knowledge management among other programs involving public and private sectors.
Until June 2019, she served as the Secretary for Social Integration in the Mayoralty of Bogotá. She oversaw a department with over 9500 employees and a budget in excess of $360 million. The department defines and implements social policy in a city of over 7 million residents and is responsible for comprehensive programs for early childhood, aging populations, homelessness, youth, people with disabilities, and LGBT communities. She was in charge of defining and implementing programs for the Venezuelan migration crisis, as the city of Bogotá has received 30% of the almost 1,5 million migrants that have reached Colombia. Cristina previously worked as the Secretary of Women’s Affairs in the city of Bogota and participated in the design of a teenage pregnancy reduction program that reduced teenage pregnancy by 31% in three years.
Cristina VĂ©lez Valencia discusses growing up in a country in conflict, the 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian government of President Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (the FARC), the economy, and social integration in Bogota.
