FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

February 10, 2025
Contact: Gemma Givens
press@thedialogue.org    

Washington, DC – The Inter-American Dialogue is pleased to announce the appointment of Leonardo Beltran, Irene Cañas, Jorge Rivera Staff, and Mauricio Roitman as senior fellows with the Energy Transition and Climate Program. The new fellows will contribute their expertise in the areas of energy economics and planning, sustainable and just development policy, and low-emission energy generation policy. 

Leonardo Beltran previously served in the government of Mexico as deputy secretary for planning and energy transition (2012–2018), as director-general for information and energy studies (2010–2012), and as director for international negotiations (2005-2010). He also served on the board of SEforALL (2017–2023). Beltran is the advisory group chair of the Evaluation and Learning Initiative of the Climate Investment Funds and a member of the technical advisory group of World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP). 

Irene Cañas is a civil engineer with twenty-eight years of experience in the energy sector. Cañas previously held the position of vice minister of environmental management and energy at the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, where she was responsible for issuing environmental policies on environmental protection, sustainable management and use of natural resources, and promoting the use of renewable energy sources. Cañas is currently a partner at the consulting firm Boreal Internacional. 

Jorge Rivera Staff is the former Panamanian national secretary of energy and minister of trade and industries. Rivera has been a lawyer for more than twenty years advising governments, private companies, NGOs, and international agencies on sustainable energy policies, projects, and negotiations. 

Mauricio Roitman is an Argentine economist and expert in energy economics, planning, and regulation. He is the president and cofounder of Energeia, and previously consulted for CAF, the World Bank, and OLADE. Roitman works as a professor and the deputy director of the master’s in sustainable energy development at the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology (ITBA). 

All four senior fellows will work closely with program director Alfonso Blanco to advance the program’s robust agenda of work on energy. 

“Under Alfonso Blanco’s leadership,” said Rebecca Bill Chavez, PhD, President and CEO of the Inter-American Dialogue, “the Energy Transition and Climate Program is entering an exciting new chapter—one that builds on a strong foundation while expanding its impact and reach. The addition of these four distinguished senior fellows reflects our commitment to advancing innovative, sustainable, and just energy policies across the region. Their expertise will be instrumental in shaping the program’s relaunch and driving meaningful dialogue on the future of energy in the Americas.” 

About the Inter-American Dialogue:   

The Inter-American Dialogue is a hemispheric organization that builds networks of cooperation and action to advance democratic resilience, shared prosperity, social inclusion, and sustainable development across the Americas. We impact policy debates, devise solutions, and enhance collaboration to unlock meaningful change in the Western Hemisphere.

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