Mariana Lara Valencia (she/her) is Project Manager in the IRC’s Research & Innovation department. She leads cross-departmental initiatives and supports knowledge sharing for visibility and efficiency of Airbel projects. Prior to joining the IRC, she had been working with Start Network, as part of the team that manages the Start Fund – a pooled fund which grants awards to humanitarian NGOs- as well as coordinating the Fund's decentralization strategy. She has also previously worked at the Mayor's Office of Bogota, where she led the design of the city’s first migrant assistance plan to service Venezuelan migrants and refugees. Mariana briefly worked with Airbel Impact Lab in 2021 supporting the Behavioral Insights practice. She holds a master’s in Public Policy from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor's degree in Law from Universidad de los Andes.