An engineer who started her career in the private sector, Desirée Lopes has an eye for new opportunities and experience in launching innovative initiatives, which she brings to her role as Future Skills Centre’s Director, Programs.

Prior to joining FSC, she was the associate director of a global capacity building initiative at Yale University, where she led operations, partnerships, and monitoring and evaluation for programs across six countries and an online training program. Desirée has also managed institutional and research partnerships, training activities, and outreach to reduce inequality for the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Desirée holds an MBA and a Master of Environmental Management from Yale University, where she was a Moore Foundation Fellow, and a B.Sc. in Forest Engineering from the University of Sao Paulo.