Georgetown University has named Alejandro Werner the founding director of the Georgetown Americas Institute (GAI).

The GAI is a platform designed to advance research, teaching and impact on policy decisions and challenges in Latin America, including rule of law, economic growth and sustainability. Werner will join the GAI in January 2022 when the new institute officially launches; he hopes to focus his tenure on addressing “concrete policy challenges” in the region, according to an Oct. 25 statement. Werner previously served as the director of the Western Hemisphere Department at the International Monetary Fund and as the undersecretary of finance and public credit of Mexico.

Werner’s career in economic and social efforts is valuable to his new position and will allow the institute to interact meaningfully with Latin America, according to Werner. 

“I have been involved in the most important economic, social and institutional issues in the region,” Werner said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “I think I am in a pretty good position to understand and listen and distill what it is Americans think would be beneficial from them that the institute can generate.”

The GAI, created over the summer of 2021, aims to revitalize the academic discussion about Latin America in Washington, D.C., and the Georgetown community, according to Alma Caballero, senior advisor for the GAI. 

“What we want to make sure is that Latin America has its place within the university,” Caballero said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “It is a testament to how Georgetown is thinking creatively in ways to engage and look outside the traditional places and make an impactful relationship with the region.”

Going forward, one of the institute’s first goals is to meet with a wide variety of students and hear their hopes for the initiative, to better understand how best to integrate the institute into the Georgetown community and to provide opportunities for research projects focused on Latin American issues and politics, according to Werner.

“I think there are tons of things we can do in terms of exposing the student body to a broad set of challenges that Latin America is facing, that the relationship between Latin America and the U.S. and the world is facing,” Werner said.

The GAI will bring together multiple Georgetown programs in order to foster collaboration and create more opportunities for events and research, according to Caballero.

“What’s characteristic about this new institute is that it’s not housed within one school, but it’s an umbrella that will bring the strengths of all of the schools that make Georgetown the great place to do so,” Caballero said. “It’s going to be a very collaborative space and will not only work with the deans of the different schools and the students of the different schools, but also with the faculty and the alumni network of the schools that are involved in the initiatives.”

With Werner’s work at the GAI, Georgetown’s connection to Latin America will be strengthened through research and teaching, according to an Oct. 25 statement from University President John J. DeGioia (CAS ’79, GRD ’95). 

“Georgetown is delighted to welcome Alejandro Werner to the Hilltop,” DeGioia wrote in the statement. “Under his leadership, we look forward to deepening our engagement with Latin America and the hemisphere through excellence in research, teaching and service to the common good.”

Werner’s appointment will support the initiative’s goals to create positive change in the region through research and policy, according to Caballero. 

“I think he’s a very multifaceted professional, and he’s somebody that knows the region deeply and is known in the region as well,” Caballero said. “I think he brings a very creative kind of mindset, and most importantly, he has that desire to make a positive impact through this region and bring his expertise and his networks to suit the interest and the goals of the institute.”