Natalia Vega Varela is Director of Research at Gender Equity Policy Institute. With a background in international development, development policy, macroeconomics, and feminist economic analysis, Vega has collaborated with international organizations and nonprofits, such as the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the Women’s Environment and Development Organization. Since joining GEPI in 2021, she has played a pivotal role in advancing the organization’s mission to achieve gender equity through data-driven research and policy solutions. Notably, she authored GEPI’s landmark reports on undocumented women immigrants in the United States, with a particular focus on the states with the highest numbers of undocumented immigrants: California, Texas, Florida, and New York.

Vega earned her Master’s degree in International Affairs with a concentration in Development from The New School, where her research explored the intersections of inequality and gender dynamics in Latin America and Africa. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico City. She is currently pursuing a second master’s in Applied Quantitative Methods at Northeastern University.