Raquel Bernal is the president of the Universidad de los Andes, a top university in Latin America. She was previously a tenured professor at the Faculty of Economics, Ph.D. in Economics from New York University and economist from Universidad de los Andes. Her research focuses on social economics, economics of education, household and labor economics, and the determinants of human capital, especially during early childhood. Prof Bernal has carried out several projects to evaluate the impact of early childhood care programs with funding from the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare, the Jacobs Foundation, the UBS Optimus Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Éxito Foundation, 3ie and Grand Challenges Canada, among others. She is an expert in impact evaluation and published, together with Ximena Peña, the book Practical Guide for Impact Evaluation.