Valeria is an international consultant, social entrepreneur, and advocate working at the intersection of policy, research, and impact. She focuses on translating evidence, lived experience, and collective knowledge into institutional reform and public policy.

Valeria began her advocacy in 2017 through Girl Up, a global movement of youth leaders advancing gender justice. Since 2023, she serves in Girl Up's Global Advisory Committee providing input on the organisational strategy and governance decisions that impact over 340,000 community members across more than 155 countries. Her mission in such a role is to bridge grassroots mobilisation with executive-level leadership.

In 2021, Valeria was appointed as one of eight United Nations Foundation Next Generation Fellows. As a result of the United Nations Secretary-General request for youth to shape the  landmark report Our Common Agenda, she engaged with young people worldwide to represent their interests. Valeria co-wrote Our Future Agenda, which contained policy proposals and recommendations on how to better protect the interests of next and future generations through multilateral reform, inclusion, and long-term governance.

In 2023, Valeria was appointed by the Government of Mexico as Mexican Delegate for the G20’s Youth Summit (Y20) in India, where she served as lead negotiator for the track “Shared Future: Youth in Governance." Valeria worked with international counterparts to reach consensus on policy recommendations to be presented to G20 Sherpas, translating intergenerational priorities into concrete governance proposals.

In parallel, Valeria has built experience at the nexus of economic governance, international development, think tank evidence production, and South-South cooperation. She contributes to organizational strategy, donor stewardship, and policy-oriented research translation at Southern Voice, a network of +70 think tanks from Africa, Asia, and Latin America advancing Southern-led collective intelligence on international development. 

Previously, she worked with the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico. As the Economic Development Project Coordinator of the Trade & Investment Center, Valeria organized business delegations and supported public-private initiatives for investment promotion in strategic industries for the United States and Mexico.

Valeria received the prestigious Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford, where she read an MSc in Global Governance and Diplomacy.  She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. International Relations and Global Studies, a B.A. Latin American Studies, and a minor in French Studies

Colunga is proficient in four languages: Spanish (Native), English (Bilingual), French (Upper Intermediate), and Portuguese (Upper Intermediate)

Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarship (University of Oxford)

Dean’s Distinguished Graduate (University of Texas at Austin)

Cum laude ampla et magna (University of Texas at Austin)

Finalist for Global Scholarship (Rhodes Trust)

Student of the Year Nominee, Champions of Change Awards (DivInc)

 Community Engagement Award  (LLILAS Benson)

Magna cum laude (University of Texas at Austin)