María Clara Mejía, Conexión Américas' co-founder, is Director of Socio-cultural and Civic Integration Initiatives. She is the developer and chief instructor of the Latino Cultural Competency Training ©, having trained more than 3,000 persons state wide during the last 2 years.

She currently serves as member in the following committees: TennCare Title VI, TenderCare Adivisory Committee for Hispanic issues, Welcoming TN Initiative - Communication Task Force.

She also works as International Consultant on Social Development for the World Bank, the Inter American Development Bank and several international consulting firms.

María Clara has over 14 years of experience working in 13 Latin American countries as World Bank Social Development and Resettlement Specialist for the Latin America and Caribbean Region, with assignments in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Jamaica, and Dominican Republic. She has hands-on experience in social assessment, design and implementation of public projects and community development initiatives. Her expertise is in the fields of community-driven development, relocation of displaced population and cultural sensitivity with emphasis on ethnic and gender issues. She has also served as editor, writer, researcher, trainer, and university professor.

María Clara has a Bachelor Degree in Economics from University of Medellín, Colombia, postgraduate studies in Economy of the Energy in Bariloche, Argentina and a Masters of Sciences in Anthropology from Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. She is from Colombia and has lived in Nashville since 2000.