About the fellowship

The Rio Bravo Congressional Fellowship is a non-partisan program that connects US Congressional staffers, Mexican legislators, and Atlantic Council experts to discuss critical issues for the bilateral relationship.

Impact goal

To deepen the US-Mexico relationship and foster long-term interparliamentary ties by educating, convening, and establishing relationships between congressional staff and legislators in both countries.

Format

Every year, a select number of fellows participate in off-the-record master classes led by experts and guest speakers from the public, private, and civil society sectors on issues relevant to the US-Mexico relationship, including:

Fellows are also invited to participate in educational trips to Mexico and the United States, where they will meet their counterparts for a series of in-person roundtables and strategy sessions.

Meet our 2021 Rio Bravo Fellows

US-based fellows:

Molly Carpenter
Legislative Director, Sen. Mike Crapo (ID)
US Senate

Mariah Carray
Legislative Assistant, Rep. Norma Torres (CA-35)
US House of Representatives

Mariana Cruz-Muñoz
Professional Staff, House Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere
US House of Representatives

Paul Guaglianone
Legislative Assistant, Sen. Roy Blunt (MO)
US House of Representatives

Mena Hanna
Senior Policy Advisor, Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (NE-1)
US House of Representatives

Elizabeth López-Sandoval
Communications Director, Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX-16)
US House of Representatives

Alexander Morales
Legislative Aide, Rep. Greg Steube (FL-17)
US House of Representatives

Sam Mulopulos
Policy Advisor, Sen. Rob Portman (OH)
US Senate

Corinne Paul
Foreign Legislative Aide, Sen. Ben Cardin (MD)
US Senate

Victoria Rivas
Deputy Chief of Staff, Rep. Pete Aguilar (CA-13)
US House of Representatives

Chandler Smith
Legislative Director, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15)
US House of Representatives

Patrice Smith
Communications Director, Rep. Scott Franklin (FL-15)
US House of Representatives

Joshua Thomas
Legislative Assistant, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (IL)
US Senate

Jessica Valdes
Legislative Aide, Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX-20)
US Senate

Mexico-based fellows:

Alejandra Moreno
Parliamentary Advisor
Mexican Chamber of Deputies

Arturo Sánchez
Parliamentary Advisor
Mexican Chamber of Deputies

Carlos López Kramsky
Legislative Advisor; Sen. Gálvez (PAN)
Mexican Senate

Cynthia López Castro
Congresswomen (PRI)
Mexican Chamber of Deputies

Luis Eugenio Orantes
Chief of Staff; Sen. Kempis Martínez (MC)
Mexican Senate

Emerson Segura
Parliamentary Advisor
Mexican Senate

Guadalupe Plata
Advisor; Sen. Sánchez (MORENA)
Mexican Senate

Juan Francisco Morales
Legislative Advisor; Sen. Ruiz Massieu (PRI)
Mexican Senate

Frida González
Parliamentary Advisor
Mexican Senate

Guillermo Ucha
Congressional Staffer; Sen. Martín del Campo (PAN)
Mexican Senate

Judith Fuentes
Researcher; Gilberto Bosques Research Center
Mexican Senate

Liliana Martínez
Advisor; Sen. Vázquez Alatorre (MORENA)
Mexican Senate

Mauricio Cantú
Chief of Staff; Sen. Gómez Urrutia (MORENA)
Mexican Senate

Publio Rivera Rivas
Technical Secretary
Mexican Senate

Raúl Espejel Segura
Advisor; Committee on Foreign Affairs
Mexican Chamber of Deputies

Sebastian Rojas
Head of Department, International Visits; Gilberto Bosques Research Center
Mexican Senate

Victor Lorenzo Muñoz
Legislative Advisor
Mexican Chamber of Deputies

Meet our 2020 Rio Bravo Fellows

US-based fellows:

Louise Bentsen
Legislative Director, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15)
US House of Representatives

Tomas Delgado
Legislative Aide, Sen. Cory Booker (NJ)
US Senate

Matthew Fery
Chief of Staff, Rep. Brian Higgings (NY-26)
US House of Representatives

Julia Friedman
Trade Counsel, Majority, House Committee on Ways and Means
US House of Representatives

Jacqueline Sanchez
Legislative Director, Rep. Verónica Escobar (TX-16)
US House of Representatives

Samantha Stiles
Director of Committee Operations, House Foreign Affairs Committee
US House of Representatives

Nicholas Widmyer
Legislative Assistant, Rep. Abigail Spanberger (VA-7)
US House of Representatives

Marilyn Zepeda Salazar
Legislative Assistant, Rep. Raul Grijalva (AZ-3)
US House of Representatives

Elizabeth Bender
Legislative Correspondent, Sen. Mike Crapo (ID)
US Senate

Claire Figel
Policy Analyst, Western Hem, Sen. James Risch (ID)
US Senate

David Giordano
Professional Staff Member, Minority, House Committee on Ways and Means
US House of Representatives

Cameron Poursoltan
Senior Legislative Assist, Rep. Michael McCaul (TX-10)
US House of Representatives

Stephen Boyd
Legislative Aide, Sen. James Lankford (OK)
US Senate

Scott Reber
Legislative Assistant, Sen. James Risch (ID)
US Senate

Sean Clerget
Oversight Counsel, Rep. Kevin Brady (TX-8)
US House of Representatives

Mexico-based fellows:

Adriana Hernandez Marquina
Senior Economic Advisor, Sen. Vanessa Rubio
Mexican Senate

Alejandro Cruz Sanchez
Chief of Staff, Sen. Vanessa Rubio
Mexican Senate

Javier Brown
Technical Assistant, Committee on North America
Mexican Senate

Mariana Gutierrez
Advisor, Sen. Noe Fernando Casañon
Mexican Senate

Maria Fernanda Torres Rodriguez
Advisor, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Sen. Nancy de la Sierra
Mexican Senate

Carmen Mariana Salazar Ramos
Asistant, Committee Foreign Affairs Asia-Pacific-Africa, Sen. Cora Cecilia Pinedo
Mexican Senate

Daniel Rosado Mendez
Chief of Staff, Sen. Claudia Ruiz Massieu Salinas
Mexican Senate

Miguel Aguila Mercerón
Head of Securities Department, Sen. Ricardo Monreal
Mexican Senate

David Hernandez Lopez
Researcher, Gilberto Bosques Research Center
Mexican Senate

José de Jesús de la Torre
Advisor, Sen. Gina Cruz Blackledge
Mexican Senate

Braulio Lopez Ochoa
Advisor, Sen. Dante Delgado
Mexican Senate

Juan Manuel Ramirez
Advisor, Sen. Patricia Mercado
Mexican Senate

Anel Bautista Delgado
Legislative Assistant, Sen. Ricardo Monreal
Mexican Senate

Rodrigo Franco Navarro
Technical Assistant, Committee on Migration and Border Issues, Sen. Bertha Alicia Caraveo
Mexican Senate

Javier Ivan Carreon Valencia
Chief of Staff, Sen. Manuel Velasco Coello
Mexican Senate

Alejandro Velazquez Mendoza
Deputy Secretary, Sen. Julio Menchaca
Mexican Senate

Darah Palafox
Researcher, Gilberto Bosques Research Center
Mexican Senate

Nuria Palou
Consultant
Guerra Castellanos y Asociados

Explore the 2020 Rio Bravo Congressional Fellowship

The Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center broadens understanding of regional transformations and delivers constructive, results-oriented solutions to inform how the public and private sectors can advance hemispheric prosperity.