Sandra Medina serves as a Program Director in the Economic Growth and Trade practice area at DT Global. In this role, she oversees multiple project management units and field teams to provide direction, technical guidance, and oversight over program performance. Currently, she oversees the Business Enabling Project in Zambia, an economic growth flagship program funded by USAID.
Before joining DT Global, Sandra worked on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL), Research, and Collaboration, Learning, and Adapting (CLA), for both implementing partners and MEL contractors. Her experience covers agriculture, food security, resilience, climate change, education, workforce development, and more. Ms. Medina has led country offices and technical teams to design and implement MEL systems, including developing theories of change and logic and results frameworks, designing indicators and performance indicator reference sheets, and creating data collection systems, among other tasks.
Ms. Medina started her career in Peru, where she is from. After completing her bachelor’s, she worked for a nationwide program that awarded funding for agriculture, livestock, and forestry projects with the goal to strengthen both the supply and demand of agricultural products and services. Later, after finishing her master’s at UC Davis, she moved to Washington to work in international development. Her field work experience is spread across Latin America, Southern Africa, MENA, and South and Central Asia.
What’s the coolest thing about your job?
Two things. One, working with people not only from different countries and parts of the world, but also from different technical fields and professional paths. Two, working with people who are trying to solve complex problems for a greater good, people who want to make a positive change in the world.
What was the last really great book you read? Why?
I recently read Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. A sci-fi novel about an A.I. bought to be the friend of a girl with health issues. While I am not a big sci-fi fan, the book explores social relationships. At the personal and family level, the novel addresses the emotional and social world of teenagers, but also parenthood decisions and limitations. The novel also depicts social class and status and how that impacts the individual.
