Andrea Mendez is a Project Management Associate in the Climate Program. She manages grants in the National Climate Action portfolio and is the lead for country projects in Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico. She is passionate about finding the best pathways for in country transformations to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Prior to joining WRI, Andrea was Political Attaché at the Embassy of Panama in Washington, D.C. In this role she implemented advocacy strategies through congressional outreach to meet her country's foreign policy goals. She also successfully organized the logistics and agenda of Ministerial delegations to Washington, D.C. In her previous role, she led the Embassy's communications strategy and was the lead Project Manager for all diplomatic and cultural events.

Before working at the Embassy, Andrea worked in the Latin America team at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and at The Dialogue, where she aided projects on democracy promotion and rule of law in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Colombia, and Venezuela. She began her career as a Foreign Affairs Analyst at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama.

Andrea holds a Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) from Georgetown University and a first-class bachelor's degree in international politics from Aberystwyth University.

Andrea lives in Silver Spring, MD. with her husband, Dan, and their dog, Monty.