General Director of the Millenium Challenge Account Nicaragua and served as the Nicaraguan government’s lead negotiator with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which led to an approval of a US$175 million grant to Nicaragua. Prior to this position he served as Vice Minister of Finance (2006) and Technical Secretary of the Presidency of the Republic (2005). He worked in the process that resulted in the National Development Plan, and on the negotiations with the IMF, which resulted in Nicaragua’s acceptance into the HIPC debt reduction program. He has been the Coordinator for Public Investments (2003-2005), and has held positions in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (1997-99).  He has served on the Board of Directors of the Superintendence of Banks, the Central Bank and the Nicaraguan Investment Bank.  As a consultant, he has worked for the United Nations Development Program, the World Bank, the Nicaraguan Institute for Development (INDE) and the Eduquemos Foundation in Nicaragua. He earned his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of San Francisco in 1994 and has a master’s in economics with a mention in social policies from Georgetown University in 1996.  In 2003 he earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.