Our Team
Fernanda Soza
Executive Director
fernanda@chilemass.org
Fernanda is a lawyer from Universidad Católica de Chile, and LL.M from Boston College Law School, admitted to the Massachusetts’ and Chile’s Bar Associations, with a long experience creating teams and catalyzing ideas in very different areas. Fernanda founded a law office, was Director of a Law School, and a City Councilor in the south of Chile. She moved to Boston in 2013, receiving the Leadership Award from the Master of Laws program, served on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and worked at Boston College as a Luksic Scholar. In June 2018, she joined ChileMass and, a year later, she was appointed Executive Director. As such, she is responsible for overseeing the administration, programs, and strategic planning of the organization.
Ximena Ramos
Operations Lead
ximena@chilemass.org
Ximena is originally from Chile, with almost 20 years of experience in Postgraduate and Continuing Education Programs in Chilean Universities (Universidad Católica de Chile, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez and Universidad de Los Andes). She studied Executive Assistant and Business Administration at Duoc UC. Ximena is in charge of operations and networks of the organization, providing support in the different programs of ChileMass.
Jennifer Phillips
Program Manager Education
jennifer@chilemass.org
Jennifer Phillips teaches English as a Second Language (ESL) to her students in the U.S. and around the world and is committed to creating a learning community that increases knowledge and cultural understanding through shared language. She previously worked at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics, where she led the Fellows Program and the National Program, establishing a network of colleges and universities to convene students nationwide to increase democratic engagement. Jennifer received her MPA from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and her bachelor’s degree from McGill University in Montreal. Jennifer prepares our Chilean entrepreneurs and teachers helping with their pitch and presentations, to facilitate their landing in the U.S., and also help organize several initiatives.
María José Rubio
Entrepreneurship Program Manager
maria@chilemass.org
María José is an Industrial Engineer from Universidad Adolfo Ibañez. With over two years of experience with the esteemed ChileMass Team, she exudes an unwavering passion for technology and entrepreneurship.She is in charge of the ChileMass Emprende program, where she has diligently assisted numerous startups in enhancing their technological prowess and expanding their global reach.
Furthermore, María José has been instrumental in identifying cutting-edge startups at the forefront of the market’s most trending technologies and innovations. Her extensive scouting efforts ensure that ChileMass stays abreast of the latest developments, facilitating its continuous success in the dynamic world of technology and innovation.
Teresa Molina
Director of Innovation
teresa@chilemass.org
Teresa is an engineer with a MSc and Ph.D. in engineering sciences. Her area is food science. During her doctoral research at Universidad Católica de Chile and Nestlé, Teresa was the principal researcher of a project that obtained a patent via PCT. She is passionate about transferring fundamental research into novel products, and facilitating effective communication among different stakeholders to ensure successful outcomes from projects. Teresa previously worked for a Chilean startup, where she led the execution of technical projects, the opening of the U.S. market, and the registration of the product worldwide. Teresa joined ChileMass to lead the ChileMass HUB, which connects and develops collaborative projects between Chilean companies/universities and the Massachusetts ecosystem.
Jaime Albornoz
Communications Manager
jaime@chilemass.org
Journalist, Master’s degree in Ecommerce and Digital Marketing Management from the University of Barcelona. I have 13 years of experience developing Digital Marketing strategies for prominent brands and institutions in Chile, including the Ministry of Social Development and Family, Corfo, and Imagina Chile. I am also the founder of the Plantas Yungay community, catering to ornamental plant enthusiasts.
Camila Albornoz
Director Strategic Initiatives
camila@chilemass.org
Camila is an experienced lawyer from the University of Chile. She holds a LL.M from King’s College London and a MPA from Sciences Po. She has specialized in antitrust law, economic regulation, cultural rights, and cultural policy. She works for non-profit organizations in the cultural sector such as Nube Lab and the Observatory of Cultural Policy (OPC) in Chile and is an arbitrator for the Arbitral Tribunal of Contractual Affairs of the Chilean National Professional Football Association (ANFP). She previously worked as a senior attorney in the antitrust practice at Carey & Cía for several years. She joined ChileMass in February 2018 as a volunteer, but in June she was appointed Director of Strategic Initiatives. As such, she is responsible for developing new projects that align with the organization’s mission and goals, including overseeing and managing various events within the organization.
Our Board
Yuly Fuentes
President to the Board
Yuly is often described as a catalyst of creative ideas. She is currently the Founder and Executive Director of Descience, Research on the Runway a community that connects the world of Science and Design. She was trained as a biochemist at Universidad de Concepción in her native Chile, graduated with a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, U.S., and has a Postdoctoral training in the MIT Sloan School at the Technology Innovation & entrepreneurship group.
Brittany McDonough
Secretary to the Board
Brittany is the Vice President of Institutional Partnerships at StartX, an accelerator advancing the development of the University of Stanford’s top entrepreneurs. Prior to joining StartX, Brittany was the Director of Global Partnerships at MassChallenge for several years, where she oversaw strategic partnerships with international governments and institutions. Before that, she served in the Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment (MOITI) under both Governor Deval L. Patrick and Governor Charles D. Baker. Brittany remains engaged in the Boston community through various boards including Friends of the Public Garden, the Science and Technology Diplomatic Circle (S&TDC) and the UN Association of Greater Boston (UNAGB).
Ramón Salinas
Treasurer of the Board
Ramón is an Associate Director of Innovation Consulting at EPAM Continuum. He combines the practical hands-on experience of an entrepreneur with the intellectual curiosity of an academic to make innovation come to life. His professional experiences include co-founding a magazine publishing house and serving as the CEO of an award-winning advertising agency. Recently, he worked with companies from more than 20 industries —including Goodyear, ExxonMobil, Abbott, Cotton, and Converse— helping them identify and shape new growth opportunities. Ramón holds a bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Universidad Católica de Chile, a Master’s degree in Humanities from Universidad del Desarrollo, and an MBA from Babson College.
Sonia Cox
Board Member
Sonia has a Business degree from Universidad Diego Portales, and a Marketing diploma from Universidad Católica de Chile. She has extensive relationships within the Chilean educational area: is currently a board member at Fundación Crecer con Todos, at Fundación Infancia Primero, and at Fundación Ilumina. She’s also a special advisor of the President of La Protectora de la Infancia. Sonia has been involved in the non-profit sector with more than 20 years of experience. Worked for the Anspac Foundation whose mission is to promote development of the full potential of women, so that they can become agents of change in their communities. She joined La Protectora de la Infancia, one of the largest Chilean NGO. ‘La Protectora’ is involved in education; it operates several schools in the poorest areas of Chile. She became CEO of Fundación Ilumina, a Family Foundation which supports programs in a broad range of different areas within early childhood education. At Ilumina she had the opportunity to work with the Chilean government in a variety of programs; foster programs, preschool education, and special needs programs, all implemented in some of the poorest areas of Chile.
Michael Brooks
Board Member
Michael is a consultant with Deloitte, specializing in tech strategy and go-to-market for enterprise organizations across the Financial Services, Industrials, and Technology sectors. Prior to joining Deloitte, Michael worked as a process engineer, supporting manufacturing companies in implementing technology at scale across North America, South America, and Asia. Michael serves in a number of roles for local community organizations, and is a previous recipient of the Boston Business Journal’s 25 Under 25 award. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and is a graduate of the Boston Chamber’s and Harvard Business School’s Future Leaders program.
Lorenzo Gazmuri
Board Member
Lorenzo is a Civil Electrical Engineer from the Universidad de Chile and began his career at Phillips International. He joined Copec as Deputy Manager of Commercial Planning and later became Deputy Manager of Marketing. In 1993 he was appointed Sales Manager and, in 2009, General Manager of the subsidiary. In 2017 he assumed the position of Executive Vice President. Since 2020, he has assumed the presidency of Icare, a private non-profit corporation independent of the union and political interests, founded by businessmen and professionals linked to various sectors of national economic activity to promote business excellence in the country.
Marcelo Larraguibel
Board Member
Marcelo is the founding partner of Virtus Partners, a consulting firm based in Chile. With more than 30 years of experience in senior management consultancy, previously he was Senior Partner at McKinsey a firm where he worked for 18 years. In his offices in Madrid, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Lima and Santiago. Marcelo is an Industrial Engineer from Universidad de Chile and MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.
