Inés Palacios

Inés Palacios is a political scientist from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, an Echoing Green Fellow, and an Obama Foundation Scholar at Columbia University. She is an Argentine social entrepreneur and content creator, recognized for her work at the intersection of entrepreneurship, gender equity, and economic empowerment.

As Co-Founder and Executive Director of Fundación Chaka, Inés has designed and led programs that significantly increase the profitability of businesses managed by low-income and Indigenous-descendant women, while preserving cultural heritage and creating scalable pathways for growth.

Inés is also the Founder of Fundamental, a consultancy that trains NGOs and individuals to access philanthropic capital and global opportunities. Drawing on her own scholarship journey, she has guided numerous aspiring leaders and students to successfully secure fully funded scholarships abroad. She specializes in crafting storytelling that authentically honors the journeys of leaders and the legacies they seek to build within their communities.

As a content creator, Inés has built a community of over 35,000 followers on Instagram, with her content reaching more than one million people. Through this platform, she sparks conversations about Latin America’s structural challenges and shares practical tools to navigate them.

Her public speaking emphasizes how experiential learning — from study abroad programs to internships and volunteer work — can equip students to understand and shape Latin America’s future in a globalized world.