Pura vida! I’m Jefferson
I grew up in the mountains outside San José, Costa Rica, and I've spent my career trying to bring good policy back to towns like the one I grew up in.
PhotoVázquez de Coronado, Costa Rica
Three kinds of work
One question behind all of it: what actually works?
Research
Building causal evidence on development and public policy — from impact evaluation to applied econometrics.
8 projects →02Policy
Leading reform inside the public sector — open data, access to justice, and institutional redesign.
6 projects →03Innovation
Co-designing public solutions through participatory and design-thinking methods.
4 projects →Selected work
Featured projects
Impact Evaluation of Costa Rica's National Judicial Facilitators Service
University of Virginia
Building the first causal evidence on a nationwide judicial-access program in Costa Rica.
View project →
Local Innovation Methodology for 12 Municipalities (OAS)
Idea Pública/Innovaap · The Trust for the Americas (OAS)
A reusable policy-design methodology built to outlast the project.
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Integrating Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Data into Judicial Systems
Judicial Branch of Costa Rica
A regionally unprecedented inclusive-data initiative, co-designed with civil society.
View project →On the record
Events & talks
Voices from the Global South
Batten Latinx Network Conference
U.S.–Costa Rica Relations
Fulbright Central Virginia Chapter
State of Open Data in the Costa Rican Government
"El Poder de los Datos" — MIDEPLAN & Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data
Including gender identity and sexual orientation variables in the Judicial Branch's administrative systems
Abrelatam & ConDatos 2023
Open Data in the Judicial Branch: Innovation in Access to Public Information
Escuela Judicial (Judicial School of Costa Rica)
State of Open Justice in Costa Rica
Abrelatam & ConDatos 2021