Dr. Sandra Montoya is an interdisciplinary researcher at the Latin American Institute of Higher Studies (ILAE), specializing in cultural diplomacy, development, human rights, and migration in Latin America. She also serves as the Director of Special Projects at Colombia Noviolenta NGO. An accomplished scholar, Dr. Montoya is the author of Foreign Policy and Cultural Diplomacy: Towards Colombia in Post-Conflict and has published numerous articles and book chapters examining the intersections of cultural diplomacy, foreign policy, development, human rights, migration, and peacebuilding—particularly in the Global South, with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean.

Her academic contributions extend across undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in Law, International Relations, Human Rights, and International Security, combined with extensive leadership in social impact projects spanning the public sector (national and local institutions), private sector (health companies and organizations), and multilateral organizations (Inter-American Development Bank and World Food Program).

Dr. Montoya brings innovative and critical perspectives to the historical, cultural, and social dynamics shaping Latin American societies, through her research, books, conference presentations, and invited lectures in Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, France, Germany, Guatemala, Luxemburg, and Spain. Her work challenges and expands Western-centric frameworks, offering context-specific insights into regional complexities.

As a 2025–27 CPD Research Fellow, Dr. Montoya leads the project "Disruptive Cultural Diplomacy as a Peacebuilding Platform: Cases of Chile, Cuba, and Colombia," further advancing the role of cultural diplomacy in fostering peace.