Claudia López started her mandate on the 1st of January 2020 for a four-year term, she was elected with more than 1,1108,000 votes, the highest total count of any mayor in the city’s history. She became the city’s first female and also the first lesbian Mayor in Bogotá’s history. She has an emphatic focus on the environmental, social equity and anticorruption agendas.

López was the vice-presidential candidate in the 2018 presidential election for the Green Alliance Party, and Senator of the Republic of Colombia between 2014 and 2018, from there she promoted important laws such as the Bicycle Law, she ensured the fair premium for domestic employees, she helped provide a guarantee of resources for “From Zero to Always,” an early childhood policy by the state, and facilitated GDEs for many students without having to enlist in the military first.

The public recognizes her tenacity and enormous capacity for collective action, which was reflected in the fight against corruption by leading a citizen consultancy, a participatory instrument where she received 11,671,420 nation-wide votes, the most votes that any initiative has received in Colombia’s entire history. Before entering her political career, Lopez was an accomplished researcher and scholar. 

Lopez is a finance and international relations graduate from Universidad Externado de Colombia, holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and Urban Politics from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Northwestern University.

Heather Thompson has been with ITDP for more than a dozen years, first serving on its Board of Directors for eight years, and then as CEO since 2018. Ms. Thompson believes that bold progress needs to be made toward more walkable, cycle-friendly, and transit-accessible cities. ITDP’s work in making cities more equitable, livable and environmentally conscious changes everything for the better – for people and the planet.

Ms. Thompson has nearly two decades of experience in the environmental non-profit sector, designing and carrying out strategies with large-scale impact. She co-founded and served as VP of Programs at ClimateWorks Foundation, and was a Principal at California Environmental Associates where she led the firm’s work in philanthropic strategy. She has helped clients design and implement strategies that help our cities and natural systems increase resilience in the face of climate change, population growth and other development pressures. She has lived and worked abroad in China, the U.K., and Denmark, and holds a Master of Science in environmental economics from the University of York, U.K. and a Bachelor of Science in biological sciences from the University of California, San Diego.

Verónica is responsible for developing communication strategies and alliances that promote ITDP’s initiatives around the world. She has a degree in Communication Studies and twenty years of experience in both broadcasting and public relations. Her professional focus has primarily been on environmental, social, and cultural projects, and on communications initiatives that represent a positive transformation in the quality of life of urban communities.