Placed Leaders

Carolyn Barker-Villena

Senior Vice President, Latin America

Covenant House International

We partnered with Covenant House International on a national search for a Senior Vice President, Latin America, resulting in the recruitment of Carolyn Barker-Villena to the role.

Covenant House was founded in 1972 in New York City and not long after embarked on an international vision as they expanded their mission outreach. Currently, Covenant House International serves in 34 cities across six countries. They are committed to providing unconditional love, absolute respect, and relentless support to each young person who walks through their doors.

CHI’s four sites in Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua (Latin America) are among the world’s most honored human rights organizations. Barker-Villena joins CHI as they embark in their continuous expansion of their mission to serve more young people across Latin America.

Most recently, Barker-Villena served as Senior Regional Director for Latin America at Lutheran World Relief where she successfully led the Latin America regional program through transformation and significant change including a merger.

She brings over 20 years of non-profit experience and knowledge in strategic planning, fundraising, business development and innovative partnerships with the private and public sector.

Barker-Villena is fluent in Spanish and French. She has a dual Master of Arts in Public Affairs and in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin with a Certificate in Nonprofit Studies from RGK Center for Philanthropy. She was also named a 2018 Bowe Fellow by the World Trade Center Institute.