Héctor Salazar Salame is currently a graduate student in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His studies focus on international industrial relations, labor rights, corporate social responsibility, and community responses to conditions of urban violence. During his time at MIT, he has advised the municipal government of Cartagena, Colombia on how to mitigate the negative effects of relocating informal vendors from its central market and collaborated with Mexican non-profit organizations to strengthen their effectiveness in assuring worker protections in adherence with labor rights. Héctor is also serving as a research consultant for a recently launched bi-country comparative research project regarding the relationship between urban violence and crime prevention strategies for “at-risk” youth. Prior to attending MIT, Héctor worked as Senior Advisor to the Executive Director at the New York City Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO), a division within the Mayor’s Office. At CEO, he contributed to the design, management and evaluation of innovative poverty reduction programs. These included the first large-scale conditional cash transfer program in the United States, modeled after similar programs from over 20 developing countries, and a life-skills and employment program serving formerly incarcerated youth in underprivileged neighborhoods. Before joining CEO, Héctor served as a Senior Program Assistant for NDI, an organization implementing election observation and political party strengthening programs in developing countries. Specifically, he assisted in the management of programs implemented in Nicaragua and Peru. Héctor completed his undergraduate studies at James Madison University and is a member of the American Evaluation Association and the American Planning Association. Originally from Mexico, he is fluent in Spanish and English.