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ESTEBAN REYES · INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT

Experience to solve costly problems.

Executive consulting and social impact for leaders and organizations that need to make important decisions, solve costly problems and turn opportunities into results.

Executive consultingSocial impact

Over 25 years in Colombia’s social sector
Over a decade leading organizations

+25years in Colombia’s social sector
15+years leading organizations
500+people under my leadership
13departments and 30 municipalities
7countries in multi-country projects
8 → 21international cooperation projects in three years

ONE BODY OF EXPERIENCE

Two ways to help.

My experience brings together two dimensions that are rarely separate in practice: understanding the problems communities face and knowing how to lead the organizations working to solve them.

01

Executive consulting

I help leaders understand costly problems, make difficult decisions and focus resources where they can create the most value.

I work with founders, CEOs and boards facing significant, costly problems: operations that do not work, wasted resources, missed opportunities, teams that cannot move forward or decisions that have remained unresolved for too long.

My work starts with the specific problem. Through interviews, information analysis and an understanding of the context, I identify its underlying causes and help define the decisions and actions needed to resolve it.

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02

Social impact

I help organizations, international foundations and regional initiatives define how to maximize their impact in Latin America.

Over 25 years in Colombia’s social sector have given me experience in childhood, youth, protection, education, inclusion, community development, migration, displacement and other contexts of vulnerability.

I connect strategy with local knowledge to identify priorities, design viable programs, strengthen partnerships and direct resources toward the changes being sought. Philanthropic development is one way to put that strategy into practice.

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01 / JUDGMENT FOR BETTER DECISIONS

Executive
consulting

Costly problems require more than technical expertise. They require the judgment to identify what needs to be solved first.

I have led organizations for over a decade. I have made decisions with incomplete information, limited resources, diverse teams and multiple stakeholders with different interests.

That is why my approach to consulting starts with a simple question:

What is the real problem costing you time, money, opportunities or management capacity?

My work involves going deep enough to understand it, identifying its causes, bringing the underlying decisions to the table and developing viable alternatives.

How I work

01

Frame

Define the problem, its scope and potential cost.

Initial hypothesis and work proposal.

02

Listen

Interview the founder, team and key stakeholders.

Map of perspectives.

03

Analyze

Review data, documents and processes.

Relevant findings.

04

Diagnose

Find the root cause and quantify its impact.

Diagnosis of the costly problem.

05

Design

Develop alternative solutions.

Two or three viable scenarios.

I adapt the process to each situation, its resources and the organization’s stage of development.

Where I can help

  • Managing scarcity and setting priorities
  • Diagnosing organizational problems
  • Operating model redesign
  • Strategy and growth
  • Organizational transformation
  • Financial sustainability and income diversification
  • People and leadership through change
  • Managing multiple stakeholders
  • The relationship between management and the board
  • Organizations within international federations or networks
  • Critical decisions for founders and leadership teams

What I deliver

  • Executive diagnosis
  • Identification of problems and root causes
  • Analysis of alternatives
  • Strategic recommendations
  • Action plans
  • Redesigned operating models
  • Sustainability and resource strategies
  • Support through organizational transformation

The cost of a problem includes its direct cost, opportunity cost, management cost and the cost of continued inaction.

“I do more than tell an organization what it should do. I have spent over a decade making decisions as a CEO and taking responsibility for their consequences.”

02 / EXPERIENCE ON THE GROUND

Social impact

Strategy and contextual knowledge to maximize the impact of organizations, international foundations and regional initiatives in Latin America.

I help define where to focus efforts, how to adapt initiatives to local contexts and which capabilities, partnerships and resources are needed to turn intended impact into concrete results.

My perspective draws on over 25 years of work to expand opportunities and protect rights in Colombia, at the intersection of social organizations, the public sector, international cooperation and business.

Strategy and priorities

Define the problem, the intended outcomes and where to focus efforts in the region.

Programs and capabilities

Design and strengthen viable initiatives adapted to local contexts and to the capabilities of those implementing them.

Learning and advocacy

Measure results, document lessons from experience and guide dialogue with public authorities and other stakeholders.

ONE WAY TO PUT STRATEGY INTO PRACTICE

Philanthropic development and partnerships in Latin America

Social initiatives need resources and relationships to sustain their work. I help organizations define their philanthropic development strategy, build compelling proposals for donors and develop partnerships around concrete impact goals.

My approach connects knowledge of the Latin American context with experience in leading organizations, managing scarce resources and building relationships with international cooperation agencies, foundations and businesses.

How I can help

  • Philanthropic development and resource diversification strategies
  • Building value propositions for donors and partners
  • Identifying and developing relationships with funders
  • Connecting philanthropic priorities with the needs of organizations and local communities

Areas of expertise

01Childhood and early childhood
02Comprehensive protection and restoration of rights
03Family strengthening and violence prevention
04Youth and vulnerability
05Employability and youth development
06Juvenile justice
07Sport, play and the arts for development
08Forced displacement and migration
09Social inclusion and community development
10Education and civic learning
11Social program design and management

What I can contribute

  • Program assessment and design
  • Theory of change and measurement frameworks
  • Proposal development for international cooperation
  • Philanthropic development and partnerships in Latin America
  • Strategies for corporate foundations
  • Evaluation and documentation of lessons learned
  • Advocacy and engagement strategies with public authorities
  • Implementation support in challenging local contexts

Who I work with

  • Social organizations
  • International cooperation agencies
  • Corporate foundations
  • Family welfare funds (cajas de compensación)
  • National and local governments
  • Businesses with social impact agendas

DECISIONS WITH REAL CONSEQUENCES

The experience behind
the work.

These are more than theoretical ideas. They are decisions I made, with their consequences.

2023–2026

National Director

SOS Children’s Villages Colombia
National association of a federation present in over 130 countries.

Led over 500 staff across 13 departments and 30 municipalities, managing approximately COP 69.6 billion (USD 22.4 million) in resources in 2025.

More about my leadership

I led the transition from residential to family-based care alongside ICBF, expanded the cooperation portfolio from 8 to 21 projects and directed four multi-country projects totaling approximately EUR 10.8 million across seven countries.

I initiated the creation of an endowment for long-term sustainability.

2011–2023

Executive Director

Fundación Tiempo de Juego
A social innovation organization built with communities.

Twelve years leading an organization that grew to 112 staff, 39 projects and nine territories, working in education, youth participation, employability and community development.

Funding, advocacy and innovation

I developed a blended funding structure with public, philanthropic, corporate and earned revenue, including social enterprises.

I led advocacy and program innovation related to Colombia’s juvenile justice system, with support from Open Society Foundations.

2003–2010

Education Programs Coordinator

Fundación Presencia

National programs with Colombia’s Ministry of National Education and the US Center for Civic Education, including training of trainers and publications with USAID and IOM.

2002–2003

Lawyer

Colombian Ombudsman’s Office

Contributed to strategic human rights litigation before the Constitutional Court and to the observatory of national and Inter-American case law.

EDUCATION

Perspective and
knowledge.

LawyerUniversidad de los Andes, Bogotá
Master’s in EducationPontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá
DESU in Children’s Rights and Professional PracticeUniversité Paris VIII, France
Doctoral studies in History and CivilizationsUniversité Paris VII, France
The Rights of the Child in PracticeBarnombudsmannen, Sweden
Acumen Fellow, ColombiaAcumen Academy

GOVERNANCE AND REPRESENTATION

Boards and
decision-making.

Fondo AcciónBoard and investment committee member
streetfootballworld, BerlinInternational board member, elected by 129 member organizations across five continents
Fundación Tiempo de JuegoBoard member
National Family Welfare SystemCivil society representative
National Planning DepartmentExpert contributor to Colombia’s first multidimensional measurement of child poverty
UN Committee on the Rights of the ChildContribution to the civil society report, 2025

RELATIONSHIPS BUILT THROUGH EXPERIENCE

Organizations and partners
I have worked with.

UNICEFUNHCRIOMUNODCECHOPRM (US Department of State)BMZGFFOGIZUSAID/ACDI-VOCAOpen Society FoundationsFIFA FoundationUEFA FoundationMastercardAdidas FoundationICBFColombia’s Ministry of National Education

ESTEBAN REYES

A perspective shaped by leadership.

For over twenty years, I have worked in organizations seeking to solve complex problems with resources that are never unlimited.

I have led teams, managed budgets, built partnerships, worked with governments and international organizations, and made decisions in situations where the answer is not always obvious.

That is the experience I now put at the service of other leaders and organizations.

A CONVERSATION IS A GOOD PLACE TO START

Let’s talk.

If you are considering an initiative but are not yet sure how to frame it, that is exactly the conversation I would like to have.

Let’s talk
estebanreyestp@gmail.com+57 310 771 0691LinkedIn · Esteban Reyes