Jenny Villatoro

Program Manager, Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative

Jenny Villatoro serves as Program Manager, Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative. In this role, she supports work in the Blueprint for Opportunity (domestic economic policy), North American Competitiveness, Immigration, and Central America Prosperity Project programs.

In her undergrad, Ms. Villatoro was a “Delegada” or delegate, for the University of Texas at Dallas Center for U.S./Latin American Initiatives (CUSLAI) which promotes research and educational initiatives in Latin American studies, and works to strengthen the intellectual and cultural connections between students and faculty at UT Dallas and their Latin American counterparts.

Ms. Villatoro has a B.A. from the University of Texas at Dallas in International Political Economy (IPE) with an area focus on Latin America and is currently pursuing her masters at UTD, also in IPE, with a focus on development in Latin America.

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Read the article Root Causes of Migration: From Northern Central America.
Jan 17, 2023

Root Causes of Migration: From Northern Central America

By: Jenny Villatoro, Matthew Rooney
Over 35% of the approximately 1.6 million migrants arriving at our southern border in 2021 were families or unaccompanied children. Almost 200,000 children came from Northern Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras), and about half of them were unaccompanied. Shifting demographics, the increase in children and family arrivals, and the increase in large caravans arriving from Northern Central America have spurred a conversation into the root causes of migration.
Read the article Human rights activism in action.
Dec 8, 2022

Human rights activism in action

By: Jenny Villatoro
Juan Miguel Rivera is the Northern Triangle regional vice president of programs at International Justice Mission. We chatted with Miguel about human rights and his hope for the world.
Read the article North American Workforce Initiative Recommendations .
Sep 13, 2022

North American Workforce Initiative Recommendations

By: Matthew Rooney, Jenny Villatoro, Tiffany Melvin
The North America Workforce Initiative, a joint undertaking co-chaired by the George W. Bush Institute–SMU Economic Growth Initiative and NASCO (North American Strategy for Competitiveness), began in 2016 to develop and test practical approaches to workforce development across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico and issue recommendations to strengthen the region’s global competitiveness.
Read the article Safety for Women is Key to Central America’s Stability.
Oct 31, 2022

Safety for Women is Key to Central America’s Stability

By: Natalie Gonnella-Platts, Jenny Villatoro
Gender-based violence affects one in three women worldwide, making it an urgent and important policy challenge. Violence against women and girls is often excluded from conversations on the nexus of Central American democracy.
Read the article Journalists are on the Front Line of Central America’s Fight for Democracy.
Mar 22, 2022

Journalists are on the Front Line of Central America’s Fight for Democracy

By: Jenny Villatoro
Threats and attacks against the press in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have been steadily escalating. Jenny Villatoro, Associate of the Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative, argues journalists must remain resolute in their work and committed to preserving their democracy.
Read the article No Justice: Gender-based Violence and Migration in Central America.
Cover of a report.
Dec 6, 2021

No Justice: Gender-based Violence and Migration in Central America

By: Natalie Gonnella-Platts, Jenny Villatoro, Laura Collins
Gender-based violence affects one in three women worldwide, making it an urgent and important policy challenge. Violence against women and girls is often excluded from conversations on the nexus of Central American migration, regional development, and domestic immigration reform.