René Escoto is an economist who earned a BA degree from the University of Sussex in England and an MA in Economic Policy and Planning for Development at the Institute for Social Studies in the Netherlands. He also took coursework in Environmental Economics at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

René has more than 30 years of national and international experience in public policy, with an emphasis on the following areas: Negotiation, mobilization of funds, formulation, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programs and projects. His experience includes a variety of fields, including agriculture, rural development, territorial development, environmental sustainability, labor market and entrepreneurship (youth and women), food and nutrition security, public land administration services, local government, biodigestors, early literacy and primary education, water and sanitation, and watershed management.

René has worked as advisor, consultant, and official of international cooperation agencies and international and national NGOs, including the World Bank, IDB, FAO, UNDP, UNICEF, UNIFEM, Swiss Development Cooperation, European Commission, IOM, of Canada, Holland, Finland and Sweden, CATIE, SNV, FCM (Canada), Christian Aid, CoWater International, Opportunity International, Creative Associates, CRS, and SIMAS.