Individual Bios

Christina Conrad Cuenca, Risk Manager

Christina manages portfolio risk for Calvert Foundation, as well as their wholly owned subsidiary Community Investment Partners. Adept at combining both right and left brain skills in the development of systems and structures, Christina has been credited with the innovative design of a risk-scoring system that has become the standard-bearer in risk assessment, providing continued and heightened protection to investors. Calvert Foundation’s portfolio has a repayment rate over 98%.

Christina was named President of the Board of the Finance Alliance for Sustainable Trade (FAST) International in December 2011. Since joining Calvert Foundation in 2007, Christina has been an industry leader in creating replicable models that bridge the financing gap for sustainable producers worldwide. As a champion for Fair Trade, Christina’s appointment to the FAST board is a perfect fit.

In 2009, under Christina’s leadership, Calvert Foundation became the first non-founding investor to commit to investing in the first Fair Trade fund for Latin America – FOPEPRO, the Latin American Fund for Small Producers. Two years later, the Inter-American Development Bank highlighted FOPEPRO at its Opportunities for the Majority conference, where the manager of FOPEPRO singled out Calvert Foundation, and Christina, as the first funder to believe in FOPEPRO’s vision.

Prior to joining Calvert Foundation, Christina worked on project finance and equity transactions in the infrastructure sectors of emerging markets – both for private sector companies and the International Finance Corporation. She started as an Economic Analyst at WEFA Group in the energy group, following in the footsteps of her grandfather (who helped construct a comprehensive natural gas transmission system in the U.S.) and father (who had a lifelong career at a natural gas utility company). After grad school, which included stints at International Energy Partners, IMF, Nestle Mexico, and the U.S. Export-Import Bank, Christina joined Edison Capital, a private equity group working on minority equity holdings in Latin American power companies. There she helped start up their Latin American-focused office based in DC, and invested over $7 million in Latin America. At the International Finance Corporation, Christina closed over $300 million in new deals, directing capital to projects in Latin America, Turkey, and India, while also managing an existing portfolio with $167 million in assets.

Christina received a Masters of Business and Administration from the University of Maryland and a Masters of Arts from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Extending her creativity far beyond the workplace, Christina has been teaching vinyasa yoga in the DC area for several years, and she's also a semi-professional flamenco dancer. She lives in Kensington, MD with her husband and two sons.

If you had to start all over again and choose a different career path, what would it be?

Elementary school teacher – I’m inspired every day by my two sons who remind me to move a bit slower, to appreciate something as if seeing or tasting it for the first time, and to always ask "why?" Watching children learn and explore with fresh eyes and being able to guide them would have been a great career.

Where is the most interesting place you have ever been?

I love Istanbul, Turkey – After having spent the majority of my life oriented to Latin America through my studies, work and travels, I had no preconceived notion of what Istanbul would be like. It amazed me beyond belief – the history, the people, the food, the landscape – all incredible. It is on the top of my list to return to and to venture beyond Istanbul.

What is your favorite movie?

With young kids, I have only seen about 2 movies in the last 5 years. I would say "Crazy, Stupid, Love." It made me laugh – a lot!