“The future of our nation will be decided in its schools”,” says Nivia in the interview and article found here: http://laestrella.com.pa/panama/nacional/nivia-rossana-castrellon-futuro-pais-decidir-aulas/23910693. Nivia's career is comprised of a series of firsts. Nivia is a trailblazer in the fields of Education, Economic Development, Special Education and more whose work is not only helping to shape the economic landscape of Panama but all of Central America and beyond.

As the first Panamanian women to be accepted to Harvard Law, Nivia knew that she was going to use her law degree to facilitate change.  She knew this because she raised the beliefs that money is not the end goal. The Echeverría and Castrellón family members for generations in Tolé and Aguadulce were involved in educational work seeing that as a key component of community development.

Nivia's mother whose life is chronicled in the book Pasión y Vida: biografía de Nivia Graciela Echeverría Sáez by Nivia Rossana Castrellón Echeverría (2012) was a guiding force in Nivia's life. In 1959, the year Nivia was born, her mother established the school Instituto Cultural for K-12 students located in El Cangrejo, a  neighborhood in Panama City. The school led the vanguard on its approach to education with the mission to develop the potential of each student, respecting their individual differences and reinforcing moral values and placing an emphasis on STEM subjects and the arts. 

In 1997, after practicing corporate law, Nivia joined her mother in the management of the school which operates today in the sector of El Bosque in Panama. Nivia's work has been in various areas of the business and government sectors. She was the first woman and the youngest person to date, to be nominated and elected President of the National Council of the Private Sector, Panama´s umbrella business organization. Through her corporate legal work in government and in the international policy stage as the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Panama, she has a myriad of experience in the field. She was also Ambassador in a Special Mission, promoting Panama as the Permanent Venue of the Free Trade Area of the America (FTAA). A policy maker who as an advocate of economic development, democracy and education, she has used her connections in the business community to help improve conditions in Panama and the rest of Central America.

Nivia was President of the Association of Private Schools of Panama for 18 years, and Founder of the Business Circle for the Improvement of Education. "In challenging socio economic environments, the school must be a neutralizer of exogenous circumstances, a living space of hope for aspirations, as well as a great social leveler, not a manifest destiny for the perpetuation of poverty and unequal distribution of wealth."

As a mother of a son with special needs, she has fought to establish quality educational access to all.  She believes that everyone deserves the same treatment to quality education regardless of their circumstances.  The freedom that comes with education is for all children. Nivia's belief is to be an agent of change. She says her goal is to leave the world a better place. With the aid of the National Strategy Information Center, and as president of private schools,  she helped develop a  Culture of  Lawfulness curriculum with representatives of the  John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University and Georgetown based on moral dilemmas and  case studies. This curriculum is considered state of the art and its content has influenced similar programs in countries such as Mexico and Colombia.

She is affiliated with the National Union of Private Schools in Panama (Past President), Central American Task Force for Educational Reform  (CoChair) of PREAL (Partnership for Educational Revitalization of the Americas), and the Foundation United Through Education (Vice President). Nivia received her LLM focusing on International Economic Law from Harvard University/Harvard Law School (1987), and an Executive MBA in Business Administration from the INCAE Business School.  She is a subject of the Global Women Project  (GWP), “an evolving cycle of multimedia portraits that chronicles thirteen influential women from around the world who are working to improve their social, political and physical environments.”  Conceived by Jennifer White Kuri in 2007, subjects are chosen on the basis of extensive research. Nivia was chosen for leading the way in Latin America. 

In her spare time she enjoys the outdoors, hiking, reading, writing, and continued research. She resides in Panama.

Worldwide Association of Notable Alumni Member, Nivia Rossana Castrellón, can be found on the Association Directory where she is looking forward to networking with you.