Karla Petersen O’Farrill

Director for Scaling – Innovations for Poverty Actions (IPA)

Mainstreaming Working Group Co-Chair

Karla Petersen O’Farrill is Innovations for Poverty Action’s (IPA) Director for Scaling. In this capacity, Karla leads the organization’s strategy to bring effective evidence-based programs to scale and increase their reach and impact. Prior to joining IPA, she served as Senior Evidence to Scale Manager at J-PAL where she supported the organization’s efforts to enhance the adoption at scale of evidence-based programs. Before that, she worked on the design and implementation of the Mexican government’s inclusive growth strategy at the Finance Ministry. She also served as an Assistant Professor at IPADE Business School and a Consultant for World Bank and International Finance Corporation. She holds an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School and a BA in International Affairs from Tecnológico de Monterrey.