Cardinal Careers Current Fellow Spotlight: Estefania Acuña Lacarieri, ’23, MA ’24

What organization do you work with and what kind of work do you do?

I'm a coordinator with the Girls and Women Strategy team at the United Nations Foundation. I organize and plan various events that allow stakeholders from the UN, the private sector, and civil society to share lessons learned and experiences, enabling them to strategize for successful movement building. I also draft and disseminate an election bulletin to track electoral results in over 40 countries that have held both parliamentary and presidential elections. 

It's been interesting to see where gender barriers have been broken. Ghana, for example, just had their first female vice president elected. I'm taking up this work from the prior Tom Ford Fellow that was working with the UN Foundation, Gabrielle Crooks, so it's a nice tradition that I've been able to carry. 

Right now, we’re preparing for the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which will take place in March of 2025. That's when dozens of civil society organizations that work with women and girls around the world come together in New York to coordinate. My team is particularly well placed to be able to listen to all of those voices and to integrate them into a cohesive dialogue.

I've also had the opportunity to contribute to some research pieces about the relationship between the UN and the global women's movement.

What has your experience been like so far?

It's been a great experience for me to get an eagle's eye view of how the field of philanthropy works and interacts with the UN system as a whole and how the multilateral system could provide solutions for challenges that we're facing now and in the future. One of the unique things about my team is that it works with civil society leaders, private sector innovators, and UN representatives. I'm able to see how all these stakeholders come together to work specifically on women’s rights issues and how they're all dedicated to advancing human rights. 

Prior to coming to the UN Foundation, I had a general understanding of the UN. But, once you're here, you're actually able to witness what's going on behind the scenes. One key takeaway from this experience has been my deepened commitment to multilateralism, which can provide new opportunities for collaboration, collective action, and effective solutions to global challenges. 

Are there things that you are looking forward to in your fellowship?

Something that's exciting for me for next year is that I'm going to be able to learn more about grantmaking. My role so far has been very focused on research, logistics, and events. As a Tom Ford Fellow in Philanthropy, I also want to engage with decision-making stakeholders. During my time working at a nonprofit in Mexico City, I learned about the complexities of submitting grant proposals. I witnessed how lengthy and burdensome the process could be for grantees, and how the uncertainty of waiting for funding decisions created additional anxiety in an already challenging situation.

From that summer experience, I wanted to see who was making these grantmaking decisions and how they make sure that diversity and inclusion are at the forefront. Some colleagues in my team are focused on grants and, in 2025, I'll be able to collaborate with them and learn how to use various grantmaking tools to advance equity. That will be really useful for my next step in the future.

What inspired you to engage in the work you are doing?

I was born and raised in Mexico City. When I was 10 years old, I came to New York City with my mom, and she took me to the UN Headquarters. There was this statue of Nelson Mandela and the guides explained who he was. At the end of the tour, I remember begging my mom to buy me the Nelson Mandela biographical book and a little UN flag in the bookstore. Something just clicked, and I told my mom that I wanted to work at the UN when I grew up. Now, I've seen it come full circle. It's been very exciting to feel that, and to make little me proud.

Growing up in Mexico, femicide and gender-based violence are problems that you confront on a daily basis. I always knew that I wanted to study political science because I wanted to get some answers about why these things happen and how I can solve them. The Girls and Women team is working on exactly those questions and trying to engage with people on the ground who are offering solutions, while also creating their own tools to drive meaningful change.

Why did you decide to apply for the Tom Ford Fellowship?

I was motivated to apply to the Tom Ford Fellowship because I wanted to know how these power dynamics and relationships work within philanthropy, especially having been on the other side of the table as a grantee. I wanted to see what it was like to be a grantmaker and a convener. At the UN Foundation, I've been in awe of how balanced these relationships are, and how they're based on mutual respect and transparent communication. 

It's a priority for the organization to make sure that everyone who's involved feels equally heard, respected, and safe to have honest conversations, while being given the flexibility that they need to do their important work on the ground. That has addressed some of the questions that I had about philanthropy before coming into this space. My team is a small team. But everyone is so caring and devotes a hundred percent of their hours to making sure that grassroots organizations and UN representatives have the same tools and can work together to find solutions.

During my time at Stanford, I had been involved with the Haas Center and enrolled in several service-engaged classes, which I loved. I always knew that I wanted to do work in public service. I didn't know if I wanted to do it through government, nonprofits, or some other path. But through my classes, I got to engage with grassroots leaders, stakeholders, and beneficiaries. That's why, before graduating, I had an eye out for Haas Center opportunities similar to the Cardinal Quarter I did in Mexico City. The Tom Ford Fellowship felt like the key to unlocking a door that might not have been open to me under normal circumstances. 

What advice do you have for students who are applying for a fellowship?

The first thing every applicant should do is sit down and think about what inspires them. It's not like school where your classes rotate every 10 weeks and you're able to drop a class if you don’t like it. In your fellowship, you're working constantly on projects that have to do with a specific issue. Prior to applying, I asked myself what I was really interested in and what I wanted to contribute to. Once I was able to narrow that down, it was easier to determine what direction to go in.

With the personal essay, one big piece of advice is to be as authentic as possible. I remember my first draft was super unrevised. It was just me sharing all my thoughts on paper and not trying to think about structure or grammar. In the end, I realized that that was the most authentic version of myself. And then I went back to edit it to be cohesive. I would encourage students to focus on their passion during this process and to be as authentic as possible. Do some research before applying. Consider what kinds of organizations you would like to join and why, and have some informational interviews before the application process.