Corina Santangelo MPA '99, A.B.
2022 Candidate for HAA Director: Corina Santangelo
How do you currently spend your time professionally? What prior roles in health care have you held?
ChildFund Mexico is an organization focused on serving the needs of children living in poverty, fostering their capacity to improve their lives and providing them with the opportunity to bring lasting change to their communities. One of the pillars of what we do is to provide these children and their communities with an opportunity to experience a sense of agency and self-development. These native Mexican kids and their communities have been living in poverty and marginalized for as long as they can even remember, hence the importance not only to contributing with providing educational, health care and self-awareness tools but also with the opportunity of creating value by themselves in their own community.
After graduating from HKS, I started working in the health sector through and Internet start-up company called Salutia.com. The company was created by two Argentine friends, one a Harvard graduate and the other a Wharton alumni. In those early days of the Internet boom I was sent to Mexico City as Salutia’s Business Manager, charged with the task of setting up a company and making it grow. I knew a few people from the MPA but I didn’t know anything about the country and its ways,and even less about setting up a company from the ground up. I remember having an open mind and an open heart about it. I knew I had to work more than anyone else not only to fulfill my duties, but also to navigate in a culture that was not mine. Itwas a wonderful experience, I would even say it was a “crash-course” on Mexico and also on the industry.
After a couple of years, I moved to the Ministry of Health, where I was Director for Health and Economic Development. I am proud to say that I worked under the leadership of Julio Frenk -one of the most, if not the most gifted, lucid and kind public servants, teachers and public health professionals I've ever met- during the reform of the Mexican nation’s health system, which introduced a program of comprehensive universal coverage that expanded access to health care for more than 55 million previously uninsured persons. In 2002, before the creation of Seguro Popular, only half of the Mexican population benefitted from health insurance, largely through their employer. The self-employed, underemployed and unemployed accessed health services through public providers with a co-pay, or they paid for private care. Poor and uninsured families, whose well-being was vulnerable to the financial consequences of illness or accidents, financed their health-care expenditures out-of-pocket. The budgets for public health care were uncertain and there was no defined package of free health services for the beneficiaries. By 2008, Seguro Popular counted over 27 million beneficiaries, who could access health services without a co- pay. The Social Protection System in Health Project supported the expansion of Seguro Popular, using the Program’ existing financial architecture, control mechanisms and management structure. Unfortunately, the current government is dismantling a program that was so strenuously put in place and that, despite the usual drawbacks and missteps, had provided with health coverage to historically unprotected population in Mexico.
How did you come to study at Harvard? Do you have any particularly vivid recollections from your time at Harvard, and how did your time at Harvard shape your career?
As with everything that happens in one’s life, studying at Harvard came about as a collection of very diverse circumstances and personal choices. Since I can remember I was always very intellectually curious, nothing was never enough. My parents were also very supportive and always encouraged me to go further and to overcome my fears. In my early 20s I was working in the public sector in Argentina, and I had a wonderful boss that stimulated me and helped me as he has also applied and studied in the United States. During those times, I was invited by USAID to a Conflict Resolution program that took me on a two week trip to the US, where we got to meet Roger Fisher, pioneer in the field of international law and negotiation and the co-founder of
the Harvard Negotiation Project. I remember going back to our hotel room, my new friend from Latvia and I, and telling her, “I still don’t know how, but I will study at this University”. Three years after that trip, I was accepted to the MPA program at the Kennedy School. I chose HKS because I was always very clear that one of my primary interests was to participate in public life, to help create the conditions for people to lift themselves up and live lives dignified by work and the pursuit of their interests and dream, no matter how bold or simple.
One of my most cherished discoveries at HKS might look rather surprising. Being raised in Argentina, a country so far South and with certain idiosyncrasies and political and economic problems that sometimes seems detached from the rest of the world, it was a wonderful experience to feel Latin-American for the first time. Getting to know other regional students who shared a similar up-bringing, culture and values is one of the things I cherish the most about my Harvard experience. It’s quite paradoxical that I had to travel so far away to find something that has been relatively close to me all my life. Harvard changed my life in many unexpected ways, all of them equally challenging and positive. I applied to HKS planning on coming back to Argentina to work in the public sector, and left the program to a life in Mexico working with incredible people on an initiative that will change the life of millions, to raising a family and trying to provide vulnerable native Mexican kids with opportunities to experience a sense of agency and the pride that comes with it.
What are some areas of health care or the life sciences where you think Harvard can have an important impact going forward?
I am not an expert in life sciences and it has been a while since I have worked in the health sector, however, apart from the groundbreaking scientific discoveries that will certainly shape our lives in the future, I believe that it is important to narrow the gap between those who have access to health care and health insurance and those who don’t. Our continent is a clear example of this disparity, maybe except for the case of Canada. However, in Latin-America and also in the US, it has been really hard to grant access to health services to the majority of the population. In some cases, even if this is a constitutional right, the systems needed are not in place, and it’s difficult for people to have access to quality and opportune health care. I would very much like to see our University actively thinking through this multifaceted and multisector challenge.
Where did you grow up?
I was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The daughter of couple of Italian descent, I grew up in a family oriented environment, surrounded by cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. We spent our summers in the countryside, where crops and cattle were raised, enjoying the simplest of lifestyles.
I come from a family of immigrants. My great and great-great grandparents arrived in Argentina by the turn of last century. They came to my country escaping poverty and in the search of a new and better life, in a land of hope and opportunities. I am the daughter of a first-generation college student, and I am the first and only member of my family that has studied abroad. Ironically, I ended up being an immigrant myself. I left my country more than 20 years ago following a professional and a personal dream. I have been living in Mexico ever since. I met my husband at HKS, he was an MPP. We have two teenage kids, a junior studying at the American School in Mexico City and a freshman boarding in the UK.
What keeps you occupied away from work (including family)?
I am a very social person and I find great joy in spending time with my family and my friends. We usually travel to Argentina twice a year to visit our loved ones. I have made my life commitment to help my kids and my Mexican husband feel that Argentina is their own country too. I devote a lot of time to keep the ties that bring me close to my country strong and very much alive, and I have to say that I have been very lucky in that both my worlds coexist and sustain each other.
I also try to keep myself active and learning new things, or at least getting better at them. I play tennis, take French lessons and has recently taken up horseback riding, a dream that was long overdue. I have been part of a sui generis book club –we have a teacher so they are actually lessons- for more than 9 years now. With my husband, we also take part in geopolitics classes with a fun group of friends, where, guided by a teacher as well, we discuss world current affairs and trends.
Anything else you’d like to mention?
I started working with very poor communities in my country, Argentina. This experience that without a doubt, shaped me and made me a firsthand witness of the crucial task I had ahead.
I have been heavily involved in Harvard alumni activities for more than 12 years. I started as the Secretary and then Treasurer of the Harvard Club of Mexico (2010-2014). I was then elected president of the Club. These were very active two years in which I had the pleasure of hosting two relevant events in Mexico City, Your Harvard Mexico, where we received President Drew Faust, and the HAA Latin American Regional meeting. Both events allowed me to further understand the dynamics of the HAA. The HAA Latin American Regional Meeting in Mexico City and the State of Puebla hosted almost 40 Latin American club officials and their partners and helped me deepen my relationship with club officials in the region, building on the relationships I created in previous ALC meetings. During this trip, the affinity and shared experiences have been crucial for my work as an HAA Director.
In 2017 I was invited to participate directly at the HAA as Director for Latin America. One of my main responsibilities was to be the contact person for half of these countries. As such, I got to know how the clubs work, provide advice if they need it, propose ideas, circulate best practices among them and communicate her experiences and knowledge from the HAA board meetings to make their journeys more efficient and in tune with HAA policies.
At the Harvard Kennedy School, my relationship with new admits developed over the years. I started volunteering to call new admits to welcome them to the School, to congratulate them for their accomplishment and to offer my help in any matter pertaining accepting the offer and studying there. Hosting these events has been a wonderful experience that helped me get to know the new Mexican students, understand what their interests are and also their concerns.
I am member of the HKS Alumni Board since 2019, first as appointed and then as an elected member. The experience at the Board has been very intense and productive, I have been part of the Awards, Elections, Connections and Diversity Committees and now I am vice-president of the Board. Being a member of the HKS Alumni Board for the past three years, helped me develop other skills required to work in a team mainly consensus building. I worked as a member of the Awards Committee and Elections Committee. During the pandemic, I pushed for and worked on the first board sponsored mentorship program for current students which hosted more than 90 students in 5 different events. Additionally, I actively participate in the first Diversity Committee which is both committed to be partners with HKS administration on how to recruit, review applicants, and successfully matriculate prospective students.
I am very proud to share that the Fundación Mexico en Harvard, during more than 35 years helping Mexican students has experienced a wonderful transformation and a targeted evolution. We started funding HBS and HKS students mainly from Mexico City. The Fundación has made, a very conscious effort to attract students from more diverse backgrounds and from all over the country. We aim at helping Mexico by making sure that the much needed highly trained professionals in education and health, for example get the best education possible. By taking into consideration the salary breach among different graduate degrees, we provide financial assistance through plans that are more in accordance with student backgrounds, needs and future employment.
Corina Santangelo
M.P.A. ’99
A.B. ’93, Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina
Mexico City, Mexico