Diana is studying the relationship between citizen participation in development programmes and transformation processes in post-conflict territories in Colombia.

Specifically, through a participatory action research approach, she aims to analyse the effect of participation in the Development Programmes with a Territorial-Based Focus (PDET by its acronym in Spanish), which were created by the Colombian Peace Agreement to rebuild the municipalities most affected by the armed conflict and poverty. She is supervised by Jo Howard, Jackie Shaw, and Marina Apgar.

Before joining IDS, Diana worked as an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law and Political Science at Universidad de La Sabana, Colombia. Her lectures and research focused on social movements, citizen participation in post-conflict contexts, and peacebuilding initiatives for poverty reduction. Currently, Diana is on leave of absence to pursue her PhD studies.

Diana holds a Bachelor of Laws, a BA in Political Science, and an MA in Political Science from Universidad de los Andes, in Colombia.