Institutional Identity

About Ara Policy & Management Group

Ara is an international social-impact advisory firm providing strategic guidance, governance design, and policy execution to sovereign governments, corporations, and multilateral institutions investing across the Americas.

Our Experience

Novel Approaches to Deliver on Complex Promises

Ara brings extensive experience collaborating with sovereign governments, multilateral development banks, and corporate innovators throughout the Americas and beyond. We have operated at every level of institutional architecture—both inside formal state ministries and alongside external civic coalitions.

Not only do we engage with key contact persons in executive boardrooms, but we go beyond official protocol to engage directly with local citizens, workers, and field beneficiaries to truly understand their needs. We know the people, the regional cultures, and the informal norms that are indispensable to executing programs that achieve lasting socio-economic impact.

See Our Advisory Practice

Scenic landscape over Lake Yojoa, Honduras by Esteban Benites illustrating Central American operating context

Photo: Lake Yojoa, Honduras • Esteban Benites via Unsplash

Ara practitioner team conducting field assessment in rural community

Photo: Ara Fieldwork Operations • Direct stakeholder engagement

Multidisciplinary Cohort

Unique Network of Practitioners Passionate About Development

Our team comprises senior development practitioners with a shared commitment to public service, public-private partnerships, and inclusive socio-economic advancement. With extensive track records both in headquarters and on-the-ground alongside sovereign ministries, private firms, NGOs, and multilateral banks, we are uniquely equipped to navigate fraught socio-political environments.

Additionally, Ara leverages the counsel of prominent academics and researchers specializing in public sector modernization and state reform. Our collective track record showcases verified impacts across climate change adaptation, energy transition, critical logistics infrastructure, inclusive economic growth, youth empowerment, and public health surveillance across the Americas.

Senior Governance

Leadership & Faculty

Combining rigorous academic foundations from Harvard University with decades of senior executive leadership across multilateral agencies and sovereign governments.

José Eguigure-Castillo

Co-Founder • Policy & Development Expert

Co-founder José Eguigure-Castillo is a strategic thinker and bridge builder between stakeholders. He is a policy and senior development expert with more than 15 years of experience demonstrating strong management, communication, analytical, and organizational skills. His career spans both field operations and strategic development alongside partners such as USAID, the United Nations, The Global Fund, and The World Bank.

José has led major programmatic initiatives in climate change, economic growth, youth integration, and public health systems in Central America, with specialized focus on the Northern Triangle. He spent 2019–2020 as an Edward S. Mason Fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, earning a Master in Public Administration (MPA). He also holds a B.S. in Socioeconomic Development and Environment from Zamorano University and a Master's degree in Project Administration.

Harvard MPA (Mason Fellow) BS Zamorano Univ Master Project Admin Ex-USAID / UN / World Bank

Daniel Barjum

Co-Founder • Governance & Sectoral Reform

Co-founder Daniel Barjum focuses on helping developing economies establish effective governance and public administration in complex, volatile settings. He routinely advises on sectoral reform policies by mobilizing public and private actors and capital to resolve critical bottlenecks restricting growth in high-potential industries. His core expertise centers on energy deregulation, infrastructure restructuring, private enterprise competitiveness, and digital/e-governance.

Daniel previously conducted policy research with premier think tanks including the Center for International Development (CID) at Harvard University and the World Resources Institute (WRI). His development career began executing national energy and infrastructure policy programs with the Government of Honduras. He holds a Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) from Harvard Kennedy School and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University.

Harvard MPA/ID BS Purdue (Electrical Eng) Ex-Harvard CID / WRI Gov of Honduras Veteran

Alejandro Lozano

Senior Public Policy & Government Relations

Alejandro Lozano is a public policy and international affairs specialist with over 15 years of consulting and advisory experience across public, diplomatic, and private sectors. Before joining Ara, he served as Head of Political Affairs at the Embassy of Mexico to the Holy See (Vatican City), was an elected Legislator in the Congress of the State of San Luis Potosí, and held senior administrative posts in Mexican state government.

Alejandro has collaborated diplomatically with Mexican Embassies in the UK, Argentina, and Poland, and served as Official Liaison Officer at the OAS Summit and UN International Conference on Financing for Development. He earned his MPA from Harvard University, holds a Master in Public Management and BA in Political Science from ITESM, and currently serves as Vice President of the Harvard Latino Alumni Alliance (HLAA).

Harvard MPA VP Harvard Latino Alumni Master ITESM Ex-Diplomat & State Legislator

Partner with Our Senior Advisors

Connect directly with our co-founders to review your institutional challenges, policy roadmap, or cross-border development initiative across the Americas.

Schedule Consultation Call (617) 420-1436

8 The Green, Suite # 8073, Dover, DE 19901