With over 14 years of experience in human rights and gender advocacy, María Adelaida Palacio Puerta has built a remarkable career defending and promoting the rights of women, girls, and LGBTIQ+ individuals. Her professional journey encompasses significant roles in both national and international organizations, where she has leveraged her extensive expertise in human rights and gender across various areas, including justice, the prevention and response to gender-based violence, and human development.

She has served as a Gender Analyst at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), District Deputy Secretary for Government Governance and Human Rights Guarantee, Deputy Director of the Sisma Mujer Corporation, and Coordinator of the Legal Area at the Humanas Corporation. In these positions, she has spearheaded projects and strategies that effectively incorporate a gender perspective, collaborating with diverse political and social sectors.

As an independent consultant, she has advanced knowledge management in areas such as gender, peace, justice, migration, and human development. Her work emphasizes the design of scalable models and prototypes that utilize gender as a strategic and methodological enabler to overcome violence, achieve peace, promote humanitarian efforts, implement nature-based solutions, support restorative justice, and drive the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.

As a litigator, she addresses all areas of law, advocating for processes and legal strategies grounded in a gender perspective. Her strong legal practice is evident in her representation and defense of cases across civil, criminal, labor, administrative, and constitutional law.