Xiomara N. Echeverria Ortiz

Xiomara is a civil engineer with a minor in environmental and sanitation engineering and diverse work experience in Bolivia. She worked as a teacher, providing instruction to engineering applicants and students at various institutes and schools in STEM. Additionally, working for IPSOS, a national Bolivian company focused on conducting surveys, which helped her develop effective communication skills with diverse groups of people.

In late 2018, she began her engineering career at Engineers In Action (EIA) as an intern before transitioning to a project manager role from 2020 to 2023. Through her work with EIA, she gained valuable insights into the behavior of rural communities and their interactions with local and foreign engineers. She also contributed to a chapter in the book “Consilience: Learning About Ourselves by Applying Indigenous Traditions to Western Music and Technology” authored by Ann-Perry Witmer, Bernhard D. Scully, and Jess Mingee.

Currently, she is pursuing a Master’s degree in Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where her research project focuses on designing a water storage system for livestock use in the dry season in Bodaway Gap, a chapter of the Navajo Nation.