Expert Bio

Sandy Acosta joins The Wilson Center with over 20 years of experience in the foreign policy space, as either a congressional staffer, program implementor, or executive branch congressional advisor.  She set on this path as a congressional staffer for former House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, helping manage the portfolio of international operations and human rights.  Ms. Acosta then moved into the field of program design and implementation in global development focusing on democracy issues within closed societies.  Prior to joining The Wilson Center, she served as a congressional advisor at various executive branch agencies, most recently with the U.S. State Department managing the congressional affairs for various bureaus throughout her time at the Bureau of Legislative Affairs (H), such as Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA), International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), and Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM).
 

A native Spanish speaker, Ms. Acosta holds a M.A. in International Affairs from American University's School of International Service, where her thesis focused on the de facto vs. de jure spaces civically-minded social movements occupy within closed societies, with a case study of Cuba.  A proud Golden Panther, she holds a B.A. in International Relations and Political Science, with a Latin American and Caribbean Studies Certificate from Florida International University, and a Certificate in the Study of Nonviolent Movements from the Fletcher Summer Institute at Tufts University's School of Law and Diplomacy.
 

Ms. Acosta resides in Silver Spring, Maryland with her teenage daughters and a yappy rescued schnoodle.  And when they aren’t adventuring or taking on some artistic project, they are volunteering for charities working on homelessness or food insecurity — issues that are dear to their heart.