She worked in the resettlement program of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Ecuador. She received a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Columbia University, where in May 2005 she earned her Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree. She was named a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and was awarded the Parker School Certificate for Achievement in Foreign and Comparative Law. After obtaining her master's degree, she received the "Rómulo Gallegos" Fellowship (2005-2006), and upon completing the fellowship, stayed on as a human rights specialist until 2009.