Marcela Celorio

Marcela Celorio Mancera (Mexico City, February 5, 1965) is a Mexican diplomat and researcher who since June 24, 2019 serves as the Consul General of Mexico in Los Angeles, California.
== Biographical and academic data ==
She holds a J.D. from the Escuela Libre de Derecho and has two master´s degrees, one in diplomatic studies from the Instituto Matías Romero (IMR) and the second, in defense and national security from the Colegio de la Defensa Nacional at the Secretariat of National Defense (Mexico). She continued her academic training at the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at the University of California, San Diego. In addition, she was the first Mexican Foreign Service diplomat to complete the Diplomat in Residency Program at the American University (AU), in Washington, D.C, 2005.
She has a diploma in Israel History and Society Studies from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya at Reichman University in Israel, 2012, and another on Migration and Governance from the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE, 2017). Also, in May 2021, she obtained a certificate of completion for the Nonprofit Administration and Leadership Program, and in November 2021, a second certificate of completion for the Nonprofit Financial Stewardship Program, from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Executive Education.
In the academic field, she taught Public International Law at the Universidad Iberoamericana (UIA 2000–2001). Over the years, she has also conducted research and written about topics related to dual nationality and citizenship, national security and the integration of North America, intercultural understanding and cross-border diplomacy. On March 6, 2020, she participated as a judge in the prestigious Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition national finals alongside the former Judge of the International Court of Justice, the Mexican diplomat Bernardo Sepúlveda Amor.
Throughout her academic training she has produced research papers and publications on topics related to dual nationality and citizenship, migration, intercultural dialogue, national security and North American integration.
== Diplomatic Career ==
In 1999, she joined the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (Mexico) and over the years ascended through every diplomatic rank until her designation as an Ambassador of Mexico.
At the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations, she served as Director of Nationality and Naturalization, a position from which she was responsible for promoting the recognition of dual nationality. These efforts culminated in the constitutional reform of 1997 and the issuance of the new Nationality Law of 1998; she was appointed Director for Protection Policies, a position in which she participated in the implementation of the mechanisms for border liaison and consultation between Mexico and the United States. In 2000-2002, she was the head of the Desk for the United States of America affairs.
In September 2006, she was assigned to the Ministry of the Interior, as Director Deputy General in charge of the North America region.
Abroad, she first served as a Diplomatic Attaché at the Embassy of Mexico, Washington, D.C. as a political counselor and Chief of Staff from 2002 to 2006. From 2009 to 2012, she served as Deputy Chief of Mission and as Counselor for Economic Affairs, Trade and Cooperation for the Mexican Embassy in Israel; in 2012, as Counselor for Political Affairs at the Embassy of Mexico to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Mexican Mission to the European Union and from 2013 to 2016, as Deputy Consul at the Consulate General of Mexico in New York.
From 2016 to 2019, she was appointed as Consul General of Mexico in San Diego, California. In that position, she developed the concept of cross-border diplomacy.
As an alumna of the Escuela Libre de Derecho, she is the first woman to reach the rank of Ambassador (April 28, 2017).
Proposed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, she was ratified as Consul General of Mexico in Los Angeles by the Senate and took office on June 24, 2019. Congreso, Canal del. «Canal del Congreso - Comparecencia de las ciudadanas y los ciudadanos designados como cónsules generales». Canal del Congreso. Consultado el 25 de febrero de 2020. Her diplomatic work has been characterized by her commitment to achieving a dialogue between cultures. In this regard, since being appointed in Los Angeles, she has fostered an intergenerational and intercultural understanding between Mexicans, Mexican Americans and Americans of all cultures.
She speaks fluent English and has knowledge of French, Italian and Hebrew.
== Awards and recognitions ==
Among the recognitions Ambassador Celorio has received are:
* Recognition as "Border Defender of the Year 2016" by the County of San Diego District Attorney.https://www.sdcda.org/
* Recognition as "Border Defender of the Year" by the United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives (April 21, 2017).
* Recognition within the list of "The San Diego 500. The Book of Influential Business Leaders.«SD 500: Marcela Celorio». San Diego Business Journal (Southern Southern California). 3 de enero de 2018. Consultado el 8 de noviembre de 2018. «experts who raise the level of the industry here and beyond and those who lead in the business community». This publication includes business leaders and executives who have founded or are leading companies that are important in terms of number of jobs, key products and services; experts who raise the bar for industry in San Diego and beyond; as well as those who are leaders in the business community.
* Recognition as "2017 Person of the Year: A Cross-Border Consul. Gómez, Ana L. (19/12/2017 9:42). «Personaje del año: Una cónsul transfronteriza». Frontera.Info. p. https://www.frontera.info/. Consultado el 8 de noviembre de 2018. «"Uno de mis objetivos principales es empoderar a la comunidad mexicana en el Condado de San Diego"». 
* "Woman of Success 2017. «CONSUL GENERAL DE MEXICO EN SAN DIEGO LIC. MARCELA CELORIO MANCERA, SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA 19 DE SEPTIEMBRE 2017». Consultado el 8 de noviembre de 2018. Recognition awarded by Alianza de Mujeres por Mujeres, A.C. (AMPM), an organization that celebrates the empowerment of women and values those who seek to develop competencies and facilitate an integral growth of the female community.
* Given her commitment to the defense of human rights in the region (Tijuana-San Diego), she is the first foreign person to receive the 2017 George Moscone Senior Humanitarian Recognition by the San Diego LGBT Community.
* "Binational Leader of the Year 2017" by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce (12 de septiembre de 2017). «INTERNATIONAL TRIBUTE DINNER TO HONOR AMBASSADOR MARCELA CELORIO». 
* On the 50th anniversary of the sisterhood between Los Angeles and Mexico City, the City of Los Angeles recognizes his commitment and leadership to promote and represent these two cities.
== Outstanding Publications ==
* Essay "Dual nationality, dual citizenship: mistake or success of Mexico's foreign policy". The Challenges for Mexico's Foreign Policy in the Current Conjuncture.Portilla Gómez, Juan Manuel. Instituto Matías Romero, ed. «Los retos para la política exterior de México en la actual coyuntura. Cuadernos de Política Internacional». Nueva Época. Consultado el 8 de noviembre de 2018.
* "The Mexican community in the United States of America has received special attention from our government since the last six years, and by virtue of this, a series of outreach policies have been developed. Among them, the response to the Mexican community's demand to acquire U.S. citizenship, without ceasing to be Mexican, stands out. This is the 1998 constitutional reform that is part of the "Mexican Nation" initiative to strengthen consular protection and the defense of the rights of millions of Mexicans abroad, especially in the United States of America."
* Working Paper. The North American 'Security and Prosperity Partnershiphttps://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Security_and_Prosperity_Partnership_of_North_America': An Evaluation, Center for North American Studies, American University. (2006)
* "The Role of the Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego: Exercising an Effective Consular Diplomacy." California Western Law Reviewhttps://scholarlycommons.law.cwsl.edu/cwlr/. Celorio, Marcela (1 de junio de 2018). «The Role of the Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego: Exercising an Effective Consular Diplomacy». California Western Law Review 53 (2). Consultado el 8 de noviembre de 2018. 
"New generation of consular functions focus primarily on providing information on a wide range of topics, such as civic education, academic education, finance, and health. The goal is to provide the Mexican community with the right tools to be able to fully integrate into the country in which they live, have their children, work, pay their taxes, and contribute socially and economically."
* Celorio, M. (2018) "The role of consular diplomacy in the cross-border context: the case of CaliBaja." Coordinator Rafael Fernández de Castro. Mexican consular diplomacy in times of Trump (pp. 271-284).
* "The CaliBaja Border, the gateway to a cross-border reality" California Western International Law Journal.
* "Op-Ed. California's farm workers desperately need PPE and coronavirus tests". Los Angeles Times. April 14, 2020.
* "Undocumented but essential. A paradox of the COVID-19 times." Collaboration with Euclides Del Moral, incumbent consul in Oxnard. Foreign Affairs Latin America. May 2020.
* "The Mexican community in Los Angeles". Diplomacia Pública, Revista Digital. (2020)
Category:1965 births
Category:Mexican diplomats
Category:Mexican scientists