Maria Consuelo Donato is a native of Colombia. She holds a B.S. in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Caldas (Colombia), M.S. in Rural Development from Javeriana University (Colombia), and PhD in Hispanic Studies from Texas A&M University. She has >20 years in international experience in agriculture-related projects and education (Morocco, Spain, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia).

Consuelo served as National Director of Rural Development Projects in Colombia where she was responsible for the selection and funding authorization of projects in rural communities at a national level. She then served as Advisor to the General Director of the National Land-Use Institute and subsequently was promoted to Advisor to the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. Consuelo has worked as an Environmental Restoration Consultant in Brazil and holds certifications in Agribusiness (Federal University of Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil) as well as in Analysis and Management in Conflict Resolution (University of Nueva Granada, Bogota, Colombia).

Currently, Consuelo is an Assistant Professor of Research in the Department of Agriculture, Agribusiness, and Environmental Sciences at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Her research interests are in Hispanic, agricultural communities with a focus on migrant farm workers. She also serves as advisor to the USDA-NIFA Grants Program for the College of Agriculture, a program designed to assist undergraduate students to gain experiential learning opportunities in agriculture across the US. While at TAMU-Kingsville, she has assisted with or teaches courses for the Department of Animal Science; Department of Agriculture, Agribusiness, and Environmental Science; and Department of Language and Literature. She enjoys traveling abroad and learning of new cultures.