Santiago Davila

Santiago holds a Master in International Relations from the University of California, San Diego, a Bachelor of Science in Applied Economics from Virginia Tech, and a Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification. Santiago is a native Spanish speaker. He and his tandem State Department Foreign Service Officer wife have two young children.

Santiago has served the U.S. Foreign Service in various capacities. Currently in a domestic assignment at the U.S. Export Assistance Center (USEAC) in Minneapolis, Santiago helps mid-west companies find export opportunities abroad. He is working to extend commercial services to minority and underserved communities in the state. In his previous assignment, he led a team of local commercial specialists to promote and advocate for U.S. goods and service in Malaysia and the ASEAN region. Santiago also previously managed a national network of private, public, and NGO sector partners for the State Department at the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru.

Prior to federal service, Santiago dedicated nine years to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in various roles. As an analyst and marketing professional, he implemented business expansion plans into Latin America for HP’s industrial printing business. As a worldwide business manager in Shanghai, China, he was responsible for the oversight of billion-dollar product lines across all of HP business geographies. Santiago started his career as an economist, conducting economic analysis for a U.S.-Mexico infrastructure needs assessment study in San Diego, California, and providing business support for an Economic Development Organization in Virginia.