Jon Benitez joined the International Peace Institute in 2018 and is currently the External Relations Officer.

He is responsible for overseeing the planning and execution of over 100 events a year ranging from intimate roundtable discussions and workshops to on-the-record presentations featuring world leaders, foreign policy experts, and noted authors speaking on pressing issues in global affairs. He manages event partnerships with IPI’s donors and partner organizations to ensure all strategic and programmatic goals are met.

Prior to joining IPI, Jon worked at Concordia where he gained a wealth of event and project management experience. At Concordia, he oversaw the design and planning of partnership-building events ranging from policy-oriented dinners to Concordia’s Annual Summit which is the largest convening on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly featuring over 50 world leaders and 3,000 participants. He also organized the Concordia’s first international Summits in Bogotá, Colombia and Athens, Greece.

Jon is an alumnus of the University at Buffalo; he is a native Spanish speaker and holds dual citizenship in the United States and Colombia.