Lauren Díaz Arias

Lauren is a Costa Rican social innovator from the town of Tilarán in the Northern part of the province of Guanacaste who has embraced the cause of transforming the Costa Rican prison system. Her passion for social change and education led her to found the Fundación Nueva Oportunidad in 2012, a pioneer organisation designing processes for socio-labour insertion and rehabilitation for inmates in Costa Rica.

In her role at the Fundación Nueva Oportunidad, Lauren co-founded ‘Unlock’ alongside a group of inmates, a circular economy business unit operated by inmates at the UAI Reynaldo Villalobos prison facility. This innovative management model is a regional example of designing local solutions with the potential to achieve systemic change.

Lauren has also served as a lecturer at the Escuela de Administración at the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica for over a decade, teaching courses in areas such as law, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and actively collaborating at the Centro de Desarrollo Gerencial. Her expertise also extends to consulting in social innovation, innovation management, and entrepreneurship development.

Lauren has received numerous accolades, including the title of Ashoka Fellow and Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum. She has also been honoured by programmes such as the Young Leaders of America Initiative and Forbes Central America and has shared her expertise as a speaker at TEDx talks, as well as at various national and international events.

Lauren holds a degree in Law from the Universidad de Costa Rica and a degree in Administration from the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, with a specialisation in innovation and additional studies in criminology and human security.