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Cristina Villegas specializes in rural development strategies, mineral sector governance and local capacity building, and has direct field experience across Africa, Asia and Latin America. She is a member of the Gemstone Knowledge Hub, Fairtrade’s Technical Advisory Committee for Gold, a Gold Expert for the UN Environmental Program, and an Expert Associate of the Artisanal Gold Council. She is regularly consulted as an ASM expert on gold, gemstones and conflict minerals by such organizations as USAID, U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Labor, the World Bank, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and others. She lectures on extractives for Columbia University’s Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), and she is a technical advisor to the Conservation X Prize’s Amazon Grand Challenge.