Juan Sebastian Arango Cárdenas

Presidential Counselor of Youth, Republic of Colombia

Bio Current as of December 2, 2020

Colombian native from the city of Pereira, with more than 15 years of experience in the development and creation of tools, strategies, and programs that have contributed to the inclusion of young people from different social, cultural and political backgrounds. Throughout his career, Juan Sebastian has been firmly committed to closing opportunity gaps for vulnerable populations at the grassroots level and via the creation and development of social impact enterprises.
His career is versatile and combines roles in the public and private sector. He has served as Director of Public and Corporate Affairs of FENALCO, as Chief of Staff to the Colombian Minister of National Defense, Senior Associate of Burson Marsteller and Manager at Publik, a communications firm.
Throughout his professional career, Juan Sebastián has stood out for being synonymous with efficiency and results. Each challenge he has had throughout his personal and professional life has been tackled with excellence, passion and responsibility, for this reason, he has been recognized as an exemplary representative of young people in the region, being an example of leadership, teamwork and communication.
Among the challenges that he has taken on as Presidential Advisor:
The rollout of the SACÚDETE strategy to promote innovation and talent development amongst Colombia’s youth, as led by the office of the First Lady of the Nation.
Pedagogy for Elections to Youth Councils.
The creation of innovative public policy to address the needs of Colombia’s youth
The consolidation and strengthening of communication channels between the National Government and the country’s youth.
The decentralization of youth processes, guaranteeing the opening of spaces for interaction and visibility of all rural youth.

In this role, Juan Sebastian works closely with H.E. María Juliana Ruiz, First Lady of Colombia, who has been characterized as a leader of youth issues in Colombia and the world.
Juan Sebastian is a graduate of the Universidad Libre de Pereira and holds a Master’s Degree in Legal Economic Analysis from the University Externado de Colombia.