Patricia Costa

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT PATRICIA COSTA

Patricia Costa is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of experience spanning food security, private sector development, climate change, and workforce development. As Vice President of Program Development at Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), she leads business development and strategy for the organization, focused on global agricultural market systems development programs. Prior to her tenure at CNFA, Patricia held senior roles at Mathematica and Abt Associates, where she led business development, program evaluation, and technical assistance efforts for projects funded by USAID, the World Bank, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation. Her work encompassed areas such as workforce development, regulatory reform, public-private partnerships, and agriculture. Patricia\'s leadership is characterized by a compassionate approach that fosters collaboration and maximizes staff potential, resulting in enhanced organizational performance. Her multilingual capabilities—fluent in Spanish, French, and German, with a basic understanding of Portuguese—have been instrumental in building cross-cultural partnerships and expanding global outreach. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia and a Master of Public Policy from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.