Belén Cota
ENES
Field researchEvaluationCommunity

Listening first: research, evaluation and improvement

Surveys, censuses and improvement routes with communities, plus public forums, talks, a magazine and two international events.

Scroll to explore
More work

Projects for communities and professionals

Forum posterForum agenda
DesignImplementation
No es ciudad si no es para todxsA day-long forum on housing and the right to the city: talks, panels, thematic tables and community leaders, designed minute by minute.TECHO · ANEDUP · Universidad de Guadalajara · 2019
A dirt road in an informal settlement
AnalysisField research
Listening first in the fieldNine years of surveys, censuses and volunteer training in informal settlements with TECHO. Today I am a member of TECHO Jalisco’s Advisory Board.TECHO · Volunteer 2010–2019 · Training & Development Coordinator 2015–2017
Assumed · an education projectFound · children went to school, but the walk was long and dangerousBuilt · stairs to the nearest avenue
AnalysisNon-training solution
The answer was stairs, not a classroomWe set out to run an education project. The needs assessment showed most children already went to school; the real problem was a long, dangerous route. Instead of training, we managed the construction of stairs connecting the neighborhood to the nearest avenue.TECHO
Mediation & negotiationRadical candorHands-on follow-ups
ADDIEEvaluation
Conflict resolution trainingCommunication problems in day-to-day volunteer work led me through a full ADDIE cycle: I designed a conflict resolution training from scratch, implemented it quickly and kept evaluating it as it ran.TECHO
45communities · 3 states
AnalysisEvaluation
Needs assessment in 45 communitiesNeeds assessments in Guanajuato, Jalisco and Michoacán that shaped leadership, project management and organizational programs for 400+ educators and staff.ProSociedad · 2021–2023
Literature reviewsQualitative coding & analysisResearch synthesis
Research
Research assistantInterdisciplinary research projects: data organization, qualitative analysis and preparing academic articles for publication.Universidad de Guadalajara · 2016–2019
B2→C1
AnalysisDesign
Speaking BridgeA speaking route for adults who understand everything in English but freeze when they talk.GUCO Academy · 2026 · In progress
Module 1 · Professional CommunicationModule 2 · Meetings & Presentations8 learning assets per module
DevelopmentOnline course
Professional English, onlineAn online course that moves professionals from knowing English to using it in emails, meetings and presentations.OPEN · Arizona State University · 2026
Swipe
Talks, events & side projects

Where else you can find me

Panel discussion at Forum InfanciasPanelist · 2017Forum InfanciasMy talk was on the medicalization of childhood.
Research presentations
Wealth and social inequalities from the perspective of upper classes
Universidad de Guadalajara · 2025
Social representations of wealth and inequality
UNAM · 2022
(De)humanization in cases of forced disappearance
Co-author · UNAM 2022 · Universidad de Costa Rica 2019
Cover of Viento Sepia magazineIndependent magazine · 2016Viento SepiaA bimonthly magazine I founded, edited, designed and laid out, giving space to voices without one.
International eventsPan American Games, Guadalajara 2011Night-shift coordinator · team of 20Ran the accreditation module that registered athletes and international delegations and issued their credentials.Mexico Open (golf), 2010Press-area translator · team of 10Led the translation team supporting international press.
Swipe