Validated Expert info
Expert can perform Ad hoc expertise missions at network and programme level in relation to:
1. The design and delivery of (transnational) exchange and learning activities
2. Thematic expertise:
> Equality, diversity and inclusion
3. Methods and tools for integrated and participatory approaches:
> Integrated and participatory design of strategies
> Monitoring and evaluation for effective implementation
Summary
Itzel Garcia Mejia is a sustainable mobility and gender equality expert with experience in transnational exchange, capacity building, and participatory urban development. Originally from Mexico City and now based in Berlin, she combines her background in civil engineering with a master’s degree in urban management to design and implement inclusive, environmentally friendly mobility solutions worldwide.
Over the past years, Itzel has actively contributed to the GIZ’s Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI), supporting its capacity-building agenda by moderating, monitoring, and improving Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on sustainable mobility and gender equality. She has provided strategic recommendations to enhance these learning programs, ensuring their relevance and effectiveness.
Her work in capacity building extends to academia, where she serves as a guest lecturer at TU Berlin and FH Aachen, delivering courses on sustainable mobility and gender equality in two master’s programs. Beyond education, Itzel is actively engaged in research, developing methodologies to analyze cycling patterns from a Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion perspective and exploring how electric mobility solutions can empower women as users, service providers, and entrepreneurs. Her research employs both qualitative and quantitative methods, including surveys, focus groups, and interviews, to inform more inclusive urban mobility policies.
As an independent consultant, Itzel collaborates with leading organizations such as the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Cities Forum, contributing to sustainable urban mobility strategies, climate change mitigation, and urban capacity-building programs. She is also an experienced moderator, facilitating high-level discussions on inclusive mobility and knowledge exchange between Europe and emerging economies in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
Her methodological strengths include monitoring and evaluation as well as integrated and participatory strategy design, ensuring urban development initiatives are data-driven, inclusive, and impactful. Committed to making cities more accessible and equitable, she advocates for urban mobility systems that address the needs of diverse populations, including women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.