Full Name
Maria Isabel Castillo Baez
Job Title
Ambassador
Company
Embassy of the Dominican Republic
Speaker Bio
Ambassador María Isabel Castillo Báez has served as Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the United States of America since April 2025. She has more than 20 years of diplomatic experience, having joined the Dominican Foreign Service in 2002. She earned a Doctor of Laws (J.D.), Magna Cum Laude, from Universidad Iberoamericana of Santo Domingo, and holds two master’s degrees from Columbia University: a Master of Laws (LL.M.), for which she received the Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law Merit Award; and a Master’s degree in International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), with concentrations in Latin American and Economic Development. In addition, she completed the Certificate in French Civilization at the Sorbonne, as well as studies in business and international trade at Harvard University.
Prior to joining the diplomatic service, she worked as an intellectual property attorney at the law firm Castillo y Castillo in the Dominican Republic, Ladas & Parry in New York City, and later at González Calvillo S.C. in Mexico City. From 2002 to 2005 and from 2009 to 2020, she held various positions at the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in Mexico, where she gained extensive experience in Mexico–Dominican Republic bilateral relations and led the initiative that resulted in the creation of the Mexico–Dominican Republic Binational Chamber of Commerce. From 2020 until April 2025, she served as Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the United Mexican States, distinguishing herself by strengthening cooperation as well as trade and investment relations between the two countries.
Ambassador Castillo Báez has received numerous awards recognizing her diplomatic work from various institutions, including the Miguel Hidalgo Borough of Mexico City, El Dinero magazine, the Mexican Congress, and the Municipal Council of Atlixco, Puebla. She was also awarded the 2025 Medal of Merit for Dominican Women by the Dominican government. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Mexico–Dominican Republic Chamber of Commerce (CABIMEX-RD) and has served as a liaison with non-governmental organizations on several social development and human rights initiatives, including the Chanel Foundation, Melel Xojobal A.C., Go Campaign, and Yo Quiero Yo Puedo IMIFAP.
In addition to Spanish as her native language, she is fluent in English and French. She is married and has three children.
Prior to joining the diplomatic service, she worked as an intellectual property attorney at the law firm Castillo y Castillo in the Dominican Republic, Ladas & Parry in New York City, and later at González Calvillo S.C. in Mexico City. From 2002 to 2005 and from 2009 to 2020, she held various positions at the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in Mexico, where she gained extensive experience in Mexico–Dominican Republic bilateral relations and led the initiative that resulted in the creation of the Mexico–Dominican Republic Binational Chamber of Commerce. From 2020 until April 2025, she served as Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the United Mexican States, distinguishing herself by strengthening cooperation as well as trade and investment relations between the two countries.
Ambassador Castillo Báez has received numerous awards recognizing her diplomatic work from various institutions, including the Miguel Hidalgo Borough of Mexico City, El Dinero magazine, the Mexican Congress, and the Municipal Council of Atlixco, Puebla. She was also awarded the 2025 Medal of Merit for Dominican Women by the Dominican government. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Mexico–Dominican Republic Chamber of Commerce (CABIMEX-RD) and has served as a liaison with non-governmental organizations on several social development and human rights initiatives, including the Chanel Foundation, Melel Xojobal A.C., Go Campaign, and Yo Quiero Yo Puedo IMIFAP.
In addition to Spanish as her native language, she is fluent in English and French. She is married and has three children.
Speaking At
