Tonis Montes is a program specialist for the Inclusive Peace Processes and Colombia portfolios in the Center for Applied Conflict Transformation. Tonis works with civil society organizations in Colombia that implement peacebuilding and reconciliation projects in conflict-affected territories. She also leads and supports a grassroots network of women mediators in Colombia. She has written on the role of youth in peace processes and on the status of the implementation of Colombia’s FARC accord on The Olive Branch.

Before joining USIP in 2015, Tonis taught ESL to university students and university administration at Universidad Minuto de Dios in Bogotá, Colombia. While in Colombia, she received her MA in Conflict Resolution from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. Tonis also holds a BA in Political Science and Latin American Studies from Wake Forest University.