Natalia Castaño-Morales (MEECON ’25) came to Rice from Colombia as a Fulbright Scholar to pursue the Master of Energy Economics, drawn by the program's blend of rigorous economic analysis and direct access to Houston's energy industry. Her time at Rice shaped how she thinks about markets, infrastructure, and the role of energy in a changing economy.

Today Natalia is a New Ventures Project Engineer at Chord Energy in Houston, where she evaluates and structures emerging opportunities in natural gas, power generation, and energy infrastructure. An Industrial Engineer by training with an additional graduate degree in Human and Organizational Development Management, she splits her time between Houston and Colombia's Eje Cafetero. Natalia is especially glad to connect with international and Latin American prospective students navigating the Fulbright process, the transition to graduate study in the U.S., and the path from Rice into the energy sector.