Santillana is an Associate Programme Officer at the Democracy Assessment (DA) Unit. She contributes to research, analysis, project management and strategic communications for the Global State of Democracy (GSoD) initiative. Her research is principally focused on democracy and human rights in the Middle East and Latin America and the Caribbean. 

She is responsible for the communication and outreach efforts of the GSoD knowledge products and tools, monitoring and supporting the achievement of DA programme objectives through continuous results reporting. Prior to joining the Democracy Assessment Unit, Santillana served as a Research Assistant for the Secretary-General’s Office wherein she was responsible for providing support to International IDEA’s Board of Advisers, as well as assisting in the areas and processes of institutional governance. Santillana’s additional work experience within International IDEA includes research on money in politics and democratic accountability, equitable political participation, the role of media in democracy and democracy strengthening. Santillana served as a Research Assistant for the Political Participation and Representation Programme, where she was in charge of the maintenance and update of the Political Finance Database. Before joining International IDEA, Santillana worked in the local government administration industry.