Monica is working for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Philippines as a Programme Analyst under the Inclusive and Sustainable Development Unit. She has just finished writing her thesis, "Philippine Disaster Risk from 1990-2010: Understanding Urbanization and Environmental Degradation as Factors Contributing to Disaster Risk". She holds a bachelor degree in development studies, a master’s degree in urban and regional planning, and is recent graduate of the Mundus Urbano Program, which she will be awarded an MSc in International Cooperation in Urban Development and a Master in Development Economics and International Cooperation. She is a graduate of Technische Universität Darmstadt and the University of Rome Tor Vergata.