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Roberto Lescrauwaet

Changing lanes

As the head of transit for a small city in Ecuador, Roberto Lescrauwaet, Class of 2017, talks about the chaos caused by COVID-19, and his decision to step back.

NYUAD: At 25, you became a senior decision maker in a mountain community of 65,000 people. What led you there?

Roberto Lescrauwaet: I was working for a digital marketing startup in Ecuador when we got hired by a mayoral candidate in Cotacachi to do all the marketing for his campaign. He won the election. I must have done a good job because he offered me a senior position as the regional director of transit and mobility. I was the youngest person ever chosen for that level of responsibility. It was an honor.

NYUAD: Then came the pandemic.

Ecuador was really badly hit. All of a sudden I found myself in a position of immense responsibility, having to decide things like, should we ban public transit? There were protests outside my office and powerful unions demanding policy changes. I had to feel confident making decisions that impact the whole city.

NYUAD: When did you know it was time to go?

I’ve always been capable of handling high pressure situations but I started to feel demoralized. I saw a lot of corruption. I stayed in that job for about a year and a half but recently decided to go back to school. I’m doing my master’s at the University of Amsterdam.

NYUAD expanded my horizons in ways I never imagined possible, just being able to respect different perspectives on a daily basis.

Roberto Lescrauwaet, Class of 2017

NYUAD: We heard you had a life-changing research trip after graduation. What happened?

I joined a World Bank research project in Ethiopia, but two weeks after I arrived the country went into a state of emergency. There was ethnic conflict, burning houses, shootings, and evacuations. It was tough but I stayed in the field for nine months. It took extra effort and planning but we got the research done.

NYUAD: Wow, you are certainly beyond resilient. Do you think NYUAD has anything to do with that?

Definitely. NYUAD expanded my horizons in ways I never imagined possible, just being able to respect different perspectives on a daily basis. It becomes a habit to be empathetic and put yourself in another person’s shoes.