María del Carmen Denis Polanco holds a Master's degree in Information Technology Management from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM), a Specialist degree in Technology Management, and a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, both from the Autonomous University of Yucatán (UADY). She also holds a Diploma in Internet Governance from CETyS and has completed Executive Programs in Corporate Governance at IESE Business School and the Mexican Stock Exchange School in conjunction with Anahuac Mayab University and the Center of Excellence in Corporate Governance.
She has a solid track record of over 30 years in network and internet interconnection technologies. She is currently an Independent Consultant, Founder and Executive Director of LAC Digital Academy, a member of the Board of Directors of the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Address Registry (LACNIC) and the Latin American and Caribbean Association of Internet Exchange Points (LAC-IX), a member of the Board of Directors of Internet Exchange Services Yucatan (IXSY), and Coordinator of the Commission for Collaboration in the Internet Ecosystem and Development in Higher Education Institutions (CEDIIES) at the National Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education of Mexico (ANUIES). She is part of advisory groups for the Diploma in Internet Governance (DiGI). For the past six years, she has led Mexico's second IXP, Internet Exchange Services Yucatan (IXSY), where she served as Director and President of the Organization, demonstrating her leadership in laying the foundations for the development of the Internet Ecosystem in the Yucatan Peninsula and promoting the creation of new IXPs in Mexico. She is a member of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) of the United Nations (UN).
She entered the world of the Internet in 1994 as an intern at the university network of the Autonomous University of Yucatán (UADY), where she worked until April 2019. At UADY, she was responsible for IT infrastructure and telematics services, led the institutional project to improve connectivity and Internet access on UADY's university campuses and data centers, and coordinated the IPv6 transition and MANRS adoption project at UADY.
Today, Carmen is a weaver of communities and bridges of collaboration, contributing to the development of the digital and Internet ecosystem of Mexico and the LAC region, actively cooperating in the dissemination of topics and technologies for Internet development such as Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), Peering, IPv6, RPKI, CSIRT, Internet Measurement RIPE Atlas, MANRS, DNSSEC, Internet Governance among other topics in collaboration with organizations in Mexico and Latin America, such as the Internet Society, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the Latin American and Caribbean Regional Internet Registry (LACNIC), NIC Mexico (NICMX), the Latin American and Caribbean Network Operators Community (LACNOG), the Mexican Network Operators Group (MEXNOG), the National Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education (ANUIES) and the National Association of Wireless Internet Providers of Mexico (WISP MX). She has participated as a speaker and panelist at LACNIC and LACNOG events; she has also served as a fellowship coordinator for LACNIC's in-person events. In 2019, she won the FRIDA initiative as part of the management team at the Center for Women in Technology (CMT). In 2020, she was a MANRS Fellow in Training. Currently, she collaborates with LACNIC on the Cyber Resilience – CSIRT Program, is a RIPE Atlas ambassador for the deployment of probes at universities in Mexico and ISPs in the Yucatán Peninsula, an instructor on the Internet Society Learning platform, and the Coordinator of the TIDE Fellows Program.
