JohanaBahamon 2025

    Johana Bahamón

    Founder

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    Biography

    A creator of second chances for the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated population of Colombia.

    Actress, entrepreneur, founder, and executive president of the Acción Interna Foundation.

    Author of the books Historias Privadas de la Libertad (2020) and Segundas Oportunidades (2022), published by Editorial Planeta.

    Promoter of the Second Chances Law (2208 of May 17, 2022), which establishes economic incentives to strengthen access and opportunities in employment and training for people leaving prison.

    Appointed by the Ministry of Justice and Law as a Goodwill Ambassador to promote the resocialization and humanization of the prison system (2014).

    In 2000, she began her acting career. After participating in 15 productions and in her last leading role in the series Tres Milagros, she retired from acting to dedicate herself to working in prisons.

    In 2012, she created a theater group at the El Buen Pastor women’s prison in Bogotá, which marked the beginning of her involvement in the prison sector.

    To date, with the Acción Interna Foundation, they have benefited 112,000 incarcerated individuals in the 132 prisons of Colombia.

    • In 2012, she created the Teatro Interno Foundation, now the Acción Interna Foundation.
    • She has organized the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th editions of the National Prison Theater Festival, with performances for the public outside the prisons.
    • Organizer of the first TEDx in a Latin American prison: TEDx Buen Pastor: How to Turn Mistakes into Opportunities. (2015)
    • Member of the Prison Dignity Committee of the Ministry of Justice and Law (2013).
    • Co-founder of Casa Libertad, a space for post-release care in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, INPEC, and Colsubsidio.
    • (2015)
    • Manager and creator of the first restaurant in the world open to the public in a women’s prison: INTERNO. (2016)
    • She has participated as a speaker at international events for the IDB; at the Women’s Forum for Society and Economy in Deauville, France, and São Paulo, Brazil;
    • TEDx Women Bogotá; Woman True North in Mexico; Demand Solutions in Miami; Women Economic Forum Latin America; McKinsey;
    • International Penitentiary Congress organized by the United Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in Costa Rica;
    • Harvard University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, among others.
    • In 2017, she began working with the juvenile penitentiary sector.
    • Creator of Agencia Interna, the first advertising agency inside a prison in the world. (2019)
    • In 2020, during the pandemic, she managed to provide humanitarian aid to the 120,000 incarcerated individuals in the country’s 132 prisons, as well as to the custody and surveillance staff.
    • Manager and creator of the House of Second Chances in Bogotá. (2021)

    Distinctions and Recognitions

    • Nominated as one of the 30 Best Leaders of Colombia 2014, an award given by Semana Magazine, Telefónica, and the Leadership and Democracy Foundation;
    • a recognition for public leaders who have advanced Colombian society through positive change during the 2013-2014 period.
    • In 2015, she was featured in “Women Who Contribute to Colombia” by Semana magazine.
    • In 2017, she was named Ambassador of Reconciliation by the OEI and Reconciliación Colombia.
    • Winner of the EY Social Entrepreneur of the Year award 2017.
    • 2017 Portafolio Award for Contribution to the Community.
    • INTERNO is selected by TIME magazine as one of the 100 World’s Greatest Places 2018.
    • Best Entrepreneur at the 2018 Politika Awards.
    • Selected by the Obama Foundation for a meeting with former President Obama and ten emerging young leaders from Colombia.
    • “International Women’s Award 2019” decoration created by the International Leadership Forum, the National Chamber of Women of Mexico, and the World Organization of Leaders.
    • “Outstanding Young Person 2019” Junior Chamber of Colombia.
    • “Inclusive Leader 2019” award given by the ANDI Foundation and USAID for the development of inclusive competitiveness strategies for the vulnerable population.
    • Honorary Member of the Colombian Association of Criminal Lawyers – March 2020.
    • “Cafam Woman 2020” National Award.
    • Young Global Leader 2020 (YGL) of the World Economic Forum.
    • Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World – TOYP International 2020.
    • El Espectador Person of the Year 2020.
    • Forbes 50 Most Powerful Women 2020.
    • Policarpa Salavarrieta Order of Women and Democracy 2020.
    • Bartolina Sisa Distinction, awarded by the Andean Parliament 2021.
    • Eisenhower Fellow 2024.
    • Selected by the BBC as one of the 100 most influential women in the world in 2024.
    • Recognized by Forbes magazine as one of the 100 most powerful women in Colombia in 2025.