Carmen is a Science Juris Doctor (SJD) from the law school of the University of Arizona, USA. She also holds a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Legal Studies from the law school of American University, USA. There she obtained a double specialization, one in human rights and another in gender. She also has a Master of Arts (MA) in History from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia. She studied Law at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, where she graduated as a lawyer. She recently worked as a professional researcher at the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program at the University of Arizona School of Law and as a member of the external advisory team to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

She has advised and litigated in defense of the rights of Indigenous Peoples, women, and victims of the armed conflict in Colombia. She has practiced in different areas of law, especially in criminal, constitutional and international human rights. She worked as a professor of the legal clinic of the law school of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, where she co-directed the program for the victims of the armed conflict.