Addressing Teenage Pregnancy in Latin America and the Caribbean

A Mexican national, Alexandria Valerio holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Education and Economics from Columbia University and a master’s degree in Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. Ms. Valerio has worked in the Africa, South Asia and Latin America regions of the World Bank and brings with her over 25 years of experience that includes managing complex operations and leading large-scale research programs. Before her current appointment, she was the Lead Education Specialist for the Europe and Central Asia region. Ms. Valerio’s experience includes work on education, social protection, and growth and competitiveness.

Sociologist from the University of Chile (1989) and Postgraduate in "Population Dynamics and Development Programs and Policies" from CELADE (1990). Doctoral studies in "American Studies, with a mention in Economic and Social History" (University of Santiago de Chile (1999-2005). PhD in Demography National University of Córdoba, Argentina (2019). Member of the ALAP Board of Directors 2009-2010. Since 1994 he has worked in the Population and Development Area of CELADE. Author of numerous publications on different sociodemographic topics such as adolescent fertility, sexual and reproductive health, union patterns, internal migration, city systems, demographic dynamics and metropolitan residential segregation, population, development and inequality. He has taught courses, classes and conferences at CELADE and at various Universities and academic and public centers. Provider of technical assistance in Demography and Population and Development in almost all countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Diana J. Arango is the Sr. Gender-Based Violence and Development Specialist in the Gender Cross-Cutting Solutions Area at the World Bank Group. She has more than 10 years of experience working on development issues including gender-based violence, specifically within the context of humanitarian settings. Before joining the World Bank Group she was a Research Scientist at George Washington University's Global Women's Institute leading research on violence against women and girls in conflict settings. Prior to that she served as the Global Coordinator for the development and implementation of the Gender-Based Violence Information Management System (GBVIMS), an innovative inter-agency initiative that aids humanitarian workers in collecting timely data on GBV incidents that can then be used to inform programmatic work. She has an MSc from the London School of Economics in Anthropology and Development, and has on the ground experience in several countries, including Colombia, Haiti, Chad, Somalia, Uganda, and South Sudan.

Emily Breza is the Frederic E. Abbe Professor of Economics at Harvard University Department of Economics and Co-Chair of J-PAL's Finance Sector. Her research focuses on development economics and household finance. She is particularly interested in how financial decision-making interacts with both social effects and behavioral biases, and how financial product design can better integrate these factors. Some of her current research aims to use social networks to help present-biased savers better accomplish their goals. She is also involved in a project to understand the impacts of the 2010 Andhra Pradesh microfinance ordinance, which stopped all collections and lending activities of microlenders, on previous microfinance borrowers. Emily received her PhD from the MIT Economics Department and her BA from Yale University.

Victor Orozco is a Senior Economist with the Development Impact (DIME) department in the World Bank. His research focuses on mechanisms to promote behavior change at scale and includes impact evaluations in the areas of health, education, gender and environment. He founded and leads the World Bank’s research program on Mass Media and Entertainment-Education, which he runs in close collaboration with researchers and practitioners from governments, the World Bank, development partners and academic institutions. He holds a Master’s in Public Policy and Economics from Princeton University and a PhD in Social Intervention from Oxford University.