Global Forum on Coalitions for Reforms

James Robinson is a Professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy and a Research Fellow at the NBER and CEPR. He is a co-recipient of the 2024 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, awarded with Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson for their studies on how institutions are formed and how they affect prosperity.

Professor Robinson previously taught in the Department of Economics at the University of Melbourne, the University of Southern California, the Departments of Economics and Political Science at the University of California at Berkeley. Before moving to Chicago, he was Wilbur A. Cowett Professor of Government at Harvard. His main research interest​s ​are in comparative economic and political development and he is currently conducting research in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, and in Colombia where he has taught for many years during the summer at the University of the Andes in Bogotá. He has published many papers and books on institutions and development, including  Why Nations Fail and The Narrow Corridor.

Arturo Herrera is the Global Director for Institutions in the Prosperity vertical of the World Bank. He joined the Bank in 2010 as a Senior Public Sector Management Specialist in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region, holding various roles such as Sector Manager in LAC and Practice Manager in Governance Global Practice for LAC and East Asia and the Pacific. He left the Bank in 2018, and until 2021, Arturo held leadership positions in the Government of Mexico as Co-Head of the Finance Team in Presidential Transition Team, Deputy Finance Minister and, most recently, as Minister of Finance and Public Credit. Currently, as Global Director for Institutions, Herrera leads the strategy and engagement of the Bank’s work on public institutions and country-level governance.

Besnik Tahiri is a former First Deputy Prime Minister and acting Foreign Minister of Kosovo, with over two decades of leadership in governance, institutional reform, politics, and international relations. A former Member of Parliament and Caucus Leader, he represented Kosovo at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, championing key governance and policy reforms.

An experienced international senior consultant, Tahiri has advised governments and organizations including UNDP, NDI, SDC, Chemonics, and Tetra Tech across the Western Balkans, Jordan, and Syria. He is a certified International Evaluator by the International Association for Development Assessment (IDEAS), Carlton University, Ottawa, Canada. Tahiri  lectures on governance and public policy at UBT University in Prishtina. He is the Founder & President of the International Governance Conference.

Roby Senderowitsch currently serves as the Practice Manager for Public Administration in the Institutions Global Department of the World Bank. Previously, he has held various positions, including Practice Manager, Governance Global Practice, Europe and Central Asia (West); Manager for Leadership, Learning & Innovation; Manager of the Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA); and Country Manager in the Dominican Republic. His work at the  World Bank includes a strong focus on political economy analysis, building coalitions for change, anti-corruption, and performance-based management of public institutions. He has been a lecturer in Human Resource management in nonprofit organizations, as well as director of educational programs and community development and HR management in the private sector.

Mathieu Cloutier has extensive experience in governance as a practitioner and from the development and academic perspectives. 

He has held many operational and leadership positions at the World Bank. As public sector economist covering the West Africa region, his operational work included decentralization, service delivery, domestic resources mobilization, and PFM projects, with a regional focus on Sahel countries.

As senior economist in the global unit he was program manager for the Open Government Partnership multi-donor trust fund and the Governance and Institutions Umbrella trust fund. 

Robin van Kippersluis has worked on breakthroughs in development effectiveness for over 25 years.

At the World Bank, Robin has advised clients around the world and across sectors on government modernization, change management, learning and knowledge systems and, sustainable development. Prior to this, Robin was Chief Knowledge Management at UNICEF.

Robin is a Certified Executive Coach, with an MA in Public Administration and a diploma in International Development Studies. 

A strategic advisor and governance expert with over 15 years of experience, Hirut Johnson helps governments and development partners solve complex institutional challenges across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. She brings deep expertise in public sector reform, political economy, and results-based management. She specializes in turning reform strategies into implementable, measurable solutions in both high-capacity and fragile contexts. Her passion is bridging policy, people, and institutions to unlock lasting impact in public systems and communities.

Lena Slachmuijlder is Senior Advisor for Digital Peacebuilding at Search for Common Ground, supporting peacebuilders in 35 countries to counter online harms and leverage digital tools for peace. With 30 years’ experience in journalism and peacebuilding, she works at the nexus of technology, violence, and social cohesion. As Co-Chair of the Council on Tech and Social Cohesion, she advances prosocial tech design, AI-enabled deliberation, and governance frameworks, while contributing to leading publications and global initiatives on safer, more inclusive digital spaces

Varun Hemachandran leads the OpenNyAI mission at Agami. At the heart of Agami’s work is the curation of justice changemakers (justicemakers). By fostering trust, nurturing shared purpose, and facilitating impactful connections between people and ideas, we create the openness essential to advancing justice. The OpenNyAI mission acknowledges the transformative potential of AI in catalysing Access to Justice. It explores how technology, and AI in particular, can unlock fresh energy, innovative ideas, and new pathways to justice—redefining roles and expanding possibilities in this critical space. With a decade-long career in advertising and marketing behind him, Varun joined Agami in 2020, bringing with him an outsider’s lens that continues to shape new ways of thinking about what innovation could look like in the field of law and justice.

Tim Davies is Director of Practical Participation, an independent consultancy supporting critical engagement with technologies for social change. He is also Director of Research and Practice for Connected by Data, a UK-based campaign for communities to have a powerful voice in the governance of data and AI, where he co-founded the Participatory AI Research & Practice Symposium (PAIRS). Tim previously co-founded Open Data Services Co-operative, developing data standards for transparency and accountability projects including the Open Contracting Partnership and Infrastructure Transparency Initiative. He has worked at the World Wide Web Foundation as open data research lead, and with IDRC as co-editor of The State of Open Data: Histories and Horizons. 

Tara Susman-Peña is a strategic advisor and researcher with over 20 years of experience at the intersection of media, technology, community engagement, and governance. At IREX, she led global initiatives on information ecosystems, civic trust, ethical AI adoption, and building resilience to disinformation. She previously directed research on media development effectiveness and civic tech innovation at Internews. Tara holds an M.A. in cultural anthropology from Columbia University.

Eric Gordon's research focuses on technology and public engagement, with a specific focus on the role of narrative, data, and algorithms on institutional trust and governance. He specializes in collaborative research and design processes and has served as an expert advisor for local and national governments, as well as NGOs around the world, designing responsive processes that help organizations transform to meet their stated values. He is the author of over 50 articles and chapters on media and urbanism, and the author of two books on the topic. His most recent monograph, Meaningful Inefficiencies: Civic Design in an Age of Digital Expediency (Oxford University Press, 2020) looks at collaborative design practices in the context of emerging technology inside government and journalism. He is authoring a new book, Listening at Scale: Civic Data, AI, and the Transformation of Public Engagement.

Tracey Lane is Practice Manager, Institutions, at the World Bank. Since joining the World Bank as a Young Professional in 2001, she has held leadership roles across multiple regions, including Senior Economist in Eastern Europe, East Africa, and South Asia; Program Leader in the Middle East and North Africa; and Lead Economist in Latin America. Most recently, she managed the Governance Global unit and oversaw the launch of the GovTech initiative of the EFI Vice Presidency before moving to the Africa West region and managing a $1.5 billion portfolio of projects to support clients to strengthen their fiscal management and systems to deliver better public services. With a background in the U.K. government economic service, Tracey specializes in fiscal policy, public financial management, tax administration and government expenditure. She holds BA and MA degrees in Economics from the University of Essex, U.K.

Gallina A. Vincelette, as Vice President for Operations Policy and Country Services (OPCS) oversees the World Bank’s corporate policies related to operations, country engagement, procurement, environmental and social standards, and financial management. She also leads efforts to enhance the strategic alignment, scalability, and impact of IBRD and IDA financing, advisory and analytics, and risk management. 

Gallina has over 20 years of professional experience in development, economics, finance, and policy. She was the World Bank’s Director for Operations Policy in OPCS, where she led WBG’s reform initiatives like the Crisis Response and Preparedness Toolkit, Global Challenge Programs, and the new Country Engagement Approach. Earlier, Gallina was the World Bank’s Country Director for the European Union. 

Dr. Anya Schiffrin is a senior lecturer at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and co-director of the Technology Policy & Innovation Concentration. She has written on media trust and teaches on the topic in her course on “Policy Solutions for Online Mis/Disinformation”. She’s edited three volumes on the subject of media capture including Media Capture: How Money, Digital Platforms and Governments Control the News (Columbia University Press 2021).  

Mira Milosevic is an accomplished executive with more than 20 years of international experience at the intersection of media, technology, economics, and policy. As Executive Director of the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD), she has successfully grown the organisation into a globally respected knowledge and policy network, building high-level partnerships and driving impact across sectors. Mira brings deep expertise in organisational leadership, strategic growth, business development, and multi-stakeholder engagement, having advised governments, international organisations, and platforms on sustainable digital ecosystems and media innovation. She plays a key role in shaping global public policy through expert groups at the UN, OSCE, OECD, and beyond – particularly in areas like digital markets, platform governance, and the future of information. A frequent writer and speaker, Mira’s insights help bridge business, regulation, and rights-based approaches to digital transformation.

Aidan Eyakuze is the Chief Executive Officer of the Open Government Partnership.

He is the former Executive Director of Twaweza East Africa, where, for a decade, he worked to enable children to learn, citizens to exercise agency, and governments to be more open and responsive in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda.

In May 2016, Aidan joined the OGP Steering Committee as a member of civil society. Aidan served as the civil society co-chair for 2021-2022.

In June 2017, he was appointed to the Board of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD).

Before joining OGP, Aidan was Associate Regional Director of the Society for International Development (SID) and Head of the SID Tanzania office. He has 15 years of experience as a scenario practitioner.

Aidan is an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow. He is also a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN) and served on the Governing Board of the Millennium Challenge Account (Tanzania) until August 2014.

Al is the Executive Director of the Open Institute, an organisation dedicated to fostering open governance, citizen engagement, and data rights across sub-Saharan Africa. Recognised as an Ashoka Fellow for his pioneering contributions to social innovation, Al is an advocate for transparency in government and data rights across Africa.

Al chairs the board of Publish What You Fund and was previously a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD).

A marketing communications expert, serial entrepreneur, and advocate for open government, Al was named a Mandela Washington Fellow (2014), honoured as a New Generation African Leader (2013) by the African Leadership Network, and featured among Kenya’s ‘Top 40 under 40 Kenyan Men’ in 2019 by Business Daily.

He is an accomplished writer known for his popular blog alkags.me and his book, Living Memories, on Kenya’s colonial history.

Jaime Saavedra is the Regional Practice Director for Latin America and the Caribbean in the People Vice-presidency of the World Bank, providing strategic direction for programs in education, gender, health, and social protection. He previously led the Bank’s Education Global Practice and served as Peru’s Minister of Education (2013–2016), during which Peru’s performance improved substantially as measured by international learning assessments.

Saavedra has led influential work on poverty and inequality, employment and labor markets, the economics of education, and monitoring and evaluation. He has held positions at the Inter-American Development Bank, ECLAC, the International Labour Organization, Grupo de Análisis para el Desarrollo, and Peru’s National Council of Labor.

In academia, he has taught, conducted research, and published extensively. Before serving as Minister, he spent a decade at the World Bank—he was Director for Poverty Reduction and Equity and Acting Vice President of the Poverty Reduction & Economic Management Network. Saavedra has a Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University.

Jay Heimbach leads the External and Corporate Relations vice presidency. He has worked in in both the non-profit and private sectors as well as government. Jay served as the Special Representative of the World Bank to North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel, where he worked closely with senior leadership in managing relationships with key donor governments.

Prior to his tenure at the World Bank Group, he was the Senior Director for North American Government Affairs for the ONE Campaign, a global advocacy organization focused on ending extreme poverty. In the Senate, Jay served as Chief of Staff to Senator Sherrod Brown from Ohio. He worked as a Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs to President Obama administration, focusing on energy, environmental, agricultural, and manufacturing issues in the US Senate. He also served President Clinton in the Office of Legislative Affairs and as Senior Policy Advisor for the White House Deputy Chief of Staff.

Antonella Bassani, as Vice President for the Europe and Central Asia Region at the World Bank, leads the region’s strategy, financing, and knowledge agenda. Previously she was Vice President for Budget, Performance Review and Strategic Planning, and earlier, Director for Strategy and Operations in East Asia and Pacific, and in Middle East and North Africa. She played a leading role in mobilizing Bank resources, including two successful IDA replenishments.

With over 30 years of experience, Bassani brings a distinctive blend of operational and financial expertise across East Asia and Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa—managing large, complex programs and multi-disciplinary teams. She is recognized for advancing portfolio performance, financing solutions, and strong bilateral and multilateral partnerships.

Bassani joined the World Bank in 1993. She holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. in International Economics from Johns Hopkins University.

Mamta Murthi is Vice President for the People Vice Presidency at the World Bank, a role she assumed on July 1, 2020. In this role she oversees the Global Practices for Education; Health, Nutrition, and Population; Gender; Social Protection and Jobs – as well as the Human Capital Project.

Mamta has held many leadership positions at the World Bank, including as Director of Operations Policy (2019), Director of Strategy and Operations in Infrastructure (2018), Director of Strategy and Operations in the Africa Region (2015-2018), and Regional Country Director for the EU, based in Brussels (2012-15).  

As an economist, she has held technical roles in Social Protection and Labor (1996-2004) and Education (2006-10). She was Deputy Director of the World Development Report on Development and the Next Generation in 2006. During 1998-2000, Mamta was MacArthur Fellow for Poverty and Inequality at King’s College, Cambridge.

Mamta has written extensively on poverty, demography, education, pensions, and skills and is well-known for her econometric studies on fertility in India.

Junaid Kamal Ahmad is Vice President of Operations at the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the Political Risk Insurance and Credit Enhancement arm of the World Bank Group. He is responsible for advancing and enhancing MIGA’s brand partnering across the World Bank Group and with financial institutions, private investors, and development actors to originate and pursue meaningful, impact-driven projects. Junaid also leads the Operations team to deliver on MIGA’s mandate of mobilizing private finance for development projects in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs).

Ilana Ron Levey is a managing director at Gallup, serves on the firm’s executive leadership team, and chairs Gallup’s research brand protection committee. Ilana directs a team of world-class researchers focused on Gallup’s public release and social impact partnerships, including through the Gallup World Poll. Ilana is also a social science researcher with deep expertise in research methods, customer engagement metrics, program evaluation, corporate social responsibility programs, international development and global public health.  

Previously, Ilana served as the co-director of the qualitative methods center for Abt Associates. While at Abt, she led a team of researchers working on government-funded research and evaluation projects for many different agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Labor.  She led major research studies across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia and is well-versed in the complexities of global research. 

Rakesh Rajani is the President of JustSystems, which supports government and civil society leaders in the Global South to make public systems more effective, inclusive and dignity affirming. He has 25 years of experience in founding and running civil society organizations in East Africa (including HakiElimu, Twaweza, and Policy Forum) and 9 years in philanthropy (with Ford Foundation and Co-Impact). He is a founding member and past co-chair of the Open Government Partnership; and has served as a fellow at Center for Global Development and Harvard, and on several boards, including the Hewlett Foundation, Luminate, International Budget Partnership and Innovations for Policy Actions. His core areas of interest include education, governance, just and inclusive systems change, impact at scale and fostering learning practice.

Jana Nelson is the Head for Latin America at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, helping governments in the region deliver for their citizens. With over fifteen years of experience working in and on Latin America, she most recently served as a principal advisor to two U.S. cabinet members, where she had a front row seat in designing and implementing U.S. Foreign Policy for the Western Hemisphere, from Canada down to Chile.

Shanta Devarajan is a professor of the practice of international development at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. He was previously at the World Bank, where he was the senior director for Development Economics, the chief economist of the Middle East and North Africa, Africa, and South Asia regions and the Human Development Network. He was also a director of the 2004 World Development Report, Making Services Work for Poor People. Before 1991, Shanta was on the faculty of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Born in Sri Lanka, he received a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and an A. B. in mathematics from Princeton University.

Anna Bjerde is the Managing Director of Operations at the World Bank. She spearheads the World Bank’s work on the world’s most pressing development challenges—from poverty and climate change to food insecurity, debt, inequality, pandemics, and conflict—overseeing an active portfolio worth $340 billion in programs across client countries.

With 30 years of expertise in international development, public policy, and public-private sector partnerships, Anna drives the World Bank’s operational complex for swift and impactful results. Under her leadership, the World Bank achieved record levels of climate-related project financing and initiated bold and ambitious programs, including bringing clean electricity to 300 million people in Africa by 2030.

Previously, Anna served as Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, steering the region through a series of overlapping shocks and mobilizing record support for Ukraine through fasttrack financing and impactful solutions. Earlier, she was the Director of Strategy and Operations for the Middle East and North Africa.

A passionate advocate for gender equality, Anna was named "International Leader of the Year" by Dagens Industri in 2024 and one of Sweden's most influential women.

Sophie Sirtaine is the CEO of CGAP, an international partnership, housed in the World Bank Group, dedicated to promoting inclusive financial ecosystems that enable a green, resilient, and equitable world for all.  

Sophie has dedicated her professional career to the development of inclusive and sustainable financial ecosystems around the world, with more than twenty years of experience at the World Bank, where she has held different positions, including Director of Strategy and Operations at the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank and Director for the Caribbean region. Previously, Sophie worked as an expert in financial sector development and stability in Europe, Latin America, and Asia.  Among others, she led various Financial Sector Assessment Programs (FSAPs) in various countries in Europe, Central Asia, and Latin America, and she was the Manager who led the World Bank's response to banking crises in various countries of the European Union during the global financial crisis of 2008-2011.

Mark Nelson is a media, governance, and democracy expert and former Senior Director at the National Endowment for Democracy where he headed the Center for International Media Assistance, a research and knowledge platform focused on the role of news media in building and sustaining democratic societies. Mark joined NED from the World Bank, where he spent 17 years as a governance and capacity development expert. Before moving to Washington in 2004, he spent eight years in Paris as head of the World Bank Institute’s European office, where he focused on democratic governance, including the role of the media. From 1985 through 1996, Mark was European diplomatic correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, based in Brussels, Berlin and Paris.

José Manuel Bassat has over 25 years of experience in building coalitions and designing communications strategies to promote economic, institutional, and social reforms around the world. He currently works as Senior Governance Specialist in the Coalitions for Reforms program at the World Bank, advising governments on consensus building, collaborative leadership, strategic communications and change management.

Before joining the World Bank, he worked on communications for economic and legal reforms in Kazakhstan. He holds a bachelor's degree in Eastern European Studies and History from the University of London and a master's degree in International Relations and Economics from SAIS-Johns Hopkins University. A native of Spain, he speaks fluently Spanish, Catalan, English, Italian, French and Russian. 

As Global Director for Gender, Hana Brixi leads World Bank’s global effort to advance gender equality. She sets the overall direction for the World Bank’ knowledge, operational approaches, and partnerships to improve gender equality outcomes. Most recently, Hana directed the development of the World Bank Group Gender Strategy 2024-2030.

In her career, Hana has contributed to operational and knowledge advances in human development, public finance, and governance. She held managerial and leadership positions in the Human Capital Project, Social Protection and Governance Global Practices, and in the Middle East & North Africa, East Asia & Pacific, and Europe & Central Asia regions. Based in China during 2001-10, she also served as World Health Organization’s Health Systems Manager and UNICEF Social Policy Chief. 

Hana has published articles in professional journals and written several books on economic development, including Trust, Voice and Incentives on service delivery and Government at Risk on fiscal management. 

Mariatou Newlands, an executive member of the Female Lawyers Association Gambia (FLAG) works to advance human rights, especially for women and children. A qualified Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of The Gambia, she is Senior Associate at Amie Bensouda & Co LP.

With over 10 years as a women and children’s rights advocate, Newlands chairs the FLAG Programmes & Fundraising Committee, and provides pro-bono representation to women and children through FLAG. She regularly assists the Attorney General Chambers and Ministry of Justice in prosecuting high-profile child sexual violence cases. She is also a member of the Gambia Bar Association and Vice Chairperson of SWEED+ Gambia Legal Platform.

Internationally, Newlands is active in women rights organizations such as AWID, FEMNET, and Young African Feminist Dialogues. For her work on Gender Based Violence and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), she was named End FGM Brand Ambassador for The Girl Generation (2017–2019) and was also SheAwards Nominee Legal Practitioner of the Year (2022).

Katrina Kosec (IFPRI, USA) is a Senior Research Fellow in the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), where she is Interim Deputy Director of the CGIAR Science Program on Food Frontiers and Security and Interim Lead of CGIAR research on Fragile and Conflict-Affected Food Systems. She is also a Lecturer in Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University. Her research examines how governance, fragility, and gender shape poverty, food security, and women’s empowerment, with a focus not only on understanding these challenges but also on identifying solutions through policies, programming, and interventions. She has designed and led surveys and field experiments across Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. Dr. Kosec’s work has been published in leading journals—including the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Public Economics, Journal of Development Economics, Nature Climate Change, and World Development—among others, and has been featured in The Economist, The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, and NPR.

Reaksmey is the Deputy Secretary General of the General Secretariat for the National Social Protection Council in Cambodia. He joins social protection since 2018 and in his current role, he assists in overseeing the development of social protection policy, the development of social protection programs and schemes, policy analysis and provide technical advise on social protection. Prior to joining social protection, he worked as an economist at the General Department of Policy, Ministry of Economy and Finance, focusing on fiscal policy. As a decison-maker in his country, he is part of the Lead-the-Change for Social Protection programme by GIZ.

Reaksmey was an Australia Awards Scholar, holding a Master’s degree in International and Development Economics from the Australian National University.

Maria Eugenia Genoni is a Senior Economist in the Poverty and Equity Global Practice of the World Bank. She is currently Global Lead for the Global Solution Group on Data Systems and Statistics Operations and for the Real Time Monitoring of Welfare initiative. She led the 2024 Poverty, Prosperity and Planet Report. She has also led analytical work and operations on statistics, poverty and inequality, and household risk management in the Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia, and Middle East and North Africa regions. Maria’s areas of expertise include poverty measurement and survey design, statistical capacity building, migration and forced displacement, and analytics related to poverty and economic mobility. Prior to joining the World Bank, Maria worked at the Economics Department at Duke University, the Research Department at the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Ministry of Finance of Argentina. She holds a PhD in Economics from Duke University.

Osama is the Director of Strategy, Planning, Innovation, Delivery, Assurance, and Support in the Economic Statistics and Environment Group within the Office for National Statistics.   Previously he was the Director of the Data Science Campus, the UK Office for National Statistics’ innovation Directorate.  He took over the Campus in September 2022, having previously been the Department for Education’s Chief Analyst and Chief Scientific Adviser for four and a half years.

He is also the first Chair of the United Nations Data Science Leaders Network, on the Bureau of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Big Data, and on the Executive Board of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s High-Level Group on the Modernisations of Statistics under whose auspices he is leading international work on “The Future of NSOs”.

Before joining DfE, Osama spent fourteen and a half years at the Ministry of Justice, joining as an Economic Adviser, before becoming Chief Economist, and later becoming the MoJ’s Chief Analyst and Chief Scientific Adviser for three and a half years.

Dr. Fraihat has over 40 years of experience in the work of governments and international organizations as well as academic and research work. He is currently the Director-General of Jordan's Department of Statistics and served as Director of the Statistics and Information & Communications Technology Division of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) from 2011 to 2023.

Before joining the United Nations, he held various leadership and government positions between 2006-2011 in Jordan, most notably the Director-General of the Department of Statistics in 2008 and the Director-General of the National Information Technology Centre in 2006.

Dr. Haidar holds a doctorate in scientific management from the Illinois Institute of Technology, United States of America in 1992 and a master's degree in business administration in information systems management from Bridgeport University, United States of America in 1988.

Valentine Ifeanyichukwu Ezulu, is a distinguished public servant, accomplished administrator, and veteran social development expert whose career spans over three transformative decades of service to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He is currently the Director, Social Development Department in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction with a track record of visionary leadership, strategic reforms, and programmatic excellence across various portfolios within the Nigerian civil service.

Mohamed Munas is a Senior Researcher and the team leader of Social Cohesion and Reconciliation research thematic at the Centre for Poverty Analysis. He holds a PhD in Diaspora Studies obtained from Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands. He has over 20 years of experience in research, policy analysis, monitoring and evaluation. Munas’s research and publications focus on migration and development, transnationalism and diaspora engagement in post-war recovery, using alternative dispute resolution mechanisms for sustainable peace, reconciliation and social cohesion, poverty and conflict and fisheries sector issues, climate change and sustainable agriculture. Munas teaches post-graduate courses on monitoring and evaluation, migration and research methodology. He currently leads a project to establish a conflict early-warning system in post-war Sri Lanka. In addition, he heads an impact study on mine action in the war-affected Northern and Eastern Provinces of the country.

Stela Mocan is Practice Manager in the Digital Transformation Unit of the World Bank’s Digital Development Global Practice. Previously, she led the Technology Innovation Office at the World Bank Group CIO Office. During 2010-2015, she served as the Government of Moldova 1st Government Chief Information Officer, leading the digital transformation of government operations and public service delivery. During 2009-2010, she served as Moldova Prime Minister's advisor on governance and public administration reform. Prior to that, she led and managed governance and democracy building programs with UNDP, USAID, World Bank, international NGOs.

Daniel Ortega Nieto is a Lead Governance Specialist and Program Manager of the World Bank’s Public Sector Innovation and GovTech Program, which promotes frontier technologies to transform how governments operate. He previously managed Indonesia’s Public Financial Management Multi-Donor Trust Fund and led public sector operations in Brazil, where he designed the Pro-Gestão Program, a US$1 billion credit line to improve state-level financial management. Daniel has supported governance projects across regions, including in Argentina, Bangladesh, Colombia, Croatia, Ecuador, India, Kenya, Mexico, Mozambique, and Uruguay. He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a PhD from Georgetown University.

Mr. Subhash Dhakal is an ICT professional with over 20 years of experience, including more than 19 years in public service. Currently serving as Joint Secretary (IT) at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, He is promoting digital transformation initiatives across government services and driving service innovation to enhance governance and public service delivery based of Digital Public Infrastructure.

Prior to this role, he had worked at the Department of National ID and Civil Registration as the technical lead for Nepal’s Digital ID initiatives, playing a crucial role in advancing the country's digital identity ecosystem. 

He has also experience in areas like ICT Policy and Regulatory Framework, ICT for Development (ICT4D), Digital Identity, Government Enterprise Architecture, and Shared Infrastructure Development. They have also been actively engaged in global and regional initiatives related to Internet Governance, Internet Name and Numbers issues.

Alan Gelb has been with the Center for Global Development in Washington DC since 2010 as Senior Fellow, before transitioning to Emeritus in 2024.   From 1978 to 2009 he held positions with the World Bank, including as Director of Development Policy, Development Economics (DEC); Chief Economist Africa Region; Staff Director, World Development Report 1996; Chief, Transition Division, Chief, Macroeconomics Research Group.  He also held positions in the financial systems group and the industry department of the World Bank.  He previously held the positions of Senior Lecturer, University of Essex in the UK and Visiting Professor, Queen’s University, Canada.  

His recent research has focused on development applications of digital technology, including ID systems, biometrics and payments.  Publications include: Identification Revolution; Can Digital ID be harnessed for Development?  Brookings, 2018 and “Biometric Elections in Poor Countries: Wasteful or a Worthwhile Investment?” Review of Policy Research, 2019 (both with Anna Metz).  He has served on a number of Advisory Boards, including for ID4Africa.  He Chairs the Economic Advisory Council of the Millenium Challenge Corporation.   

Charles North is the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). He joined GPE in March 2019 after 32 years as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Just prior to joining GPE, North was a senior advisor on Ukraine and Russia on secondment to the U.S. Institute of Peace. He was previously the acting assistant administrator in USAID’s Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment, 2014-2017, and senior deputy assistant administrator from February 2013. During this time, North served for two years on GPE’s board of directors. North served for 17 years in USAID’s overseas posts in Kenya, Sudan, Mozambique, El Salvador and Russia, and was the USAID mission director in Russia in his second assignment there, 2010-2013. information@globalpartnership.org GlobalPartnership globalpartnership.org GPforEducation GPforEducation He has held numerous Washington leadership positions, including as senior deputy director of USAID’s Afghanistan and Pakistan Task Force from 2008-2010. He also served as regional director for the Western Hemisphere in the State Department’s Office of the Director of Foreign Assistance (2006-2008), and as director of the Policy Office in USAID’s Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination (2004-2006).

Ignacio Ibarzábal is one of the leading civil society voices on education in Latin America and Executive Director of Argentinos por la Educación. Under his leadership, the organization has become the main source of education data and news in Argentina, driving campaigns that have had significant impact on education policy. He is also the founder of Latinoamericanos por la Educación, a community of cross-sector leaders dedicated to strengthening literacy and reading comprehension policies across the region.

He has been a Teaching Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Notre Dame, as well as a guest lecturer at several universities in Latin America. His academic work focuses on social movements and education policy advocacy. Together with Marshall Ganz, he published the book Organizando: Pueblo, Poder y Cambio, adapting Ganz’s methodology to the Latin American context. He has also contributed to the development of several NGOs and trained hundreds of civil society and public-sector leaders in methodologies for social change. Currently, he collaborates with global leaders as a member of The Leading Change Network.

Dr. Luis Benveniste is the Global Director for Education at the World Bank.

Previously, he was the Human Development Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the World Bank. He was a co-author of the World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development.

Dr. Benveniste´s research interests focus on education finance, gender, student assessment practices and teacher policies. Other publications include “Financing Education at the Bottom of the Pyramid,” with Samer al Samarrai, in D. Wagner, N. Castillo & S. Grant Lewis (eds.), Learning, Marginalization and Improving the Quality of Education in Low-Income Countries (2022); Teaching in Cambodia (2008), with J. Marshall and M. Araujo; "The political structuration of assessment: Negotiating State power and legitimacy," in A.H. Halsey, P. Brown, H. Lauder & J. Dillabough (eds.), Education: Globalisation and Social Change (2006) and All Else Equal (2003), with M. Carnoy and R. Rothstein, a book on accountability and the organization of public and private schools in the United States.

Kaya is a teacher, a leader, and an entrepreneur. She was the founder and CEO of Reconstruction, an innovative educational organization dedicated to teaching young people about African-American history, culture, and contributions.

As Chancellor of DC Public Schools (2010–2016), she led significant improvements in student performance, enrollment growth, graduation rates, student satisfaction, teacher retention, and pass rates. She expanded career pathways for students and emphasized life skills.

Kaya’s career began as a middle school Spanish teacher in the South Bronx through Teach For America. She went on to expand opportunities for students through her work as a TFA staff member, as a Vice President at TNTP, and as a leader of the Global Learning Lab for Community Impact at Teach for All. She is also co-host of Pod Save the People.

Kaya began her career as a middle school Spanish teacher in the South Bronx with Teach For America and later held leadership roles at Teach For America, TNTP, and Teach For All’s Global Learning Lab. She co-hosts Pod Save the People and serves on the boards of Georgetown University, Robin Hood NYC, Scholastic, and Teach For America. She also co-founded Education Leaders of Color.

Lili Sisombat is a Senior Officer for Learning and Knowledge in the World Bank Group Academy, a global knowledge platform for building capacity of development leaders. Lili brings 20 years of experience advancing public sector reforms through leadership, change management, and coalition building. She empowers government officials to deliver results in service delivery, financial management, and civil service reform. Lili holds a master’s degree in business administration and a PhD in Sociology. 

Jean-Pierre Lihau is a distinguished lawyer who has held key roles in the public sector. In 2021, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the Civil Service, Modernization of the Administration and Innovation of the Public Service in the SAMA LUKONDE Government. He kept the same portfolio in the current Government of Judith SUMINWA and again after the government reshuffling in August 2025. In April 2019, he had been elected National Deputy and appointed Deputy Rapporteur of the Commission in charge of drawing up the new Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly. That same year, he assumed the interim position of Parliamentary Officer for the Africa region of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie.  Prior to that, he held various positions including the Ministry of Human Rights and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).  He holds a master’s degree in public law and a master’s degree in political and administrative sciences from the University of Kinshasa.  

Carlos Pimentel has been the Director of the Dominican Republic’s Directorate of Public Procurement since 2020.  He holds a law degree from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) and a postgraduate degree in Transparency and the Fight against Corruption from the Faculty of Law at the University of Chile. He also holds a Master's degree in National Defense and Security from the Graduate School of Advanced Strategic Studies (EGAEE) as well as a Master's degree in Electoral Law and Electoral Procedure from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD). He is a graduate of the Organization of American States (OAS) Program for the Promotion of Open Governments in the Americas.

Before joining the government, he was Executive Director of the Civic Participation Movement,  the Dominican Chapter of Transparency International. He has been a professor at the Technological Institute of the Americas (ITLA) and is currently a visiting professor at the Pontifical Catholic Mother and Teacher University (PUCMM) and the Center for Governance and Social Management (CEGES) of the Santo Domingo Institute of Technology (INTEC).

Diomedes Berroaa is currently the World Bank’s Procurement Manager for the East Asia and Pacific region. Since joining the World Bank in 2000, he has played a leading role in advancing innovative procurement strategies that integrate artificial intelligence and sustainability, while steadfastly promoting transparency, good governance, and institutional integrity.  Mr. Berroa holds a law degree from the University of Panama and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International and Comparative Law from The George Washington University. He is also a published author, having contributed extensively to the fields of sustainable procurement, supply chain management, fiscal efficiency, integrity, and anti-corruption in public procurement.

Dr. Camilo Benitez is currently the President of Paraguay’s Supreme Audit Institution. He is a lawyer and notary public from the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences of the National University of Asunción and holds a master's degree in Legal Argumentation from the University of Alicante (Spain). He is a graduate of the Judicial School of the Judicial Council of Paraguay.

Jafarshareef Sutar is the Deputy Secretary of the Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Department of the Government of Karnataka. He holds a Master’s in Horticulture and nearly two decades of experience in finance, rural development, community environment, and program management. He coordinates the World Bank–funded $363 million Karnataka Sustainable Rural Water Supply Program (KSRWSP), which has embedded the Field-Level Leadership approach to improve service delivery outcomes. 

Yordi J. Morán, a Systems and Computer Engineer with a Master’s in Educational Technology, is Project Manager for Technology at CORAASAN in the Dominican Republic. With 15+ years in IT in the water sector, he specializes in relational and spatial databases and large-scale digital systems serving tens of thousands of water customers. He coordinated the “100-Day Rapid Results Initiatives” and has led modernization efforts—digitization, predictive maintenance, and GIS—partnering with the World Bank and ministries to strengthen institutional performance and improve water services.

Emely Larissa Lara Emeterio, a Civil Engineer with a Master’s in Sustainable Water Management, has over 15 years of experience in the drinking water and sanitation sector. At the Dominican Republic’s National Institute of Drinking Water and Sewerage (INAPA), she heads the Network Cadaster and Leak Detection Division, leading cadaster use, water loss control, and system optimization. She coordinated the 2023–2024 “100-Day Rapid Results Initiatives,” driving innovative projects to reduce water losses and raise citizen awareness on responsible water use.

Sarah has extensive experience managing global programs and partnerships and is passionate about increasing access to safe water and sanitation for the most vulnerable. Previously, she advised teams on the set up of large trust fund programs, served as program manager for the Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality and Adolescent Girls Initiative, and performed secretariat roles for the Commission on Growth and Development, the Women's Entrepreneurship Finance Initiative, and the World Bank's Trust Fund Forum.  She has worked in several units across the Bank including in Development Finance, the Gender Group, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, and Finance and Private Sector Development.

Horacio Estribí is an economist and public administrator with more than 30 years of experience in Panama and internationally. He is currently senior economic advisor to the minister of finance in charge of assisting in the formulation of economic policies, and legal initiatives pertaining to diverse economic and financial area

He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Boston University, and a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University. He has been a private consultant to international organizations and private firms. He taught for more than 20 years at the Universidad Latina and Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM). Mr. Estribí has been Director in several institutions such as the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Commerce and Social Security Agency of Panama.

Tsenguun Saruulsaikhan was elected Member of Parliament in Mongolia in 2024. She is also a member of the National Energy Commission. As such, she is leading efforts to modernize the sector by improving the legal framework, reforming state-owned enterprises, designing a competitive energy market, and increasing government transparency.  She holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Mongolia’s University of Science and Technology and a master’s degree in Finance Management from the  Finance University of Mongolia. 

Dr. Neil McCulloch, is an economist and a Director of The Policy Practice – a UK-based consultancy focussed on political economy analysis.  His main area of focus is on the political economy of fossil fuel subsidy reform.  He has worked on subsidy reform (both fossil fuel and electricity subsidy reform) in many countries, including: Indonesia, India, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Nigeria, and Zambia.  In 2023, he published the book “Ending Fossil Fuel Subsidies: the politics of saving the planet” with Practical Action, which is available Open Access https://practicalactionpublishing.com/book/2642/ending-fossil-fuel-subsidies.  He was previously the Lead Economist for the Australian aid agency in Indonesia, a senior economist in the World Bank and a Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies in the UK.

Marianne Carolina Caballero Parra is a Senior Public Sector Specialistat the World Bank. based in Washington D.C.

She  received a Masters In Public Policy from Harvard University, a and Economista / License In Economics. Marianne's areas of expertise include Domestic Revenue Administration, Expenditure Efficiency, Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations, ICT for Citizen Engagement, Implementation, Public Investment Planning System, Public Sector Strategic Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Public Sector Survey Design, and Reimbursable Advisory Services. Marianne is proficient in Spanish, English, and French.

Serdar Yilmaz is the Practice Manager for the Public Finance and Procurement Unit at the World Bank. He has broad experience in the related areas of fiscal decentralization, public expenditure management, subnational governance, and governmental accountability. Throughout his twenty-five year tenure at the World Bank, he has provided technical assistance and contributed to policy reforms in low and middle-income countries in Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the Middle East and East Asia regions. In addition to his task management responsibilities, Serdar makes original contributions to the literature. Serdar holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy from George Mason University. 

Nick Benequista is Senior Director of Applied Research and Learning at the National Endowment for Democracy. Previously, he served as Senior Director of the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA), where he guided CIMA’s efforts to support and strengthen media assistance initiatives throughout the world. 

Mr. Benequista draws from his extensive experience in international media development, applied research, democracy support, and journalism. He has been a foreign correspondent in three countries, including as Mexico City bureau chief for Bloomberg News. He has overseen policy-oriented research projects around the globe with the UK’s Institute of Development Studies and Canada’s International Development Research Centre and has been an advisor and consultant to multilateral organizations such as International IDEA and UNESCO. He holds a PhD in media studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science and an MPhil in international development studies from the University of Sussex.

Ozzeir Khan is a development technologist and digital innovation leader currently serving as Director and CIO for Operations and Country Solutions at the World Bank Group in Washington DC since April 2025. Previously, he was Director of Digital Development Operations at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) from 2018 to 2023, where he led initiatives on artificial intelligence, robotic process automation, and emerging technologies to support development finance and digital transformation in Asia-Pacific. Khan has extensive experience in international organizations, including senior innovation roles at the United Nations, and a background in technology and management consulting in the private sector. He advocates for responsible AI use and ethical frameworks to harness technology as a public good for inclusive growth and sustainable development.

Edgardo Mosqueira is an expert in policy implementation with a strong record helping governments to build better governance conditions, public administration capacities and accountability frameworks to make policies work. Since 2017 he is Head of the Public Sector Management Unit in the Institutions for Development Department at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Before joining the IDB, Mr. Mosqueira was specialist of the Governance Global Practice at the World Bank. Mr. Mosqueira also served as Minister of the Presidency, as well as Minister of Labor and Social Promotion in the Government of Peru. Mr. Mosqueira holds a master’s degree in international public policy from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University.

Austin joined the International Budget Partnership in June 2018, previously serving as Country Manager for Nigeria and Head of the Africa tax equity initiative. Before IBP, he was Federal Reform Manager for FCDO’s flagship governance and accountability program in Nigeria (Partnership to Engage, Reform, and Learn, or PERL). He led a team that improved linkages between policy-making, planning, budgeting, and service delivery, and strengthened coordination between federal and state governments. Earlier, as Component Manager for Public Finance Management in FCDO’s FEPAR program, he supported budget reforms led by the Office of the Vice President and helped transition from the SPARC/SAVI/FEPAR suite to PERL.

Austin’s background is in civil society, notably with the Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) in Lagos, where he managed a small core team and over 3,000 volunteers, fostering networks for accountable governance at state and local levels. He also founded and edited the Budget-Track Newsletter (2006–2008).

Christian Bodewig is the Practice Manager for Social Protection & Labor Global Engagement at the World Bank. He has served as Lead Economist and Program Manager of the Sahel Adaptive Social Protection Program (SASPP) which supports programs and policies to help poor and vulnerable households in the Sahel adapt to the impacts of climate change.

He was Program Manager for Southern Europe at the World Bank in Brussels; he led inclusive growth programs in the EU from 2013–2018, and headed the Bank's human development program in Vietnam for the East Asia and Pacific department from 2009–2013.

Bodewig co-authored the 2018 World Bank study "Growing United: Upgrading Europe’s Convergence Machine" and the 2014 Vietnam Development Report. He has published on education, labor markets, and social protection in Europe and Asia.

Dr. Auwal Mohammed is a graduate of Economics from the University of Jos, Nigeria in 1992 and joined the Federal Civil Service of Nigeria in 1994 as a Statistician officer and rose to the rank of Director by dint of hard work and dedication.  Over the past 30 years in public service, I acquired skills, knowledge on the job training in world class rated institutions both international. Auwal Mohammed had three decades of cognate experience in planning and budgeting, budget plan linkage, macroeconomic policy and management working with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning as Director, Economic Growth. Auwal Mohammed is currently the Chairman, Federal Cares Technical Committee of Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES).

Senior finance policy maker with nearly 30 years of experience in financial sector development, capital markets regulation, risk management, and cross-agency financial stability coordination. Currently serving as Director of Pension, Insurance Development, and Actuarial Unit at the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia, leading national policy design and international collaboration for social, mandatory, and voluntary insurance and pension systems. Holds a Doctorate in Business Administration (Victoria University, Australia) and a Master of Science in Finance (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA). A frequent speaker and panelist at international forums on financial stability, public policy, and sectoral development.

Sumaira Samad is a senior public sector professional with extensive and varied experience, spanning more than thirty years.  She has worked in various types of institutional structures such as the federal and provincial government organisations, field assignments, local government entities, autonomous organisations, development agencies and consultancy teams. In her work, she has undertaken various challenging tasks and led transformation through specific outcomes within the public sector. Currently, she is serving as Additional Secretary, Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, Government of Pakistan. Previously, she has served as Secretary, Women Development, Secretary Social Welfare and Secretary, Literacy & Non-Formal Basic Education Department, Government of Punjab. She has also served as Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture, and Rural Development, Government of Punjab and Director, Lahore Museum, Government of Punjab, among other assignments, spanning over thirty years of working in the public sector.  

Sophie Nassali Masagazi is a highly accomplished and results-driven legal professional with over two decades of comprehensive experience providing strategic advisory services. As the Manager of Legal Affairs at Uganda’s public procurement agency PPDA, she leverages her procurement expertise to facilitate critical infrastructure and service delivery projects across Uganda. She is committed to promoting gender mainstreaming in public procurement, spearheading initiatives with UN Women and UWEAL to empower women enterprises. She has a Master's degree in Law from Queen's University, Canada, complemented by prestigious awards such as the Attorney General's Award and Queen's Graduate Award.

Kathrin is the Deputy Executive Director and Gavin’s co-pilot in leading the Open Contracting Partnership. Kathrin’s journey as a social entrepreneur started in an unlikely place – the World Bank Institute, the incubation lab of the World Bank. Kathrin worked in countries such as Nigeria, Uganda, and Mongolia on challenging but potentially transformative sectors including mining, construction, and service delivery. Once she realized the potentially massive impact that more accountable procurement processes could have, there was no turning back. While still at the World Bank, Kathrin and her team there began a user-centered iterative process to create a global organization that was better equipped than the World Bank to work across stakeholder groups in developed and developing countries to open up government contracting. Kathrin now co-manages the Partnership with Gavin where she is still thrilled by the daily opportunity to change how contracting can deliver value for everyone. Before working at the World Bank for ten years, she got a Masters in Advanced International Relations from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University and a BA in Economics from the University of Vienna. Kathrin is a 2021 Fellow of World Commerce & Contracting for making significant contributions to the development of commercial and contract management.

Polycarp Oduol is a professional Economist and public financial management expert with 10 years of hands-on experience in designing and implementing public financial management reforms in Kenya. He has coordinated the implementation of public financial management reforms, including conceptualization and development of the current e-government procurement system; the Public Procurement Information Portal; and facilitated the implementation of fiscal decentralization and transfer of functions to the County Governments.

He holds a Master of Arts in Economics and Bachelor of Economics and Statistics at First Class Honours degrees both from the University of Nairobi.

Andrew Dunkman is a technology leader and software developer.

Adenike Oyeyiola (Nike) is Manager for Strategy and Operations in the World Bank’s Prosperity Vice Presidency. She leads strategic and operational support for the Vice Presidency; coordinates knowledge management and learning including the Prosperity Data 360, to strengthen institutional knowledge flows; and oversees trust funds and partnerships to align resources with Prosperity and corporate priorities. A Nigerian national, Nike joined the World Bank in 2001 as a Financial Management Specialist and subsequently served as Senior Financial Management Specialist, Practice Manager, and Adviser in the Governance Global Practice. She previously led the Governance (Institutions) Global Practice’s Global Unit, guiding a multi-regional team across core governance themes including procurement, public financial management and expenditure accountability, public investment management, domestic resource mobilization, governance of state-owned enterprises, corporate financial reporting, governance of human capital and infrastructure, climate governance mainstreaming, and fiduciary assurance. She has extensive experience in fragile, conflict, and violence-affected settings, leading policy dialogue and advising governments and development partners.

Rorisang Lekalake is the Senior Analyst and Methodologist at Afrobarometer, where she drives innovation in survey methodologies by leading the review, evaluation, and advancement of protocols across the network. She also produces and reviews advanced research outputs on democracy and governance in Africa, and edits the forthcoming Methods Note publication series, which provides practical guidance on Afrobarometer survey methods and data collection for researchers and policymakers.

Juraj Medzihorsky is Assistant Professor in Social Data Science at Durham University and Program Manager for Statistical Computing in the Varieties of Democracy project. His work focuses on the measurement of difficult-to-observe phenomena, such as electoral integrity and other facets of democracy, using statistical computation and expert surveys, and on techniques for informing decisions with observational data. Previously, he held posts at the Central European University, University of Gothenburg, and LSE, and served on an expert panel reporting to the Venice Commission on statistical detection of electoral irregularities.

Charles Lau, PhD, MS, Gallup Deputy Global Research Director. Dr. Lau is survey methodologist with 15 years of experience in survey design and implementation globally. Dr. Lau specializes in developing questionnaires, studying emerging modes of data collection, and measuring quality in low- and middle-income country surveys. He has led numerous large scale face-to-face, phone, and web survey projects for UN agencies, academic clients, NGOs, development implementers, and the private sector. Prior to Gallup, Dr. Lau served as the Chief Research Officer at GeoPoll (2023-2024) and a Program Director and Survey Methodologist at RTI International (2010-2022). He holds a PhD in Sociology and MS in Epidemiology from the University of California, Los Angeles and a BA in Sociology from Brown University

Pranaya Sthapit is the Asia Foundation’s Digital Transformation and Data Governance Director in Nepal. He specializes in designing and delivering strategic initiatives across data governance, economic and e-governance reform, driving equitable, inclusive, and citizen-centred digital transformation. His digital governance work has touched over 40 institutions across Nepal’s federal, provincial, and local levels, with a focus on long-term sustainability and trust in digital and data systems.  With over a decade of experience in digital governance, tech policy reform, and public sector transformation, Pranaya leads initiatives that help governments and institutions navigate complex digital futures. He specializes in designing and delivering strategic projects across data governance, economic and e-governance reform, driving equitable, inclusive, and citizen-centred digital transformation.

Chandra is Practice Manager of the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) and leads the global battery storage program at the World Bank. The World Bank has made the commitment to accelerate deployment of battery storage in the developing world with an aim to finance 17.5 GWh of new battery storage in developing countries by 2025. Chandra also leads the energy climate finance team which is responsible for mobilizing climate finance from Climate Investment Funds (CIFs), Green Climate Funds (GCFs) and other sources for the Energy and Extractives practice at the World Bank. He has over 20 years of experience between The World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on energy efficiency, energy access, and renewable energy access across 15 countries in South Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa.

Chandra holds a PhD in Energy and Environmental Policy from the University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware.

Bashir Abubakar Ladan serves as the Director of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department and Head of the Economic Intelligence Unit at the Planning and Budget Commission in Kaduna State, Nigeria. With over a decade of experience in public sector planning, budgeting, policy formulation and reform, he is known for his evidence based development planning and problem solving. His work includes leading the Kaduna State Eyes and Ears Project, managing the Citizens’ Feedback Applications (Citifeed), and coordinating the Open Government Partnership (OGP). He has led initiatives that leverage data-driven analysis, issue-based programming, and adaptive methodologies to foster coalitions for sustainable economic and governance reforms. His expertise in tracking program outcomes and providing economic insights has been instrumental in navigating political economy challenges, enabling more effective stakeholder engagement and policy implementation in resource-constrained environments.

William D. Ferguson is the Gertrude B. Austin Professor of Economics at Grinnell College. After attaining a BA in History in 1975, William Ferguson worked on real-world collective action as a community organizer in Seattle for several years, before earning a Ph.D in economics. Early scholarship addressed bargaining theory and collective action. Subsequent work includes Stanford UP books, Collective Action and Exchange: A Game-Theoretic Approach to Contemporary Political Economy and  The Political Economy of Collective Action, Inequality, and Development. The former outlines micro foundations of political economy; the latter addresses conceptualizing social dilemmas of macro-level development. Both themes appear in the coauthored 2022 Oxford UP Political Settlements and Development: Theory, Evidence, Implications. His 2023 Global Policy paper “Power and Public Authority” outlines a theory of triadic power. His new manuscript Developmental Dilemmas: The Role of Power and Agency will be published in the Cambridge UP series, Elements in Development Economics. 

Arbjan Mazniku is the Minister of State for Local Governance in Albania, appointed in September 2023. Prior to this role, he served as Deputy Mayor of Tirana Municipality from 2015 to 2023 and as Deputy Minister of Education and Sports from 2013 to 2015. Before entering public service, Mr. Mazniku was Executive Director of the AGENDA Institute, focusing on public policy analysis, governance, European integration, and economic and social development. He played a key role in the MJAFT Movement from 2003 to 2007, promoting youth engagement and effective governance. He also directed the National Debate Association, coordinating debate programs for high schools and universities. 

Mazniku holds a Journalism degree from the University of Tirana and a Master’s in Political Communication from the University of Sheffield, U.K. He completed Harvard’s Executive Education Program “Leading Economic Growth” program in 2014 and participated in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative in 2017–2018.

Dinesha de Silva is Chief, Asia Pacific Operations, at the Asia Foundation. She has over 30 years of experience in international development with The Asia Foundation, where she has on many occasions had the opportunity to oversee the application of political economy analysis (PEA) to shape governance and justice reform initiatives. Most recently, she served as Country Representative in Sri Lanka (2012–2024), leading programs on subnational governance, access to justice, and conflict-sensitive development, several of which relied on PEA to navigate power dynamics and adapt strategies in highly changeable policy contexts. Earlier, she was Team Leader of the Subnational Governance Project, one of the Foundation’s flagship programs in Sri Lanka, which embedded PEA approaches in local governance reform. Her expertise spans rule of law, mediation, and citizen–state relations, grounded in a career of translating analysis into politically feasible reform pathways. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Georgetown University and an M.A. in Economics from Columbia University.

Chiara Bronchi leads a group of public sector economists and political scientists, who are building an innovative analytical and quantitative approach for assessing public institutions for a sustainable and inclusive development at the World Bank.

She has over 28 years of professional experience in leading multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary programs in international organizations. She started her career as Economic Adviser with the U.K. government, joined the OECD in 1998 as a Young Professional, and moved to the IMF in 2003. She was the Head of the Fiscal Affairs Office of Kosovo under the UN Protectorate. She joined the World Bank in 2008, where she led country operations, technical assistance, and analytical reports on fiscal and public sector policies. 

She has published on taxation and public spending, and co-authored an approach paper for the Conclave of Ministers of Finance on financing Human Capital Development. 

Camile Marques Sahb is a career public manager and currently serves as the Director of the Department for the Promotion of Rural Productive Inclusion and Water Access within Brazil’s National Secretariat for Food and Nutritional Security. She brings a wealth of experience at the intersection of social protection and productive inclusion. From 2007 to 2010, Camile was the Director at the Ministry of Social Development and the Fight Against Hunger, where she oversaw the monitoring of education and health conditionalities for the Bolsa Família Program. Her work significantly strengthened the program’s performance and outcomes for vulnerable families.

Between 2016 and 2019, Camile led core institutional functions at the National School of Public Administration (ENAP), where she managed contracts, procurement, HR, logistics, planning and budgeting, and IT. Camile holds a Master’s degree in Social Policy from the University of Brasília (2007) and completed the Government Management and Public Policy Formation Program at ENAP (2002).

Asmeen Khan is an Advisor and Regional Operations Committee Secretary for the Africa East and South Region based in Washington with the Africa Development Effectiveness Unit. Prior to her current position Asmeen was Manager Operations for the Southern Africa CMU based in Pretoria and before that Practice Manager for Governance based in Washington. Asmeen has over twenty five plus years of Operational experience as a TTL,  and Lead Technical Specialist based in country offices in South Asia and East Asia,

Asmeen has brought her many years of experience in designing and delivering complex operations to clients through the delivery of the SSCI Training in Ethiopia, Lesotho, Zambia and Malawi.

Beatrix Allah-Mensah is a Senior Operations Officer with the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan (MENAAP) Development Effectiveness Unit as Lead Reviewer for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Prior to joining MENAAP DE on July 1, 2025, Beatrix was with the Operations Learning and Engagement (OPSLE) unit in OPCS where she coordinated several operations learning programs. Her most recent role involved leading the Strengthening Client Capacity for Impact (SCCI) initiative which is part of the Operations Efficiency and Effectiveness initiative overseen by the MDO’s office.

As the TTL for this program, she worked with the Regions, DE/OS units, CMUs and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to develop from concept to delivery, a new integrated, demand driven, flexible and complementary training program for PIU and government staff directly involved in the implementation of World Bank-financed projects across the Bank.

Mustafa Ugur Alver is a Senior Operations Officer at the World Bank, currently serving in the ECA Development Effectiveness Unit. Over the past 15 years, he has worked in both the Washington, D.C. Headquarters and the field offices, gaining experience across Country Management Units and several Global Practices. He has broad expertise in multi-sectoral and multi-institutional project design, addressing implementation challenges, and distilling lessons learned to strengthen future operations.

As the ECA region’s focal point for implementing agency capacity building, Mustafa has played a leading role in developing and delivering institutional strengthening programs. He has contributed to capacity-building initiatives and training academies in Turkey, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Azerbaijan, and Albania.

Jennifer Ross Gildee serves as the Senior Knowledge Management and Learning Officer in the Western and Central Africa Region of the World Bank, where she leads strategic initiatives to strengthen institutional learning and capacity development. With expertise in knowledge sharing, learning design and experiential learning, Jennifer plays a regional role in advancing reform coalitions through collaborating on innovative programs like Strengthening Client Capacity for Impact (SCCI).

Chris Hopkins is Interim Policy Director for the Green Economy Coalition (GEC) and a specialist in green economy policy and transitions. He has more than 10 years of experience as a policy expert, economist and project manager – working on national green policy innovation, benchmarking, green macroeconomic policy, just transition frameworks, and natural capital principles. He is technical lead for the GEC’s flagship Green Economy Tracker platform, and previously spent 5 years as a freelance journalist in the power generation sector. He holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of York (UK), and specialised in applied economic policy and normative frameworks for long term cost-benefit analysis.

David Groves is a Lead Climate Change Specialist in the World Bank’s Office of the Chief Climate Economist. He manages the World Bank’s Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) program and co-leads the Bank’s global program that supports countries in developing and implementing their climate commitments and long-term low-emissions development strategies. His work focuses on knowledge, analytics, and country engagement to help integrate climate and development priorities. Before joining the World Bank in 2021, he was a policy researcher at the RAND Corporation for over 15 years, where he co-directed its Climate Resilience Center and Center on Decision Making Under Uncertainty. David holds a B.S. in Geological & Environmental Science and an M.S. in Earth Systems from Stanford University, an M.S. in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. in Policy Analysis from the RAND School of Public Policy.

Susanne Aakerfeldt is a Senior Adviser at the World Bank, Fiscal Policy Unit, seconded by the Swedish Government since April 2024, focusing on climate aspects of fiscal policy. During 30 years at the Swedish Ministry of Finance, she has been instrumental in fine-tuning the Swedish carbon tax as well as coordinating a wide range of extensive Governmental energy and environmental policy reforms and aiming for the EU legislation to reflect the Polluter Pays Principle. During 2021-2022, she was part of the CBAM team at the EU Commission, being the lead legal drafter of the proposal. Returning to the Ministry, she took part in the CBAM negotiations in Council and contributed to its national implementation. She is since many years extensively engaged in global climate policy with a focus on creating better policies for emerging and developing economics, within the framework of the UN (as Co-Coordinator of UN Subcommittee on Environmental Taxation and contributor to the 2021 UN Handbook on Carbon Taxation for Developing Countries), as well as within the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action. Susanne has a Master of Laws degree from Uppsala University.

Educated at York University (UK) in Economics and Finance under the scholarship program funded by the Government (Bolashak), Mr. Shaimardanov has held progressively senior roles across economic policy, state development institutions, innovation, and statistics. Career milestones include service as Chief Expert and later Advisor at the Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning; Director of Strategic Planning and Analysis in the Ministry of National Economy; Director and Managing Director at Financial state owned financial holding company Baiterek; CEO at SOE “QazTech Ventures”; Director of Monetary Policy Department at the National Bank; Head of National Statistics Bureau; Chairman of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms, and since June 2025 is a Director of the KazISS.

Alberto Leyton is Practice Manager in the Institutions department at the World Bank, based in Washington, DC.He specializes in Administrative Decentralization, Institutional Reform in the Public Sector, and the Political Economy of Reform.

Jenny Cargill, Chief Executive Officer, Strategy Execution Advisers (SEA), South Africa, advises governments and multilateral organizations on how to achieve their strategic priorities through a focus on delivering better. Currently, a key area of work is supporting the Presidency in South Africa to use the levers of the Centre of Government to resolve the country’s energy and logistics crises.  Jenny previously led the Delivery Support Unit, in the Western Cape Government, with oversight of several key projects, including the roll-out of eLearning to 1,500 schools, energy security, and an affordable, mixed-use, mixed-income development for some 10,000 residents in Cape Town. In 2010, she published a book entitled Trick or Treat: Rethinking black economic empowerment.

Robert Beschel is currently a Senior Non-Resident Fellow with the Middle East Council on Global Affairs (formerly the Brookings Institute Doha).  He consults as a senior advisor on governance and public sector management for the World Bank and several leading management consulting firms.  He is also a Senior Governance Consultant for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing. Previously, Dr. Beschel oversaw the World Bank’s work on Governance and Public Sector Management in the Middle East and North Africa.  He served as the Global Lead for the Center of Government practice within the World Bank and headed the Bank’s Governance and Anticorruption Secretariat.  He served as Director for Policy in the Prime Minister’s Office in Kuwait. Dr. Beschel has a Ph.D. and a Masters degree from Harvard’s Government Department. He also has a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He has published multiple books and articles with the World Bank, the Brookings Institute, the Atlantic and the Middle East Council on Global Affairs. 

Martín Alessandro advises governments and international organizations, including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, OECD, and WHO, on strengthening the Center of Government, delivery units, and whole-of-government approaches. Previously, he served as Undersecretary for Delivery Management of the City of Buenos Aires (2015–2019), as Research Director at Argentina’s National Institute of Public Administration (INAP), and as advisor to the Office of the Chief of Cabinet. He holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Maryland, where he studied as a Fulbright scholar. His most recent publications focus on Center of Government reform, innovative approaches to complex policy challenges, and the use of AI to analyze performance data.