Jacqueline Lehmann is the Senior Policy Advisor on Gender Equality and Gender-Based Violence at the Peace, Governance and Equality Section at the Thematic Cooperation Division at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Previously, she was the Program Manager for Governance at the Swiss Cooperation Office in Niger, the Programme Officer for Humanitarian Aid in West Africa at Headquarters and the Program Manager for Protection and Humanitarian Affairs at the Swiss Cooperation Office in South Sudan. Before joining the Swiss Ministry of Foreign affairs, she worked as an advisor on refugee and WASH programming at GIZ in Uganda and for various non-governmental organizations in the US, Germany and Peru. She holds Masters degrees in International Law and Diplomacy & International Affairs and Governance.

Benedetta Musillo is a Senior Development Adviser at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), leading on gender and inclusion within the Research and Evidence Directorate. Her work in the past 8 years focuses on women’s economic empowerment, gender-based violence, disability, and adolescence, promoting evidence-based approaches to inclusion. Prior to joining the UK Government, Benedetta was a macroeconomist at the European Commission, working on basic service delivery in Ethiopia, tertiary education in Thailand, and trade and budget support in Ghana, Laos and Vietnam. She began her career as a Junior Professional Officer at the UN World Food Programme in Pakistan and Afghanistan, monitoring food aid distribution in schools and health posts, and in Bangladesh on poverty targeting. Benedetta holds an MA in Economic Development from Sussex University, UK.

Jean Pesme is the World Bank Division Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, bringing more than twenty years of global development experience to the position. Jean joined the World Bank in 2003 and has since held a range of senior leadership roles across the World Bank Group, including at its private sector wing, IFC. He is widely recognized for his expertise in promoting economic growth and mobilizing private capital, strengthening financial systems, and advancing financial inclusion and financial integrity.

As the former Global Director, Finance, he led the World Bank’s work to develop sound, stable, and sustainable financial systems. He previously headed the Financial Stability and Integrity global team, supporting countries in building robust financial sectors that operate with integrity, transparency and actively contributing to the global agenda on these issues. Jean was also the Coordinator for the UNODC/World Bank Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative.

Jean holds postgraduate degrees in engineering from Ecole Polytechnique and École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées. In his current role, he leads the strategic and policy dialogue to shape the World Bank’s engagement in Bangladesh and Bhutan, supporting both countries in achieving their development goals and creating more and better jobs. 

Emanuela di Gropello manages the Gender Group where she facilitates the implementation of the new World Bank 2024-2030 Gender Strategy, leads the gender unit’s work program, and engages with stakeholders to expand engagements and partnerships toward gender equality.

Previously, Emanuela was the Practice Leader for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean, Manager for IEGHC Human Development & Corporate Evaluations, and Program Leader for Human Development in the Cameroon/Gabon/Angola/Equatorial Guinea/Sao Tome & Principe CMU and Mali/Niger/Chad/Guinea CMU of the Africa Region. She was also successively Economist, Senior Economist, and Lead Economist in Human Development Departments in the Latin America & Caribbean and the East Asia and Regions.

Emanuela brings a wealth of operational, analytical and policy experience in education and the broader human development sector, acquired on many different regional and country contexts. She has also published extensively on a variety of development topics, including economics of education, education governance and financing, skills and secondary education.

Emanuela holds a Doctorate in Economics from the University of Oxford where her research focused on an evaluation of the impact of education decentralization on education quality and equity.

Ildo Jose Lautharte is a Senior Economist in the Education unit for Latin America and the Caribbean at the World Bank. Based in Washington, DC, he focuses on education and human development, with expertise spanning cash transfers, child development, educational equity, evidence-based policy, health, nutrition and population, impact evaluation, monitoring and evaluation in education, and poverty and social impact analysis. He holds a degree in Development Economics from the University of Cambridge.

Sabah Moyeen is a Senior Social Development Specialist at The World Bank. She works on programs related to social development, social safeguards gender and inclusion.

Before joining the World Bank in 2007, Moyeen worked as an Economics teacher.

Moyeen is deeply passionate about the themes mentioned above which she is lucky to call “work,” and is interested in issues related to innovative educational approaches, volunteer work with people with disabilities, art and culture. She paints, is a Reiki master, and an avid kick-boxer.

She has completed her bachelor’s in Economics from North South University, Dhaka, and master’s in International Development from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, Washington D.C.

Rachael Pierotti is a Senior Social Scientist working in the Gender Innovation Lab, within the World Bank’s Africa Chief Economist Office. Rachael guides the Lab’s research agenda on social norms and gender-based violence, as well as the qualitative research team. Her work seeks to understand and identify effective solutions to address gender differences in entrepreneurship, youth employment and transitions to adulthood, the allocation of household resources and labor, and property rights. Rachael holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Michigan.

Manuel Contreras-Urbina is the Global Lead on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) at the World Bank, where he provides strategic leadership to advance the GBV agenda across the World Bank Group. Prior to this role, he served as Senior GBV Specialist for the Latin America and Caribbean region.

Manuel brings over 25 years of experience in gender-focused research and programming. Before joining the World Bank, he held key positions including Director of Research at the Global Women’s Institute at the George Washington University; Programme Officer at UN Women in Mexico and Central America; and Coordinator of the Gender, Violence, and Rights portfolio at the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), among others.

He holds a Ph.D. in Population and Gender from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a Master’s degree in Demography from El Colegio de México, and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Actuarial Science from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

Tazeen Hasan is the Program Manager for the Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality (UFGE), dedicated to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment globally through innovation and knowledge creation. The fund has financed work in over 100 countries, influencing government policies and changing how companies operate to close gaps between men and women.  Earlier, she was with the World Bank’s Gender Group Operations team and was the focal point for Development Policy Lending.   Before moving to the Gender Group, Tazeen was with the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law program leading the operationalization of its data and research  in areas such as childcare and women’s financial inclusion. She has worked on World Bank operations in the Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia regions supporting governments to reform discriminatory laws.

Tazeen was part of the team on various World Bank Group’s reports including the “World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development” and “Opening Doors: Gender Equality in the Middle East and North Africa” and the IFC’s report on “Tackling Childcare: The Business Case for Employer-Supported Childcare.”  She is the coauthor of several World Bank group publications, including “Empowering Women: Legal Rights and Economic Opportunities in Africa” and “Voice and Agency: Empowering Women and Girls for Shared Prosperity.”  Tazeen graduated from the University of Oxford and holds a Masters degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science.