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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.

Dr. Benveniste has worked on a wide variety of World Bank-financed education projects in Africa, East Asia and Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean. He received a B.A. Magna Cum Laude in Psychology from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in International Comparative Education from Stanford University.?

Kevin leads Generation Unlimited at UNICEF in the United Nations as CEO, spearheading global initiatives to deliver skilling, employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for young people around the world. As a CEO, entrepreneur, and innovator, Kevin has built and led organizations that bridge the gaps between technology, education, employment and international development in over 90 countries.

Prior to his current role, Kevin served as CEO of Right To Play, an international development organization that protects, educates, and empowers children across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. His leadership experience also includes serving as Managing Director of Canada's top-ranked MBA program at the University of Toronto, where he helped to shape the next generation of Canada¡¯s business leaders.?

Kevin holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from IE Business School at IE University, where his research focused on entrepreneurship, an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, and an Honors Bachelor of Arts with High Distinction from the University of Toronto in Philosophy and History.

Gayatri Nair Lobo is the Chief Executive Officer of Educate Girls, a nonprofit organisation that mobilises rural and remote communities in India to advance girls¡¯ education. A senior leader in India¡¯s development sector with nearly 25 years of experience, she brings deep expertise across strategy, operations, and grassroots impact. Currently, Gayatri leads the organisation¡¯s new strategy ¡ª a bold, decade-long mission to help 10 million learners unlock their right to education, agency, and opportunity.

Gayatri has led diverse organisations at the intersection of education, sustainability, and community empowerment. As CEO of the A.T.E. Chandra Foundation, she focused on sustainable development through water body rejuvenation, regenerative agriculture, and nonprofit capacity building. At the India School Leadership Institute, she strengthened school leadership across low-income communities, investing in principals as change agents. Earlier, as Chief Operating Officer at Teach For India, she was instrumental in building delivery systems and scaling operations during the organisation¡¯s formative years. She has also held leadership roles at top-tier consulting firms, including Dalberg Advisors, where she led multi-sectoral projects for nonprofits, multilaterals and foundations.

Tarun Jain is the Reserve Bank of India Chair Professor in Economics at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.

Professor Jain¡¯s research focuses on understanding causes and consequences of human capital formation (for instance, with education and health), especially in the context of fast-growing developing countries. Gender is a topic of special research interest given that women face persistent barriers in economic advancement. His research has received funding from the Gates Foundation, the International Growth Centre, and the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation, published in peer-reviewed journals such as the American Economic Review, Information Systems Research, Review of Economics and Statistics and Journal of Public Economics, and featured in the New York Times, The Economist, the Times of India and Indian Express. He has written for media outlets such as the Economic Times, The Hindu and Mint, among others. The Indian Econometric Society awarded him the Mahalanobis Memorial Medal for ¡°outstanding contributions to quantitative economics, while working in India¡±.

Professor Jain earned his PhD in Economics from the University of Virginia, and his BA from Franklin and Marshall College. He serves as Associate Editor at Economic Modelling. He was on the faculty at the Indian School of Business before joining IIM Ahmedabad. He has also worked as a management consultant with Charles River Associates in Washington DC and Oliver Wyman in Boston.

Professor Jain teaches courses on Microeconomics, Health Economics and EdTech in the MBA program at IIM Ahmedabad, as well as Organizational Economics in the PhD program. He has written several IIM Ahmedabad and Harvard Business case studies that are used by universities around the world.?

Eliana Carranza is the Global Lead for Labor and Skills in the Social Protection and Labor (SPL) Global Practice at the World Bank. A recognized thought leader in the field, she advises governments and World Bank teams across regions on employment strategies, labor market systems, and skills development. She leads high-level policy dialogue, analytical programs, and the design of investment operations.

Eliana plays a key role in anchoring strategic collaborations with a broad network of partners¡ªincluding academia, the private sector, NGOs, and international organizations¡ªto advance cutting-edge analytics, pilot programs, and financing mechanisms for employment and skills development at scale. Since joining the World Bank as a Young Professional in 2011, she has worked across South Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa.

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.

Lelys is a Research Economist in the World Bank¡¯s Development Research Group, focusing on poverty, inequality, and human development. Her work examines early childhood investments, interventions to reduce violence and improve adolescent well-being, and strategies to enhance education in fragile and conflict-affected settings. She conducts research across Latin America, Eastern Europe, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa and is a regular contributor to the Development Impact blog.

Hana Brixi?is the Global Director for Gender at the World Bank, leading efforts to advance gender equality, including directing the development of the?World Bank Group Gender Strategy 2024-2030. Over her career, she has held leadership roles in the Human Capital Project, Social Protection, and Governance Global Practices across various regions, and has worked with WHO and UNICEF in China. Hana has published extensively on economic development, including books on service delivery and fiscal management. She holds graduate degrees in physics and economics from Masaryk University and Princeton University.