Director General of Taawon, Yara Salem, is a well-known global development expert with more than 23 years of high-level international experience. Yara has led development works in many countries and sectors and with clients from government, the private sector, civil society, and the diplomatic and donor communities. She has worked for the World Bank Group, IFC, and UN, with a focus on Africa (Zambia, Tanzania, Sudan, Somalia), Latin America (Caribbean Islands), East and South Asia (Nepal, Singapore, ASEAN), Eastern and Central Europe (Serbia, Kosovo), and the Middle East and North Africa (GCC, Mashreq). Previously, Yara worked for the Palestinian government and also in the Palestinian private sector. Prior to joining Taawon, she acted as the World Bank Special Country Representative to Iraq. She was born in Nablus and holds a master’s degree in international commerce and trade from Middlebury Institute of International Studies, United States; a master’s degree in international relations from Birzeit University; and a bachelor’s degree in business administration and sociology from the University of Jordan.