Our Team

Gero Carletto is leading the establishment of the World Bank Group Institute for Economic Development. He holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.  Full Bio

Nonatzin Canche leads the communications activities of the Institute and supports engagements with partners and stakeholders. She holds a Master's in Digital Communications and Journalism from Carlos III University and the Autonomous University of Barcelona; a Bachelor's degree in Public Relations from John Brown University; and a certificate in Digital Marketing from George Washington University. 

Romina is responsible for managerial support and for curating data and knowledge products with a specific focus on sustainable agriculture. She holds a PhD in natural resource economics from Wageningen University, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and a master level degree in economics from the University of Bologna.

Maria Chiara De Sando supports senior management and capacity development activities of the Institute. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the University of Bologna, Italy. 

Daniel Alejandro Pinzón Hernández focuses on analyzing the user experience with the Institute's programs. He holds an M.Sc. in Economics from Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia.

Emily Kallaur contributes to the Institute’s communications efforts, and supports capacity building programs for data analysis. Emily holds an M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a B.S. in Commerce from the University of Virginia.  

Mart leads the Institute’s engagement activities with partners and stakeholders and oversees fundraising efforts. He graduated from Tartu University, MA on Arts and Humanities. Mart had worked in the World Bank DEC CE front office, being involved in the WDR projects and KCP TF from 2014-2019, with a break in 2017 when he managed the EU Annual Budget process on behalf of the Estonian EU Presidency in a capacity of a Deputy Finance Minister. From 2019-2022 he served as an Alternate Executive Director in the EBRD Board in London, returning then to the Bank as Secretary of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action, a position held until Sept 2024.

Ravi Kumar focuses on the Institute’s engagement and capacity building work, designing and delivering courses for policymakers and researchers. He holds a Master’s degree from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s degree with honors from Buena Vista University. Full bio.

Lizette Romo provides comprehensive support to the Institute's manager and task teams, including coordinating outreach with key individuals, organizations, donors and partners. She holds an M.Sc. in International Political Economy from The London School of Economics and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from El Colegio de México.

Francesca Spagnoli coordinates the creation and implementation of the Institute's capacity building and training initiatives. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics, Innovation Management; an M.Sc. in Media and Communications at the University of Rome La Sapienza; and a Certificate on AI from MIT. 

Sebastian Stolorz advises senior management in the efforts to establish the Institute, ensuring its strategic alignment with corporate objectives, managing partnerships with leading global research institutions and think tanks, and leading curation of research projects to inform policy solutions worldwide. He holds a Ph.D. from George Mason University, specializing in monetary policy, and an M.A. from the Warsaw School of Economics in Econometrics.

Renos Vakis serves as an advisor on strategy and operations for the Institute. He also leads the Institute’s impact analytics and AI integration where his efforts are focused on enhancing the effectiveness of knowledge diffusion. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He brings these perspectives, as well as his skills in magic and music, to making the Institute's programming user-friendly and accessible.