Valerie Morrica is a Social Development Specialist in the World Bank's Europe and Central Asia Region. She focuses on social inclusion issues - in particular Roma inclusion, youth and gender - and on developing and coordinating operational partnerships between the World Bank and the European Union. Prior to joining the Bank, Valerie worked at the Bertelsmann Foundation in Brussels and Germany, the European Parliament and before that at the Eberhard-Karls-Universitaet in Tuebingen. She holds a master degree in Political Science and International Economics from the Eberhard Karls Universitaet in Tuebingen and a master degree in European Affairs from Washington University in St. Louis.