Adele Barzelay is Counsel, Data and Digital Development in the World Bank’s Legal Operations Unit (LEGOP). In this capacity, Adele primarily advises on data policy and regulatory issues in Bank operations and analytical and advisory services, supports the legal aspects of the implementation of the 2021 World Development Report and supports the Digital Development Global Practice’s growing digital transformation agenda.
Adele most recently co-authored chapters on the legal and regulatory framework and data institutions of the World Development Report 2021. Prior to joining LEGOP, she worked in the Governance Global Practice’s Middle East and North Africa unit (EMNGU) since 2017, where she co-led the data governance activity of the MNA Tech Initiative and gained operational experience in Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, West Bank & Gaza and Saudi Arabia on issues relating to GovTech, regulatory governance, and creating an enabling legal and regulatory environment to support digital transformation across the MENA region.
Prior to joining the Bank, Adele worked in international law and human rights in London and political risk in Washington, D.C. She has published guidance for companies on approaching human rights risks in their operations. She is admitted to the New York Bar, having obtained her law degree from the University of Oxford and her MA in International Economics and Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).