Aliya Bizhanova is an Operations officer at the Education Global Practice and has joined the Bank country office in Astana in early 2012. She is involved in education and labor projects and analytical work focused on skills development, secondary and vocational education, and youth initiatives. Aliya is a recipient of the US State Department Edmund Muskie fellowship and a graduate of Vanderbilt University with major in international education policy. Prior to the World Bank, she founded and operated a NGO that focused on youth development through international education and internship opportunities.