Anne-Katrin Arnold is Communications Officer in the World Bank's External Affairs Operational Communication department (EXTOC), where she works on consultations and policy-making. Anne holds a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Pennsylvania, where she started her studies as a Fulbright Scholar and her research focused on issues of public opinion, the public sphere, and political decision making.
Anne has tried her hand on all sides of political communication, working as a journalist and radio news anchor, speech writer, public relations officer, and researcher. She was a lecturer in social science methods, political communication, and communication theory at her Alma Mater in Hannover and at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication. Her publications include articles on public opinion theory, on social capital, and on ethnic journalism in peer-reviewed journals, as well as a book on social capital and the media.
Being a true believer in the merits of an open and democratic public sphere, Anne is motivated by the conviction that if citizens had free access to information and the right to free speech, the world would be a more just place.