Melissa Merchant is a consultant with the Education Global Practice of the World Bank. She has worked on a range of World Bank education operations and analytical work across the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and East Asia. Her areas of interest include girls’ education; education in settings of fragility, conflict, and violence; school autonomy and accountability; assessment; and youth skills and employment. She has also previously worked in international and local NGOs and the private sector. Melissa holds a Master’s degree from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a Bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College.