As Program Lead for the Global Delivery Initiative (GDI), Debra manages the day-to-day operational and knowledge functions of GDI, including working with partners across GDI to capture and share delivery experiences for more effective implementation.
Debra is a lawyer and international development professional with over fifteen years of experience designing, managing, and evaluating programs across Asia. Prior to joining the World Bank, she was the Senior Director of the Asia Foundation’s Evaluation and Learning Unit. While there, she led the Asia Foundation’s efforts to become a more effective learning organization, better able to understand and assess its results, and to utilize this knowledge to improve the quality and impact of programs. She also collaborated with academics and social scientists on designing empirical research to strengthen the links between development theory and practice.
Prior to joining the Asia Foundation, Ms. Ladner served as a Fellow in the office of the late Senator Wellstone, where she worked on human rights and foreign relations. She holds a J.D. from Stanford Law School and a Bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College.