Johanna Damboeck joined the Social Development team of the World Bank in 2016. She currently works as Social Development Specialist in the West Africa Unit (Francophone West Africa), with a focus on the Sahel and Lake Chad Regions. She has been working on (i) preparing and implementing operations addressing fragility, conflict and violence drivers in Africa and MENA (e.g., in Cameroon, CAR, Chad, Djibouti, DRC, and Niger); (ii) carrying out analytical and advisory work related to recovery and peacebuilding and forced displacement; and (iii) managing social risks in World Bank projects in Chad.
Before joining the World Bank Group, Johanna worked in various organizations, including the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, United Nations (UNODC and UNIDO) and NGOs (Bolivia, India, Jordan and Kenya) on issues related to human rights, forced displacement, gender equality and GBV, organized crime, drugs and anti-corruption. She holds a Master’s degree in Advanced International Studies from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, Bachelor degrees in Political Science and International Development from the University of Vienna (with an exchange year at the University of Nottingham), and a Postgraduate Program Certificate in International Development Cooperation from the Humboldt University of Berlin. When Johanna is not working, she loves to go horse-back riding and skiing and she relaxes while eating a Viennese Apfelstrudel with her Melange and reading a witty book by Paulo Coelho.