M. Mercedes Stickler is a Senior Land Administration Specialist at the World Bank, where she leads the World Bank Land Conference team and co-leads the World Bank’s land engagement in Côte d’Ivoire. She also serves as a team member and peer reviewer for operations and analytics across the Africa region and globally.
Ms. Stickler brings over 17 years of operational and research experience on land administration, climate smart agriculture, and sustainable landscapes, including ten years leading multi-sectoral teams to deliver and implement investment operations and analytical and advisory work in Africa, East Asia, and South Asia at the World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the World Resources Institute. Her World Bank career spans regional and global units across the Agriculture, Environment, Development Economics, and Urban, Resilience, and Land Global Departments. Previously, she led USAID’s global land and resource governance program and impact evaluation portfolio.
Ms. Stickler earned an MSc in Environmental Science from Rhodes University in South Africa with support from a U.S. Fulbright Scholarship and holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Northwestern University. Over the years, she has authored and presented numerous papers and a World Bank book on topics related to land tenure, agricultural development, and natural resource management in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.