Raja Bentaouet Kattan is a Lead Economist and Program Leader in the Middle East Region of the World Bank Group. Raja currently oversees the portfolio in education, health and social programs in Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Previously, she held various positions including as advisor and country manager. Raja brings with her more than 20 years of experience in operations, analytical research and policy knowledge in the human development sector acquired over the course of her assignments in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, East Asia, and the Middle East & North Africa. In addition to her work in basic social service delivery in fragile and conflict-affected states, Raja has written on a variety of development topics in education, skills, and women’s labor market participation. Raja holds a Ph.D. from Georgetown University.