Rene Leon Solano is a Human Development (HD) Program Leader and Lead Economist at the World Bank’s office in Ankara, where he oversees the education, health, social protection & jobs portfolio in Türkiye. Previously, Rene was an HD Program Leader, based in Kathmandu, where he coordinated the education, health and social protection & jobs portfolio in Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. While in this post, Rene led the World Bank’s HD support for Sri Lanka’s economic crisis.
Before working on HD, Rene managed a wide range of analytical and operational engagements on social protection & jobs in the Middle East and North Africa as well as Sub-Saharan Africa. This included leading the World Bank’s multi-sectoral response to the Iraqi and Syrian conflict as well as the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon. Prior to joining the World Bank, Rene worked for the Inter-American Development Bank and the Organization of American States, where he managed technical assistance programs on youth employment in Latin America and the Caribbean. Rene has authored various journal articles and reports on human development, with a focus on social protection, employment services, active labor market policies, mental health, technology, youth and social cohesion. Rene speaks English, Spanish, French and Portuguese fluently, and has an intermediate understanding of Arabic. A Salvadoran national, Rene holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University.