Samira Nikaein Towfighian is a Senior Education Specialist in the Education Global Practice of the World Bank. Since joining the World Bank in 2014, she has worked on a range of lending operations, technical and advisory work, and research pieces in Botswana, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Namibia, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates. Her last international posting was in Jerusalem, where she led the West Bank & Gaza education portfolio, and helped coordinated the emergency response to the Gaza war.
Samira’s thematic focus areas span early childhood development, foundational learning, teacher policy (including initial teacher education and their continuous professional development), student learning assessment, public-private partnerships, education financing, among others.
Prior to joining the World Bank, Samira worked and contributed to different education and development policy issues including girls’ education (Mexican government), basic education and skills development in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa (UNESCO), ECD in Central Asia (UNICEF), and refugee education in the Middle East (UNHCR). Samira holds a Master’s Degree in International Education Policy, with a concentration in economics and statistics, from Harvard University.