Dr. Maha Ismail is a seasoned public policy, development, and evaluation expert with over 20 years of experience
across the MENA region. Since 2015, she has served as Managing Director of the Cairo Center for Development
Benchmarking (CDB), leading research and consultancy efforts in microeconomics, agriculture, social protection,
and business development.

She has held numerous senior advisory and evaluation roles with major international organizations, including the
UNDP, FAO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank, UN Women, USAID, and the European Union. Her work spans
designing M&E systems, evaluating public programs, and promoting inclusive development, climate-smart
agriculture, and gender equality.

Dr. Ismail is the General Supervisor of an EU-Italian cooperation project “Enhancing integrated governance to
improve performance of the Egyptian plant quarantine system and pesticides monitoring in Egypt”. Her recent
consultancies include the National Adaptation Plan for Agriculture Sector (UNDP/FAO), Water Sector
(UNDP/UNESCO), UNICEF's Dawwie Initiative, and UNFPA’s GBV programs. She has also led major evaluations in
Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and directed citizen and business satisfaction assessments for the World Bank’s Upper
Egypt Local Development Program.

Dr. Ismail holds a Ph.D. in Euro-Mediterranean Studies, an MPA from the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of
Government in cooperation with Harvard University, and a Bachelor's in Political Science and Economics. She has
published widely and translated renowned economic titles into Arabic, including works by Jeffrey Sachs, Angus
Deaton, and Enrico Moretti, Arthur Laffer, George Papandreou, Newt Gingrich, and Paul Krugman.