The Y2Y Steering Committee was elected last March 2008. Here are their profiles: 
Mia Overall, Co-Secretary Mia Overall is a JPA and works on Sustainable Development Projects, primarily in Mexico. She joined the Bank in August, 2007 and has an M.A. in International Development from Johns Hopkins SAIS. Before coming to the Bank, she worked as a consultant for FAO and WFP in Rome, UNDP in the Dominican Republic and managed a project called Food From New York which assisted Food Manufacturers in NYC. As Y2Y Co-Secretary, she is particularly interested in youth entrepreneurship, and development opportunities for young staff. She also loves travel, dance, and food! 
Matteo Morgandi, Co- Secretary
Matteo Morgandi is Y2Y’s Co-Secretary and he aims to ensure that the dynamism, diverse network, skills and visibility of our large member base and the committee is coordinated and synergized in the best way possible to achieve the goals of the Y2Y community. Before joining the World Bank, Matteo worked on field assignments for UNICEF and the ILO on the themes of child labour and education. He developed practical experience in working with youth through 4 years of volunteering as a youth leader and educator, and as the coordinator of a center for awareness raising on development issues for university students in Italy. 
Sonalini Khetrapal, Partnerships Co-Chair
Sonalini Khetrapal started working at the World Bank in September 2007 in the Human Development Network and was elected as the Partnerships co-chair in March 2008. Prior to her work at the Bank she was a Policy Associate at New York’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Sonalini received her undergraduate degree in Operations Research Engineering and Economics from Cornell University. She graduated in Public Health from Columbia University. In her spare time she enjoys reading, traveling and volunteering for the underprivileged and mentally challenged. She has set up a not-for- profit society to facilitate community empowerment through advocacy campaigns on real-world problems. 
Talajeh Livani, Partnership Co-Chair
Talajeh Livani works as part of the gender team in the Middle East and North Africa region. She began her work at the Bank in 2006 after finishing a master's degree in international affairs at the George Washington University and working at various think tanks in the city such as the Woodrow Wilson Center. As the partnership co-chair, she is involved in many Y2Y activities. In her spare time, Talajeh enjoys traveling, dancing, reading, and swimming. She also likes to contribute articles to the Search for Common Ground-Partners in Humanity News Service. Originally Iranian and raised in Sweden, Talajeh is very interested in documentaries and plans on creating her own in the near future. 
Maria Mercedes, Events Co-Chair Maria Mercedes Politi is working in the Macro and Growth unit at DECRG, Development Economics Research Group. She is an economist from Buenos Aires, Argentina, having studied her undergrad in the University of Buenos Aires and her master in Economics in Universidad de San Andres. Mercedes is very excited about participating in Y2Y and will mainly be organizing UN Week 2008 along with her Events Co-Chair colleague, Prathima. In addition, she hopes to promote activities that provide career guidance to the World Bank’s young staff such as the mentorship program, BBLs, and panel discussions related to career counseling. On her spare time, Mercedes enjoys playing capoeira, practicing acrobatics, running, and dancing swing. Above all -as a good Argentinean- Mercedes enjoys immensely playing soccer and wishes she could bring her girls soccer team to DC! 
Prathima Rodrigues, Events Co-Chair
Prathima Rodrigues works with the Private and Financial Sector Development unit in ECA on national infrastructure issues. She has graduate degrees in international affairs and Human Computer Interaction from Columbia University and Drexel University respectively and a bachelors degree in computer engineering (KREC, Surathkal, India). She has a broad range of development experience, working at UNICEF (New York), UNIDO (Hanoi) and the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (Philippines). Prathima's interest is in designing skills building programs for youth populations that combine entrepreneurial, life skills and art education. In 2005, she started "Skills for Kids" a project that teaches children (ages 11-15) entrepreneurial traits and life skills, through a series of activity-based, participatory workshops. Prathima plays guitar and enjoys karaoke, dancing and tea.
Matias David Horenstein, Chief of the Youth Innovation Fund
Matias David Horenstein is Y2Y’s Chair of the Youth Innovation Fund. He works at the Development Economics Research Group since Feb 2006, he holds a Masters degree in Economics from the Universidad Nacional de La Plata in Argentina and an undergraduate degree in Economics from the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Before joining the bank, he was a researcher at CEDLAS (Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales). He has published in international Economic journals and has recently published a book on social cohesion and institutions in Latin America. He actively participated in AIESEC, and international youth organization, taking leadership positions as AIESEC-Mendoza’s VP-Finance and president of The AIESEC-Argentina International Congress. He also participated in ROTARY working in health, infrastructure and special education projects in Mendoza. Matias enjoys playing street basketball, skiing, dancing and playing guitar. 
Pilar Loren Garcia Nadres, Information and Communications Co-Chair Pilar Loren Garcia Nadres works with the communications and web team in the South Asia Region. She re-joined the Bank in February 2007 and was previously a research and marketing professional at A Sony Communications Network Group Company. Prior, she was an Asia Pacific Leadership Fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, which included field studies in Laos and Thailand. Her fellowship included working on research projects at the United Nations Population Fund in Thailand and a Global Village Volunteer project through Habitat for Humanity in Sri Lanka after the tsunami in 2004.
She often engages in global humanitarian aid work such as a U.N. Volunteer (UNV) placement with the International Federation of the Red Cross & Red Crescent (Trinidad and Tobago) and Oxfam Great Britain’s UK Poverty Programme (UK). Loren holds an M.A. from Georgetown University and participated in its Summer Graduate Business Program in International Management at Oxford University. Loren enjoys traveling (a lot), great food (cooked by others), running (short distances), and volunteering in the community. She's on the board for the United Nations Association NCA's young professionals and serves as co-chair for Society for International Development's Regional Workgroup. 
Maria Ekman, Information and Communications Co-Chair Maria Ekman works with the events program in the bookstore/Public Information Center at the World Bank. As the Communications Co-Chair for Y2Y, she wants to make the World Bank more available to the general public and, in particular, young professionals and students. Moreover, she wants to articulate the knowledge of the Bank’s mission to young people. She has degrees in Political Science and Modern European History, and worked at the Yale School of Management prior to joining the Bank. Maria is a board member of the Swedish Women Educational Association, on the founding committee of the Washington European Society, and enjoys sports, food, drinks, shoes, and trips. 
Alan Golding, Information and Communications Co-Chair
Alan Golding joined the bank about a year ago from working as the Chief Financial Officer at a top listed company in South Africa. He has always had an interest in being involved in organizations outside of normal working hours and to that end, has held finance positions within the Laureus Sports for Good Foundation and served on the board of the 5th World Summit on Media for Children. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a Masters degree in Financial Management. Aside from these qualifications and experiences, he also brings an energy level that can make a positive contribution to most team environments. Currently, Alan works within the Resource Management department as the Client Officer responsible for DEC, WBI, OPCS and QAG. |
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