Speakers

Dr. Gustafsson-Wright is a Senior Fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution. Her current focus on effective delivery of social services including education and health interventions in developing countries has consolidated her role as a global expert on innovative financing mechanisms including payment by results, public-private partnerships and impact investing.

She is the premier thought-leader and convener in the field of social and development impact bonds and has written over a dozen publications on this cutting-edge topic including a recent series of policy briefs, which examine the success of impact bonds over the past ten years. With over 20 years of experience in development, her career has primarily focused on applied microeconomic research in human development with regional foci in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean including conducting numerous impact evaluations. 

Her previous professional experience includes working at the World Bank, the UNICEF Innocenti Research Center, and as Senior Researcher with the Amsterdam Institute for International Development (AIID). Dr. Gustafsson-Wright holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Tinbergen Institute at the University of Amsterdam, as well as Masters of Science in Applied Economics and Finance and Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California at Santa Cruz. She is regularly cited in the media including in the Economist, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, and has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals as well as contributed to several books in her field.

He has nearly a decade of consulting experience in the development and private sector settings across India, South-East Asia, and Asia-Pacific. His focus areas include strategy, investing for development, blended finance, education, and fostering inclusive and sustainable private sector participation.

His recent work includes design and performance management of one of the largest impact bonds in education globally (Quality Education India DIB), determining the cost-effectiveness of education interventions in India, developing the growth strategy for an inclusive business focused on eye-care services, identifying ways to foster sustainable and inclusive private sector participation in two low-income economies Asia / Asia Pacific. He also helped conduct a strategic review of a large foundation’s program focused on improving education to employment outcomes of 1 million underprivileged women in India and developing a youth employment and entrepreneurship strategy for a low-income country in South East Asia.

Prior to joining Dalberg, Gagandeep was a part of the CEO’s office team at HCL technologies, where he worked with the leadership team in designing and implementing strategic initiatives for the organization. Gagandeep was also a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) where he worked with firms in the Industrial Goods and Automotive industries to develop their international expansion and growth strategies. Gagandeep holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow and a Bachelor’s in Computer Science & Engineering from Thapar University..

Mara works on shaping the public sector strategy at the Schwab Foundation for Social Enterprise, focusing on engaging public social innovators, strengthening government partnerships, and advancing public-private collaboration. She also supports the use of data to help stakeholders learn from shared experiences.

Previously, she was Academic Co-Director of the Government Outcomes Lab at the University of Oxford. With two decades of experience, she specialises in applying academic insights to decision-making for social impact, particularly in outcomes-based funding across governments, foundations, and international development.

She is an experienced decision modeller with a strong interest in impact metrics and data-driven decision-making.

Milena Castellnou is Chief Programmes Officer at the Education Outcomes Fund (EOF), a fund hosted by UNICEF. With over a decade of expertise in designing and implementing outcomes-based financing programs, Milena is a recognized thought leader in innovative financing for education and employment. At EOF, she leads the Programme Team, driving a global portfolio of groundbreaking initiatives, including two of the world’s largest education-focused outcomes funds in Ghana and Sierra Leone. Her work spans critical sectors like early childhood care and education, basic education, and skills for employment, with ambitious programs launching soon in Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and Tunisia and South
Africa.

Prior to joining EOF, Milena was an Associate Partner at Instiglio, an advisory firm where she worked closely with governments and donors to support their efforts in launching outcomes-focused initiatives. In recognition of her expertise, she was selected as a Visiting Fellow of Practice at the University of Oxford’s Government Outcomes Lab for two consecutive years (2022 and 2023). She holds degrees from Sciences Po Grenoble and an LLM from the University of Nottingham. Milena remains committed to shaping the future of education and employment through her deep commitment to evidence-based impact, cross-sector collaboration, and innovative financing strategies that unlock sustainable change.

Grace Wood is Education Adviser for FCDO Ghana, leading UKAid policy and programmes to support the COVID-19 education response, basic education reforms, teacher education, girls’ education, out-of-school children, and partnerships between government and non-state actors.

From 2016-2018, she was Education Adviser for DFID Pakistan, leading UKAid work to support children with disabilities, education through non-state actors, and education advocacy. She previously held a range of UK-based roles in DFID, leading policy for the Girls Education Forum 2016, and UK support to GPE. She holds an MA in Education and International Development from UCL and a BA in English and Spanish from Durham University.