Melissa Johns is an international development expert with twenty years’ experience supporting local leaders to solve their most pressing challenges.  She started her career with the Peace Corps in Honduras serving as a field agent for Save the Children.  Following graduate studies, she joined Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen and Hamilton in its cross-border transactions and securities practices, driving investments in Latin America and supporting global firms doing business in the United States.  Melissa joined the World Bank in 2004, where for the last fifteen years she has held a range of leadership roles across research and operations. She has shaped global studies on entrepreneurship, led teams in more than 40 countries and managed operations for a department of 130+ people and $20 million annual budget.  More recently, Melissa has focused on the rights of asylum-seekers and refugees, both by volunteering at the U.S./Mexico border and through implementing World Bank commitments under IDA 18 and 19 for refugees and host communities.Melissa holds a Juris Doctorate from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy Studies from Duke University.