Dr. Jane Benbow has worked in the field of international educational with a focus on basic and girls' education for over 15 years. The focus of her work has been broad, including - but not limited to - program design, advocacy, strategic planning, policy and evaluation. She has also worked extensively in the area of community or “alternative” schools, especially for girls. She served for 10 years as the Director of Basic and Girls’ Education with CARE, USA. In that position she was instrumental in establishing Care’s education sector and in positioning CARE as a leading NGO in the area of basic and girls’ education. As the Director of Basic and Girls Education at Care, she established education programs in Africa, Asia and Latin America and worked closely with the World Bank, UNICEF and other multi-lateral organizations concerned with education. Since leaving CARE she has worked for the American Institutes for Research as a Senior Research Director, where she served as the Director of the EQUIP 1 project, a funding and research mechanism which allows USAID to fund and operate education programs worldwide.

Dr. Benbow is currently the Chief of Party for a large USAID-funded education reform project in Egypt called the Education Reform Project (ERP), working closely with the Ministry of Education, overseeing a staff of over 250 persons, and working throughout the country. ERP works on issues of teacher professional development, educational leadership, parental involvement, governorate, girls’ scholarships and policy reform.

Dr. Benbow was a founding member of the Interagency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) and the Basic Education Coalition (BEC). She has consulted for numerous international agencies. Her doctoral degree is from the Center of International Education at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Prior to receiving her doctorate she worked for many years in the area of community development and organization in the rural southern United States. She also taught school as a Peace Corp volunteer in Liberia, West Africa.