HDRO Staff

Since 1 January 2019 Pedro has been Director of the Human Development Report Office and lead author of the Human Development Report. Prior to this, Pedro served as Director, Strategic Policy, at the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (from October 2014), and Chief Economist and Head of the Strategic Advisory Unit at the Regional Bureau for Africa (from 1 December 2009). Before that, he was Director of the Office of Development Studies (ODS) from March 2007 to November 2009, and Deputy Director of ODS, from October 2001 to February 2007. His work on financing for development and on global public goods was published by Oxford University Press in books he co-edited (The New Public Finance: Responding to Global Challenges, 2006; Providing Global Public Goods: Managing Globalization, 2003). He has published on inequality, the economics of innovation and technological change, and development in, amongst other journals, the African Development Review, Review of Development Economics, Eastern Economic Journal, Ecological Economics, Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Food Policy, and Technological Forecasting and Social Change. He co-edited several books including: Innovation, Competence Building, and Social Cohesion in Europe- Towards a Learning Society (Edward Elgar, 2002) and Knowledge for Inclusive Development (Quorum Books, 2001). Prior to coming to UNDP, he was an Assistant Professor at the Instituto Superior Técnico, Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal, teaching and researching on science, technology and innovation policy. He has degrees in Physics from Instituto Superior Técnico and in Economics from the Technical University of Lisbon and a Ph. D. in Public Policy from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied with a Fulbright scholarship.

Yanchun has more than twenty years of quantitative research experience on a wide range of economic and sustainable development topics. She has published articles on international macroeconomics, climate change and development, economic vulnerabilities and social protection in refereed academic and policy journals. Prior to HDRO, she served as Chief of the Commodities Branch at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva from 2019 to 2020, leading analytical research, which includes a biennial statistics report State of Commodities Dependence, and capacity-building projects in a dozen of commodity dependent developing countries in Africa and Asia. Prior to that, she was Chief of the Commodity Policy Implementation and Outreach Section from 2014 to 2019, in charge of formulating demand-driven technical cooperation initiatives, mobilizing multilateral and bilateral funding sources and coordinating the preparation of publicity materials and press releases for outreach efforts. Before UNCTAD, she had worked at UNDP in New York from 2007 to 2013 as a Policy Specialist, conducting original research on emerging development topics that are strategically important for the organization. From 2003 to 2006, she was an assistant professor at San Francisco State University, teaching and researching on econometrics, statistics and macroeconomics. Prior to her academic career, she also worked for the World Bank's Development Research Group. She holds Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in Economics with specializations on econometrics, development economics and international economics from University of Virginia, U.S.A, and a B.A. degree in Economics with honors from Shanghai Fudan University, China.

Heriberto Tapia is the Research and Strategic Partnership Advisor of the Human Development Report Office (HDRO), leading both areas. He has been a senior member of the HDRO research team since 2014. Previously, he served in the Executive Office of UNDP and in the Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean. He has been lecturer at Columbia University (New York), University of Chile (Santiago) and University Diego Portales (Santiago). Heriberto holds a Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University, and a Master’s degree in economics and a Commercial Engineering degree from the University of Chile.

Admir has 20 years of professional experience in global project and programme management, strategic leadership, innovations, and digital transformation. Passionate about harnessing the power of design thinking and innovation, Admir excels in developing transformative strategies, cultivating environments for sustained results, and crafting effective solutions to tackle complex challenges. Since joining HDRO in 2014, Admir has showcased his leadership skills by spearheading knowledge products management, digital platforms, and transformation, as well as driving data innovation. Notably, he has played a pivotal role in the strategy, development, and success of UNDP's groundbreaking Human Climate Horizons (HCH) data platform. Prior to his tenure at UNDP, Admir gained valuable experience in the corporate sector at Goldman Sachs, starting as a data analyst and later progressing to managing business solutions and knowledge products. Admir holds a Masters's degree in Computer Engineering and Renewable Energy Engineering from Colorado State University (CSU).

Nasa worked as Operations and Implementation Support Advisor in Multi-Country Office in Fiji since January 2019. Prior to that she was Programme Implementation Team Leader and Operations Specialist in Myanmar and DPR of Korea. Nasa joined UNDP, Mongolia as National Governance Officer in 1997, moved to the field of Operations in 2002. She also served in HQ in Office of Human Resources and Learning Resources Centre for eight years. Nasa started her professional career with Mongolian Customs Administration where she grew in ranks from Inspector to Deputy Director of Customs Administration. She received her bachelor’s degree in international trade economics from Budapest Economics University (Hungary) and graduated from Duke University (USA) with MA in International Development Policy/Public Administration.

Tasneem is a member of the research and writing team for the Human Development Report and the Multidimensional Poverty Index Report. At UNDP, Tasneem also worked with the SDG Integration Team supporting countries to make progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, providing policy and advisory services to country offices. Prior to UNDP, Tasneem worked at the Asian Development Bank Headquarters in Manila, where she initially joined as a Young Professional. There she supported projects and programs to promote trade and economic integration in South Asia and managed the Secretariat for South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation jointly with the Governments of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Bhutan. During her graduate school years, Tasneem worked at the Center for Global Trade Analysis Projects (GTAP) at Purdue University, where she also completed her Ph.D. in Economics. At GTAP, she supported the development of the GTAP model/database and studied the impacts of trade facilitation on employment, poverty, and income, among others.

Brian is a member of the research and writing team, where he focuses on overall narrative development, as well as health, climate and inequality. Prior to joining HDRO in 2019, he served in UNDP’s Executive Office and, before that, on UNDP’s HIV, Health and Development team. His work on the development dimensions of health has been published in AIDS and The Lancet, among others. He was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company before joining UNDP. Brian holds a MSc Environmental Change & Management from the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Marshall Scholar, and a MSc Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. He has a BS in Mathematics.

Christina Lengfelder is a member of the HDRO’s research team, where she has co-authored global Human Development Reports since 2014. Before joining HDRO, Christina lectured on social policies, international relations, and qualitative & quantitative research methodology in Santiago de Chile. She also worked as a knowledge manager for the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB) in Washington D.C., consulted for UN ECLAC in Trinidad and Tobago and Santiago de Chile, and interned with the Mexican Government’s Secretariat for Human Development. Christina comes from a multidisciplinary background, holding a PhD in Political Science (Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile) with a focus on development cooperation, research methodology, and international relations. She also earned two master’s degrees, one in International Development Economics (HTW Berlin), and another in Political Science (Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile). Her academic career started with a dual bachelor’s degree in International Business Studies (Mexico and Germany). Christina’s research interests lie in human development, multidimensional inequalities, social policies, and, more recently, mental health. She has published her work in several UN publications, book chapters, and peer-reviewed journals.

Yu-Chieh joined the HDRO as a Statistics Postdoctoral Consultant in 2014. Before coming to UNDP, she was a Senior Research Analyst at the National Opinion Research Center (NORC). During that time, she was jointly appointed as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. Yu-Chieh graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a PhD and MPhil in Public Policy and Management. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Statistics from Columbia University. Yu-Chieh’s PhD dissertation focused on demography and applied statistics. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Demography, Population Studies, and Journal of Health Economics.

Josefin brings a wealth of experience to her role as Research and Partnerships Specialist, having worked in the research-policy nexus in diverse contexts and across different thematic fields. Prior to joining HDRO, Josefin was the head of Capacity Building at the Latin America & Caribbean Office of Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL LAC), where she led a team that supported partners across the region to develop capacities for evidence-based policymaking, research, monitoring and evaluation. She is a development economist by training and holds an MSc In Local Economic Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a BSc in Economics and Political Science from Uppsala University. Josefin’s previous experience also includes research and evaluation at the Swedish Agency for Public Management and the Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy, as well as policy advisory for the Mayor ́s office at the City of Stockholm.

Marium’s professional experience spans over 10 years, encompassing roles within the United Nations, government, non-profit and private sectors. Her specialized skill set revolves around project management, multilateral engagement, policy advocacy, and knowledge management. At HDRO, Marium assumes the responsibility of coordinating the production of knowledge products and knowledge sharing initiatives. Prior to this, Marium contributed to the fields of research, communications, and advocacy for child rights in Pakistan. She was also an Advisor on issues pertaining to the Third Committee in the UNGA during her tenure at the Pakistan Mission to the United Nations in New York. Her portfolio also includes orchestrating collaborative partnerships in bilateral and multilateral settings in Türkiye as well as creative and substantive writing for print media. Incorporating her multifaceted experiences, Marium remains dedicated to working in international settings and actively promotes diversity and inclusion. Marium holds a master’s degree in history with a focus on diplomatic history from Bilkent University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Rutgers University.

Prior to her post in HDRO, Fe held positions of Programme Associate at the United Nations Capital Development Fund and Programme/Administrative Assistant at the Sustainable Development and Poverty Elimination Division of the Bureau for Development Policy. Her background are on finance, human resources and procurement. Before joining UNDP, Fe has worked at various private companies in the Philippines performing functions in office administration. Fe holds a bachelor’s degree in office administration from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and received a strategic diploma on public procurement from the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply.

Ana has over 10 years of experience working as an Executive Associate at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, including at the Permanent Mission of Spain. She has extensive experience working in multilateral settings; where she has been providing organizational and logistical support to high-level diplomats, preparing programs, and coordinating the visits to the United Nations by heads of State/Government, cabinet ministers and other senior officials, ensuring that appropriate protocol is observed. Prior to joining HDRO, Ana worked at the Permanent Mission of Spain to the UN and as a freelance Spanish Interpreter for the Board of Elections of the City Of New York. Ana holds a master’s degree in Translation and Interpreting from the University of Salamanca and has been appointed as an official sworn translator by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She also holds a United Nations Protocol certification course.