AIR Names International Education Expert Dr. Jane Benbow Director of International Development Program

Friday, July 16, 2010

Washington, D.C. – The American Institutes for Research (AIR) today announced that Dr. Jane Benbow, an international education professional with extensive experience in the areas of international development, program development, and management, has been promoted to vice president and director of AIR’s International Development Program.

Benbow currently is a Managing Research Scientist with AIR, where she has been serving as Chief of Party of a large education reform project in Egypt funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In Egypt, she works closely with the Ministry of Education and oversees a staff of more than 250.

“Jane Benbow has a long and distinguished history improving educational opportunities across the globe,” said AIR President and CEO Sol H. Pelavin. “As AIR’s international development efforts continue to grow, we are fortunate to have Jane lead this important work, bringing an understanding for international education and in-the-field experience that is second to none.”

Before joining AIR in 2004, Benbow served for 10 years as the Director of Basic and Girls’ Education with CARE, USA, where she helped establish CARE as a leading NGO in the area of basic education. She previously taught at the University of California Los Angeles School of Education, School of International Training, University of Massachusetts at Amherst School of Education, and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Public Health. She began her career in the U.S. Peace Corps, where she taught kindergarten and sixth grade in Liberia, West Africa.

Benbow earned her bachelor’s from Guilford College, her master’s from Goddard College, and her doctoral degree from the Center for International Education at the University of Massachusetts.

“I am honored to lead AIR’s International Development Program at such a critical time,” Benbow said. “AIR’s current work in Egypt, Haiti, Pakistan, and other countries across the world serves as a model for how we can work to enhance the capacity of developing countries to improve their citizens’ quality of life through education and social development. I look forward to continuing AIR’s mission and its commitment to people across the globe.”

AIR currently works in 27 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South America, and operates project offices in Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Nicaragua, Pakistan, South Africa, and Zambia. Its international development work is headquartered in Washington, DC.

About AIR

Established in 1946, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is an independent, nonpartisan not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of health, education, and workforce productivity. For more information, visit www.air.org.