Alissa is the Managing Director of GOVERN Center, a niche advisory and research institute specialising in economic and corporate governance in emerging markets. Her experience in the Middle East and North Africa spans 15 years, currently leading GOVERN’s extensive work in the region and previously managing a regional governance and private sector development programme at the OECD. She has led and provided expertise to a number of governments in the Middle East, Africa and Europe in the design of regulatory initiatives and institution building, including to stock exchanges, securities regulators, central banks, ministries of finance and economy. Alissa holds a Bachelor degree in business administration from York University and a Masters in Political Economy from the LSE. For her influence in advancing good governance in the Middle East, she was distinguished as a Corporate Governance Rising Star by the Columbia University and was recently invited to deliver a TED Talk.

Alissa was a Visiting Fellow at the Middle East Centre in 2019.