Elizabeth McAllister has served in leadership positions in the international development community for over 25 years. From 1997 to 2005, she held a number of senior assignments at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., including Director of the Operations Evaluation Department (OED), Director of External Affairs and United Nations Relations and Special Advisor to the Vice Presidency for East Asia and Pacific.

Prior to joining the World Bank, Ms. McAllister held executive positions in the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) including Director General of Performance Review, Director General for Latin American and the Caribbean Region, Director of the China Country Program and Director of Women in Development. She twice chaired the DAC Working Group on Women In Development  From 1985 to 1988, she was Counselor for Development in Jakarta, Indonesia

In 2007/8, she chaired the International Panel for the Independent Review of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research System (report available on www.cgiar.org/externalreview/).

Ms McAllister enjoys an active practice in international development focuses on organizational strategy, results based management, evaluation management and gender analysis. Her clients include the World Bank, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Canadian International Development Agency and the Caribbean Development Bank.  She is currently a member of the Advisory Council to the Gregg Center for the Study of War and Society at the University of New Brunswick and an advisor to organizations working for people with disabilities.

Ms. McAllister is a recipient of numerous awards for community service and leadership, including a 1994 Governor General's Commemorative Medal in her native Canada. A graduate of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (MPA) and the University of New Brunswick, she lives in Ottawa.