AP-NORC Center Experts

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Varuni Dayaratna

Senior Vice President
International Programs
Phone: (301) 634-9414

Varuni has managed and implemented evaluations and technical assistance projects worldwide. As senior vice president and director of the International Programs department (INPRO), Varuni oversees a multidisciplinary staff of more than 50 researchers implementing projects in over 100 countries.

INPRO provides governments, international aid agencies, private entities, and civil society organizations with reliable, high-quality data and evidence to improve their policies and programming. INPRO’s portfolio comprises over 500 projects that span multiple sectors and draw on core competencies in rigorous impact and performance evaluations, program monitoring, quantitative and qualitative research methods, and intervention development research. Varuni leads INPRO’s growth and strategic direction, providing oversight on business development and portfolio diversification, department finances, talent acquisition, and strategic partnerships.

Over her 16 years at NORC, Varuni has served as director for numerous projects, including the $25 million USAID-funded Reading & Access Evaluations contract, multimillion dollar Millennium Challenge Corporation evaluations in Lesotho, Ghana, and Honduras, and the evaluation of USAID’s School Health and Reading Program in Uganda. Throughout her career, Varuni has also conducted research and technical assistance projects in Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Romania, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, and Zambia.

Before joining NORC, Varuni served as regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean for the Health Policy Initiative, a multi-year USAID-funded health project, at The Futures Group International (now Palladium). Prior to that, she worked at the World Bank. Varuni is fluent in Spanish and Sinhalese.

Varuni Dayaratna

Senior Vice President
International Programs
(301) 634-9414

Varuni has managed and implemented evaluations and technical assistance projects worldwide. As senior vice president and director of the International Programs department (INPRO), Varuni oversees a multidisciplinary staff of more than 50 researchers implementing projects in over 100 countries.

INPRO provides governments, international aid agencies, private entities, and civil society organizations with reliable, high-quality data and evidence to improve their policies and programming. INPRO’s portfolio comprises over 500 projects that span multiple sectors and draw on core competencies in rigorous impact and performance evaluations, program monitoring, quantitative and qualitative research methods, and intervention development research. Varuni leads INPRO’s growth and strategic direction, providing oversight on business development and portfolio diversification, department finances, talent acquisition, and strategic partnerships.

Over her 16 years at NORC, Varuni has served as director for numerous projects, including the $25 million USAID-funded Reading & Access Evaluations contract, multimillion dollar Millennium Challenge Corporation evaluations in Lesotho, Ghana, and Honduras, and the evaluation of USAID’s School Health and Reading Program in Uganda. Throughout her career, Varuni has also conducted research and technical assistance projects in Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Romania, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, and Zambia.

Before joining NORC, Varuni served as regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean for the Health Policy Initiative, a multi-year USAID-funded health project, at The Futures Group International (now Palladium). Prior to that, she worked at the World Bank. Varuni is fluent in Spanish and Sinhalese.

Yana Gallen

Assistant Professor
University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy

Yana Gallen is an assistant professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. She received a PhD in economics from Northwestern University in 2016. She is a labor economist studying the gender wage gap. Her research focuses on understanding the sources of the gender pay gap—preferences, discrimination, or productivity? She is also interested in the impact of family friendly policies on the labor market, particularly looking at indirect or unanticipated effects of policy reforms. Many of her projects use Danish register data linking workers and firms. Her current work focuses on the savings and career decisions of household before they know their preferences concerning child-rearing.

Yana Gallen

Assistant Professor
University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy

Yana Gallen is an assistant professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. She received a PhD in economics from Northwestern University in 2016. She is a labor economist studying the gender wage gap. Her research focuses on understanding the sources of the gender pay gap—preferences, discrimination, or productivity? She is also interested in the impact of family friendly policies on the labor market, particularly looking at indirect or unanticipated effects of policy reforms. Many of her projects use Danish register data linking workers and firms. Her current work focuses on the savings and career decisions of household before they know their preferences concerning child-rearing.