Michelle Neuman

Michelle Neuman is an applied scholar with more than 20 years of experience working with governments and partners to improve young children’s outcomes in low-resource contexts. Currently, she is a Research Affiliate at Yale Inclusion Economics and an Impact Fellow at the Federation of American Scientists. From October 2023 to February 2025, she was embedded in the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where she strengthened play-based early childhood and education programs in countries including Ethiopia, Tajikistan, and Uganda. Previously, at Results for Development (R4D), Michelle focused on projects related to the early childhood workforce, the politics of early learning, and digital tools to support parenting. Earlier in her career, she led the global early childhood development portfolio at the World Bank after successfully managing a regional program of analytical work and peer learning in 10 African countries. Michelle taught and advised graduate students in international educational development at the University of Pennsylvania for more than a decade. She holds a Ph.D. in Politics and Education from Columbia University and an A.B. in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University.