Maia Guntsadze

Maia Guntsadze is a development economist, policy advisor, and strategic management professional with over 20 years of experience in public policy, economic reform, governance modernization, and international development. She holds a PhD in Economics and an MA in Public Administration, complemented by executive training at the *Harvard Kennedy School* and academic coursework at the *University of Oxford*.

‍Maia is a member of the *Microeconomics of Competitiveness (MOC) Affiliate Network at Harvard Business School* and the *International Development Evaluation Association (IDEAS)*. She is also certified in “Leading Successful Programs: Using Evidence to Assess Effectiveness”* by Harvard Kennedy School.As the Founder and Board Member of MELPA (Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Professionals Association) and former MEL/CLA Manager at Deloitte for USAID’s Economic Governance and Middle Corridor Programs, Maia has led high-impact evaluations and reforms to strengthen policy, regulatory, and institutional systems in Georgia.She has held senior roles with the UNDP, National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat), Millennium Challenge Fund, and Revenue Service of Ministry of Finance, contributing to major national reforms, including tax administration modernization, statistical system development, SDG localization, decentralization, and regional development strategies.Maia also serves in academia as a professor at ALTE and IBSU Universities, teaching Project Management, Strategic Management, and Economics. She has presented in over 50 international conferences and authored numerous academic and policy publications.Her work is grounded in evidence-based policymaking, strategic reform design, and the promotion of sustainable, measurable, and inclusive development.