Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of Women's World Banking, is the author of There’s Nothing Micro About a Billion Women: Making Finance Work for Women (MIT Press; April 19, 2022).  Women’s World Banking is a global nonprofit devoted to giving more low-income women access to financial tools and resources they need for both security and prosperity.

Prior to Women’s World Banking, Mary Ellen worked for 17 years at the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank. She had previously worked for the investment bank Lehman Brothers. Mary Ellen is a permanent member of the Council on Foreign Relations, as well as a member of the Women’s Forum of New York, and the UN’s Business and Sustainable Development Commission.

A 2017 Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Fellow, Mary Ellen holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management and a Bachelor of Science in International Economics from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Most recently, she was recognized in the Forbes 50 over 50: Investment list, which highlights female investors and financial leaders.


Mary Ellen Iskenderian

Publicity Inquiries

Johanna Ramos-Boyer, JRB Communications, LLC | johanna@jrbpr.biz 


Women's World Banking, Chelsea Bennington, Communications  |  cb@womensworldbanking.org


Washington Speakers Bureau is Mary Ellen's preferred bureau. To inquire about speaking engagements please reach out to speaker referrals@wsb.com or visit her page.