Jolyne Sanjak

Managing Director, Implementation Support

Dr. Jolyne Sanjak is the Managing Director for Implementation Support in the Department of Compact Implementation. She leads teams covering a range of topics such as agriculture, land tenure, finance, private sector development, and monitoring and evaluation.  Previously, she served as Senior Director for Property Rights and Land Policy, Jolyne Sanjak with responsibility for assessing the relevant aspects of MCC Compact development and for oversight of Compact implementation. She joined MCC in February, 2005, bringing close to 20 years of experience related to land tenure, property registration, and land markets as well as to broader themes related to rural development and economic growth.  Prior to joining MCC, Dr. Sanjak worked as lead specialist on property rights and land policy and for rural development in USAID’s Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean.  She also contributed significantly to USAID global efforts on special themes such as remittances and land conflict management. 

Jolyne began her work with the Unites States Government after spending many years as an assistant professor of economics at the State University of New York at Albany, teaching a diverse set of courses including microeconomics, urban economics, environmental economics and graduate level courses in economic development.  Jolyne actively engaged in research focused mainly on land tenure, agricultural productivity, and land market access by the poor. She participated in all aspects of research including survey design and implementation, data analysis and publication of results. During this time period, Jolyne also worked as a research associate and project manager in Macedonia and Honduras with the University of Wisconsin, Land Tenure Center.   Finally, she engaged with the FAO, World Bank and the InterAmerican Development Bank in preparing policy papers and workshops related to land policy.  Dr. Sanjak holds Ph. D. in agricultural economics with a specialization from the University of Wisconsin.  She also holds a MS in agricultural economics with a specialization in natural resource management from Penn State University.