Experienced mixed methods researcher with a track record of working within government and international agencies to improve education outcomes, focusing on education finance, equity and access to education, and disability inclusion; with experience working with low and middle- income communities.
Skilled in Mixed-Methods Research, Instrument Design and Implementation; Literature Review and Policy Analysis; Data Collection, Analysis and Reporting, as well as Monitoring and Evaluation.
Project development, management, and evaluation: This includes managing, implementing and measuring small and large scale education projects.
Research Methodologies: Well versed in mixed methods research design, quantitative surveys, ethnography, qualitative interviews, focus groups, social media research and document analysis.
Programming: Advanced skills in NVivo, R, Qualtrics, and Microsoft Office.
Languages: English (Native), Bengali (Native), Nepali (Intermediate), Swahili (Beginner), Arabic (Beginner).
Certifications: CITI Research involving Human Subjects, Stallings Snapshot Classroom Observation, Service Delivery Indicators (SDI) Survey Trainer.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), 2024
University of Minnesota
Major: Comparative and International Development Education. Minor: Evaluation Studies
Master of Arts (MA), 2013
Yale University
International Development Economics
Bachelor of Arts (BA), 2012
Reed College
Economics, GPA 3.70, Phi Beta Kappa
Study Abroad, 2010-2011
University of Oxford (Wadham College)
Economics and English
Education Finance Specialist, Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Washington D.C.
March 2025–present
Develop the guidance for GPE ’s incentive-based financing triggers to help countries mobilize their domestic financing for education.
Analyze data and provide insights towards development of a partnership approach to raise resources for education programming and spending.
Document country practices and results stories on programming that strengthens education systems.
Evaluation Consultant, UNICEF HQ, New York, NY
March 2023-April 2024
Evaluated how effectively disability inclusion has been implemented within UNICEF’s global programming from 2018-2022, and to assess what actionable results had been achieved for children with disabilities.
Research Assistant, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON
March - Nov 2022
Developed and submitted with Dr. Fady Shanouda a 200,000 CAD grant application for a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Development Grant to examine how neoliberal ideologies impact the mental health of students, staff, and faculty, within Canadian and American higher education institutions.
Conducted a literature review on the factors impacting student, staff, and faculty distress and suicidality within higher education institutions in Canada and the US.
Recruited for and facilitated two focus groups, with participants across the US and Canada.
Evaluation Intern, SteinerKaler (SK), Minneapolis, MN
Jan – May 2022
Led the refinement of program outcomes for SK, by developing a logic model that clarified key concepts and mapped the pathway from activities to impact on student wellbeing.
Advised on program design and evaluation strategy by conducting a formative evaluation and needs assessment, defining measurable outcomes, refining the service delivery model, and creating tools to demonstrate value to prospective clients at higher education departments and agencies.
Graduate Assistant, University of Minnesota, MN
May – August 2019
• Developed course syllabus and lessons plans for graduate levels classes on “Ethnography” and “Educational Policy Perspectives” in collaboration with the lead Professors.
• Assisted the Professor in creating the online teaching course on Canvas, and facilitating class discussions and activities.
Economist/ODI fellow, Ministry of Education, Zanzibar, Tanzania
November 2016 – August 2018
• Developed and finalized the five-year education sector plan for Zanzibar with government colleagues that sets the goals and priorities for the sector.
• Implemented and monitored multi-year projects with the World Bank, UNICEF and USAID on improving primary & secondary schools across the island.
• Designed monitoring and results frameworks for donor projects to align with the national education sector plan.
Junior Professional Associate (JPA), World Bank, Washington D.C.
November 2014 - November 2016
• Operationalized the Service Delivery Indicators (SDI), which provide a set of metrics for benchmarking service delivery performance in education, and tailored the instrument to pilot in Afghanistan.
• Analyzed data from 189 land registries, for the Doing Business “Registering Property” indicator.
• Project lead of C2IDev, a startup focused on youth entrepreneurship in Uganda, using $10,000 from the World Bank Youth Innovation Fund Competition.
Short-term Consultant, World Bank, Washington D.C.
February - November 2014
• Trained local World Bank teams and partners in Bangladesh and South Korea on impact evaluation techniques through impact evaluation trainings and workshops.
• Drafted Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund’s (SIEF) Evidence-to-Policy notes by identifying where the gaps in the evidence were from randomized control trials (RCTs).
Program Associate, Education, Results for Development (R4D), Washington D.C.
July 2013 - February 2014
• Conducted in-depth evaluation of loan buy-downs for education for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), including the day-to-day execution of the assessment, data analysis and writing of the report.
• Interviewed & drafted profiles of innovative organizations for the Center for Education Innovations database, as well as prepared extensive research briefs for R4D’s skills work.
Data Analyst, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), New Haven, CT
January – April 2013
• Quantified the exact usage and take-up of a seamless loan-savings product among the clients of credit unions.
• Designed case studies on savings research conducted by the Ford Foundation and IPA.
Research Intern, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), Boston, MA
July - August 2012
• Analyzed over 100 files of visual data in Stata from a project in Sierra Leone to determine whether local costs were impacted by the introduction of infrastructure such as highways and bridges
Graduate Instructor, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
August 2018 - May 2023
• Sole instructor of 25 students for OLPD 1303: Leadership in the Organizational Context.
• Sole instructor of 50 students for the course LASK 1001: Mastering Skills for College Success.
Teacher, Summerfield International School, Dhaka, Bangladesh
June - December 2007
• Taught English comprehension to fourth graders, as well as stepped in as substitute teacher for the other grades as needed.
Elias, N. (2024). Illuminating the Shadow Education Mechanism of Neoliberal Governmentality in Bangladesh. In: Saeed, T., Iyengar, R., Witenstein, M.A., Byker, E.J. (Eds.), Exploring education and democratization in South Asia (pp. 13-31). South Asian Education Policy, Research, and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-47798-0_2
Elias, N. (2022). The political economy of education in the Arab world. Comparative Education Review, 66(1), 61-164. https://doi.org/10.1086/717816
Elias, N. (2023). Shadow education in Myanmar: Private supplementary tutoring and its policy implications. Comparative Education Review 67(3), 685–688. University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.1086/725659
Elias, N., Collins, K., & Steiner, J. (2021). Transforming Crucial Academic Support Services During a Pandemic. In J. Herron & T. Douglas (Eds.), Strategies for student support during a global crisis (pp. 141-158). IGI Global.
Elias, N. (2019). The global education reform movement: Is it working? Reconsidering Development, 6(1). Retrieved from https://pubs.lib.umn.edu/index.php/reconsidering.
Elias, N. (2023). Shadow education in Myanmar: Private supplementary tutoring and its policy implications. Comparative Education Review 67(3), 685–688. University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.1086/725659
Elias, N. (2022). The political economy of education in the Arab world. Comparative Education Review, 66(1), 161-164. https://doi.org/10.1086/717816
Elias, N. (2022). I’ll meet you where you are: Research during a pandemic. SPARK. https://sparkezine.com/2022/07/11/ill-meet-you-where-you-are-research-during-a-pandemic/
Elias, N. (2017). Systems in action: Tanzania. World Bank Brief . Retrieved from http://wbgfiles.worldbank.org/documents/hdn/ed/saber/supporting_doc/in_actions/Systems_in_Action_Tanzania.pdf
Elias, N. (2015). Empowering Uganda’s Youth to Be Job Creators. World Bank Feature Story. Washington DC: World Bank Group. Burnett, N & Elias, N. (2014). Education’s buy-down option. Project Syndicate. Retrieved from https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/nicholas-burnett-and-nisma-elias-champion-the-use-of-loan-buy-downs-to-encourage-lending-for-education?barrier=accesspaylog
Elias, N. (2024, March 11-14). Using mixed methods reflexively in CIE research [Pre-conference workshop].Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Annual Conference, Miami, FL, United States.
Elias, N. (2023, February 14-22). The shadow education system of reproducing elite status in Bangladesh [Conference presentation]. Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Annual Conference, Washington D.C., United States.