Managing Director, Technical Services

Dr. Jolyne Sanjak is the Managing Director for the Technical Services Division in the Department of Compact Operations (DCO). She leads teams covering a range of topics such as agriculture, land tenure, social and gender assessment, financial and private sector development, and human development, as well as the Contracts Section. Previously, she served as Senior Director leading the Agriculture and Land teams and was MCC’s Practice Leader for Property Rights and Land Policy. 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 on 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 United States Government after being 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 engaged in research focused mainly on land tenure, agricultural productivity, and land market access by the poor, participating in all aspects of research (survey design and implementation, data analysis and publication). During this time period, Jolyne also worked as a project manager and consultant on various assignments with the University of Wisconsin, Land Tenure Center, FAO, World Bank and the InterAmerican Development Bank. Dr. Sanjak holds a Ph.D. in agricultural economics with a specialization in development economics from the University of Wisconsin. She also holds a MS in agricultural economics with a specialization in natural resource management from Penn State University.