Sudhanshu (Ashu) Handa is an economist specializing in poverty and human capital in developing countries, and is the Lawrence I. Gilbert Distinguished Professor of Public Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Handa is one of the Principal Investigators of a multi-country study on the impact of national cash transfer programs on households and children (https://transfer.cpc.unc.edu/) which is led by UNICEF, and he has led or been part of large-scale impact evaluations of cash transfer programs in Ghana, Malawi, Zambia, Kenya and Zimbabwe. Dr. Handa’s research covers a wide range of human development and poverty-related topics, including food security and child nutrition, and more recently the psychology and behavioral effects of poverty. Dr. Handa has taken leave from UNC work for UNICEF, most recently as Chief of Social & Economic Policy, UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti (2013-2016) and as Regional Social Policy Advisor for Eastern & Southern Africa (2006-2008). Dr. Handa has previously worked at the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Food Policy Research Institute, the Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique), and the University of the West Indies-Mona. Ashu was born in Tema, Ghana and is an avid fan of the Black Stars.