Leyla Sharafi

Ms. Leyla Sharafi, Technical Specialist in Gender, United Nations Population Fund. Leyla Sharafi graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2001 with degrees in Political Science and Communication. As a member of the Diplomacy Program she competed in the National Model United Nations simulation in New York City. Leyla went on to receive an M.A. in International Affairs from the New School in New York City.

Since 2004, Leyla has worked at the United Nations, first for the UN Development Fund for Women and then for the United Nations Population Fund. Leyla is currently working with the organization’s Technical Division at the UN headquarters in New York. The Technical Division is responsible for guiding the organization’s strategic and policy direction, providing expertise both within the Fund and externally on a range of issues related to sexual and reproductive health and rights and population and development as outlined in the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994).