Ms. Heather Taylor-Strauss

Heather Taylor-Strauss is Economic Affairs Officer in the Trade, Investment and Innovation Division of the UNESCAP. She leads all of UNESCAP’s technical assistance and policy advisory work on foreign direct investment (FDI). She primarily works with investment promotion agencies in the region to train them and support them in promoting and facilitating FDI for that promotes gender equality, bridges digital divides and addresses climate change. She is currently running projects in each of these areas in 12 ESCAP member States, as well as with the ASEAN Secretariat.

During her time at UN ESCAP she also worked in the Macroeconomic Policy team undertaking research and analytical work on mobilizing FDI for the SDGs, and she has also acted as a special assistant in the Office of the Executive Secretary.

Prior to joining UNESCAP, she worked at the Asian Development Bank and held researcher positions as Goethe University, Trinity College, and the Sadar Patel Institute for Economic and Social Research. At these institutions she led 4 global research projects and authored several publications on contribution of FDI to sustainable development. She holds a PhD with distinguished honors from Goethe University (Germany).