M.A. in Political Science with a specialization in International Politics and International Law, University du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), 2011
Honours B.Sc. in International Studies and Modern Languages (Arabic Language), University of Ottawa, 2008
B.A. in French and Spanish (double major) and Sociology (minor), Arizona State University, 2005
Esther Rouleau is an evaluation consultant with over 15 years of experience in international development. She has successfully completed over 50 consultancy assignments for UN agencies, funds and programmes (FAO, UNAIDS, UNHCR, UN Women, WFP, WHO), international financial institutions (ADB, AfDB, IaDB, World Bank), global funds (GCF, GEF, Global Fund), bilateral donors (AusAID, Global Affairs Canada), NGOs (Nutrition International, Rights and Resources Initiative, CARE), foundations (C&A Foundation, One Drop, Porticus) and research institutions (IDRC, ACIAR). She has conducted a wide range of programme, policy and strategic evaluations, as well as organizational assessments and development effectiveness reviews. Ms. Rouleau has in-depth knowledge of the UNEG Norms and Standards for Evaluation and has significant experience reviewing the quality of evaluation products.
Ms. Rouleau has thematic expertise in environmental sustainability and climate change, food security and agriculture, and water resources management. In recent years, she has conducted several evaluations for the GCF, including of the Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme in 2018 and 2023 and of the Health and Wellbeing, Food and Water Security Results Area. She also conducted a MOPAN assessment of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in 2024 and an assessment of the GEF’s comparative advantage – including an assessment of the GEF comparative advantage in climate change – as part of the Seventh Comprehensive Evaluation of the GEF. Ms. Rouleau has also served as a gender specialist for several evaluation assignments, integrating gender equality and equity dimensions into evaluation design, data collection and reporting. She was, for example, the gender specialist for WFP’s Country Strategic Plan Evaluation in Timor-Leste and for the Evaluation of IDRC’s Canadian International Food Security Research Fund, for which she explored linkages between gender equality, climate change adaptation, and resilience. Ms. Rouleau is fluent in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Intermediate in Arabic.