On 1 June, 2007 Ms. Elaine Fultz assumed her duties as a Director of the ILO Subregional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.Ms. Fultz is a U.S. citizen from western North Carolina. She joined the ILO in 1995 as social security specialist for southern Africa and was first stationed in Harare, Zimbabwe. For the last eight years, Ms. Fultz has worked in Budapest as the ILO’s senior specialist in social security for Central and Eastern Europe. Working with economists and sociologists she has developed demographic and fiscal forecasts, charted future pension adequacy and gauged the impact of current policy options on future levels of poverty and income inequality.Before joining the ILO Ms. Fultz worked for 14 years in the U.S. Congress, in the House of Representatives, first as chief legislative assistant to a member of Congress from Detroit, and subsequently, as a member of the professional staff of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security.In 1995, Ms. Fultz was appointed executive director of the National Commission on Childhood Disability created by the U.S. Congress.She has a PhD in public administration from New York University and holds the New York University Award for Distinguished Public Service. Ms. Fultz is the author or editor of more than 20 publications on social policy reform in societies engaged in political and economic transformation.She is married with one son.The ILO Subregional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia is located in Moscow. The Office coordinates ILO activities in ten countries – Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.