Sana Akili is the Deputy Chief for Operations of the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) of the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of the General Counsel. CLDP provides training and consultative services to countries in economic transition. This technical assistance supports legal and regulatory reforms that encourage market-driven trade and investment in those countries. Ms. Akili served as International Program Specialist, and Senior International Program Specialist focusing on Middle East program at CLDP, as well as serving as the Operations Manager before assuming her current duties. Prior to joining CLDP in February 2006, Ms. Akili taught marketing to Business students at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Prior to her academic endeavors, Ms. Akili was Manager of Customer Relations at Parkersolutions.com, a small dot com start-up company that specialized in providing E-Commerce and Marketing solutions to small and medium-sized companies. Ms. Akili was raised in the Middle East, and prior to attending graduate school at Iowa State University, she earned her undergraduate business degree from the University of Qatar. She is a native Arabic speaker.