Sholpan Tashmukhambetova, Country Director for Kazakhstan, joined ABA ROLl's office in Astana in June 2012. Tashmukhambetova holds a law degree from Karaganda State University and a Ph.D. degree in law from the Institute of State and Law of Kazakh National Academy of Sciences. Tashmukhambetova comes with 22 years of experience working for state organizations and international projects. She served as deputy director of the Research Institute of Private Law of Kazakh State Law Academy and as a senior lawyer/expert of the Legislation Institute of the Ministry of Justice of Kazakhstan. Previously, she held positions including as director for business development, government and public relations, and as deputy chief of party and head of the representative office for various USAID projects within the judicial sector. In addition, Tashmukhambetova served as an expert in an EU project supporting judicial and legal reform in Kazakhstan. Tashmukhambetova speaks Russian and English.