Laila Iskandar has worked as researcher, speaker, and consultant with governmental and international agencies as well as with the private sector in the fields of gender, education and development, environment, child labour and governance. Her consultation work encompasses grass roots' issues and policy matters.

Laila Iskandar was consultant to the Minister of Environment on solid waste management issues in Egypt. She has worked with the informal waste sector for over 30 years and has designed, developed, and implemented community-based solid waste projects. She has liaised with various global networks of recycling organizations to survey, research, and advocate for the informal waste sector in policy analysis, national strategy and global aid programs.

Laila Iskandar studied economics, political science, and business at Cairo University. She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of California, Berkeley and a Doctor of Education from Columbia University.

She is chairperson and founding board member of CID Consulting, an Egyptian consulting firm pursuing holistic growth solutions by bridging corporate and developmental objectives. She is also a trustee at Alfanar, the first venture philanthropy organization in the Arab region.

She served as a jury member to UNESCO’s International Literacy Prize and acted as UNESCO’s UNLD Resource Person for the Arab region (2005-07).

She was named “Social Entrepreneur of the Year” in 2006 at the World Economic Forum by the Schwab Foundation.

Laila Iskandar was a speaker at the 6th International Holcim Forum for Sustainable Construction held in Cairo, Egypt in April 2019. She was a Member of the Academic Body at the Norman Foster Foundation - Re-materializing Housing Workshop, supported by the Holcim Foundation and held in Madrid (November 2021).