Abeer Elshennawy received a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Cairo University, a Master of Arts in economics from The American University in Cairo (AUC) and a PhD in applied economics from the University of Minnesota in the United States. She is currently a professor at the economics department at AUC. She has taught a variety of courses in the area of environmental economics, growth and development, and macroeconomic and microeconomic theory. She also worked as a senior economist at the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies in Cairo. She helped conduct applied research to promote the private sector's role in the Egyptian economy's development and identify the constraints that might impede this role. Her research interests are in international trade, the environment, and growth and development. She has published several articles addressing the issue of adjustment costs to trade liberalization and water pollution.