Member of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE)
Known as champion of girls’ education, Ms Aïcha Bah Diallo is a founding member of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE). She is chair of the Network for Education for All in Africa (REPTA), Chair of Aide et Action International (AEAI) and member of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation Prize Committee for Good Governance and Leadership in Africa. Ms Bah Diallo is member of Réseau des Femmes pour l’Egalité Femmes-Hommes (RF-EFH: OIF), and a special Advisor to The DG of ISESCO. She was a guest of the First Ladies of the USA, Mrs Bush and Mrs Obama to the meeting organized for the First Ladies of Africa during the August 4-6, 2014 Summit America-Africa. Ms Bah Diallo was member of the Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) to the Global Partnership of Education (GPE, World Bank). She was member of the WISE Prize Committee. Ms Bah Diallo was Minister of Education in Guinea from 1989 to 1996 where she pioneered lowering barriers to education for girls. During her tenure girls enrolled in school surged from 113,000 to 233,000. She is recognized as a key leader of educational reform in Guinea and in Africa where she is highly respected for her achievements. Ms Bah Diallo succeeded in preparing, negotiating, and implementing the « Programme d’Ajustement Sectoriel de l’Education (PASE) » with the coordination of all key education donors. In the same vain, she prepared and negotiated the second PASE. She prepared the policy for Technical and Vocational Education, organized the donors contributions and obtained their financial support before leaving the Department to join UNESCO. From 1996 to 2005, Ms Bah Diallo was a senior education leader of UNESCO and serving as Director of Basic Education. She was appointed, Deputy Assistant Director General for Education, and Assistant Director General for Education. She continued as advisor to the Director General of UNESCO from 2005 to 2009. In Guinea many private as well as public schools are named after her. She has also received many distinctions: Commandeur des Palmes Académiques Françaises, Officier de l’Ordre Nationale de Côte d’Ivoire, Chevalier de l’Ordre nationale du Mérite de Guinée, Médaille d’Honneur du travail de Guinée, Premios Magisterio Protagonistas de la Educacion 2015 (Madrid) She received the « Outstanding Woman Leadership Award (2013) », and was one of Top 100 Most Influential Africans in 2013 and 2014. Ms Bah Diallo speaks French, English, Spanish, Fulfulde (Pular), Sousou, and Malinke. She authored many articles on education, in particular women and girls’ education. Ms Bah Diallo has a Bachelor degree (Chemistry) from Penn State University (USA), and a post graduate degree in Biochemistry from Gamal Abdel Nasser (Guinea).
Alesha Anderson is a Senior Program Officer for ProLiteracy’s International Programs division.
Alesha Anderson is a Senior Program Officer for ProLiteracy’s International Programs division. ProLiteracy is a non-profit educational organization that works to enable adults and youth to acquire the literacy skills they need to solve the problems they encounter in daily life. Ms. Anderson has worked for ProLiteracy for 14 years in a variety of capacities that include training, planning, management, technical assistance, curriculum development, public relations, and fundraising with grassroots literacy and development projects in 35 developing nations as well as the United States. Ms. Anderson was raised in Ecuador and speaks fluent Spanish. She received a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Political Science from University of Denver and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in International Education from University of Massachusetts.
Advisor to companies dedicated to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Alexandre has been working as a climate activist and a serial entrepreneur in the tech and media industry for the past 30 years. As a staunch supporter of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, he has worked as an advisor and impact investor at companies that have demonstrated their commitment to sustainability and the betterment of society. He also works as a worldwide strategy and licensing executive in new media and entertainment at his company Angel Film Partners in Hollywood, California where they produce socially conscious content. As an impact investor and advisor he has worked for a wide range of businesses that include HealRWorld.com, ICVimpact.com, Earthscall.org, AQVGlobal.com, and has most recently launched a fund at SpectrumVision.io
New York City Metropolitan Area
Global Executive Member & India Director, India.
Bhanu Potta is the Global Executive Product Leader and India Board Director at Worldreader, where he provides strategic direction to Worldreader’s global portfolio of digital reading products and the buildup of India Organization.
Specializing in Education Products / Technologies and Social Investments, Bhanu Potta is a board director, executive advisor, and a future focused development enthusiast. He is passionate about building purposeful products, businesses, organizations and institutions which enhance human endeavor and development.
In a corporate career spanning 23+ years, he set up and grew multi-million-dollar education product programs and social investments for Microsoft, Nokia, Perot Systems, Informatics Group and NIIT. As the senior advisor for social investments to Worldwide Education Group at Microsoft and as the global product leader for mobile learning services (Nokia Life) at Nokia, Bhanu led the design, growth and ecosystem development for some of the world’s largest mobile-based learning services which collectively reached over 300 million beneficiaries in developing and emerging markets in Asia and Africa.
Bhanu is the Founding Board Director of Zinger Labs, an advisory firm which provides strategic input into Boards and CXO teams at large & mid sized corporations, impact funds, start-ups & social enterprises, industry institutions and international development organizations across the USA, EU, Asia, and Africa. Since 2014, ZingerLABS has shaped numerous tech-based products and development programs in education, livelihood and wellbeing sectors involving investments to the tune of US$ 220+ Million cumulatively. He mentored 14 impact-focussed startups founding teams in the US, Europe, and India from idea to market to multi-million-dollar Series A rounds in the last three years.
He is a Board Directors' Masterclass & Resource Faculty on Products, Technology, CSR & Social Investments with the Institute of Directors, India. On invitation from the Institute of Product Leadership, Bhanu was the Professor of Practice in Product Leadership from 2013 to 2016, where he was instrumental in designing Asia’s first Executive MBA in Product Leadership. This pathbreaking cross-sector product leadership capacity building engine is an 18 month university granted post masters executive degree program, which since 2013, has helped over 1000+ mid-career professional (15-22 years experience levels) to transition successfully into Product Leadership roles in Product, Tech, Manufacturing, FMCG, Digital, Content, Media, Food & Beverage, Knowledge Services, Social Impact sectors. Bhanu was also invited to sit on the Global Expert Committee of the UNESCO - Pearson’s Initiative for Literacy: Improved Livelihoods in a Digital World.
Bhanu sits on various boards, advisory & investment committees, and sector think tanks. He is often invited to keynote, speak and moderate panels at international conferences. He is a sought-after counsel and mentor for product & education leaders, and social entrepreneurs in Asia and Africa.
Applied Theatre Practitioner, I Applied Arts based Facilitator I Board Member- IPTN and PTO.
I am a founder of an Applied Theatre organization named Rangbhumi: A Happy Playground. I am an Image Expression Artist, an Applied Theatre practitioner, a Drama Based Learning facilitator, a TO (Theatre of Oppressed) practitioner, Playback Theatre practitioner, and a Movement practitioner. I am a Board member of International Playback Theatre Network (IPTN) and Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed (PTO) – Board member, Women Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (Education - Maharashtra, India), and an Advisory Committee member India Drama and Arts Educators Alliance. I have trained participants across borders and have been published by Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed journal. I am on the review panel of RiDE - Research in Drama Education (The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance). I have initiated, designed and developed India's first Applied Theatre Social Arts course in collaboration with ImaginAction (California). I have also pioneered in my initiative of Theatre- in- Education in teaching English Literature, Social Science and History curriculum in schools through Applied Theatre.
Guyana
Cindy Charles is the Founder and President of Kupanda Sisters, Inc. as well as an Executive Administrator for JP Morgan Chase & Co. An advocate of literacy for all, Charles has focused much of her career creating opportunities that inspire children and women in literacy. Kupanda Sisters, Inc. mission has been to uplift women and young people in underserved communities by providing them with quality literacy resources and skills that will equip and empower them to transform their reality, unleash their full potential, and become meaningful contributors to their communities and our world. Kupanda Sisters Inc., began providing services in early 2019 to more than 20 children at the Sophia Primary School in Georgetown Guyana in order to build their literacy levels to meet academic standards under the slogan “Together We Rise.” The organization also focuses on empowering women in Guyana through wellness, entrepreneurial workshops, and awareness campaigns. A native of Guyana, South America, Charles grew up in a small village on the East Bank of Essequibo named Parika. Her struggles at home added to her academic challenges, and with limited resources available, she felt like another statistic and another voiceless child without a future.
David J. Rosen was the director of the Adult Literacy Resource Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston from 1986 to 2003. As an independent consultant since 2003, in the past five years he has provided consulting, advising and professional development services to: World Education’s EdTech Center; the Illinois Digital Learning Lab; ProLiteracy International; Friends of Liberia’s Family Literacy Initiative; LINCS, the professional development system for adult foundational education practitioners sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education; Georgia State University’s Center for the Study of Adult Literacy; the University of Memphis; and OTAN, in California. He is the co-author of two online guides on blended learning for adult basic skills education. For decades, a major theme of his work has been engaging ways to integrate technology in adult foundational education, online and in-person, including for Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English for Speakers of Other Languages.
Ernesto Schiefelbein Fuenzalida ( born August 19, 1934 ) is a Chilean pedagogue , professor , economist and politician . He has served as Minister of Education of Chile, Director of Planning of the Ministry of Education, an expert in Educational Planning for the Regional Employment Program (1974-1976), a visiting professor at Harvard University (1973-1974) and as co-director of the First Course in Spanish for the Preparation of Projects in Education organized by the Economic Development Institute (EDI) of the World Bank (1973). He coordinated the UNESCO Regional Education Information System in Latin America and the Caribbean (1988-1992); worked as an educational planner at the World Bank in Washington ( 1985 - 1987 ); and was coordinator of the Latin American Network for Documentation in Education (Reduc) and researcher at the Center for Research and Development of Education
Dr. Fred Mednick began his career as a teacher and school principal. In 2000, he founded Teachers Without Borders (TWB) to connect teacher leaders to information and each other to close the education divide. “Brains are evenly distributed throughout the world,” he is fond of saying, “but education is not.” Teachers Without Borders champions teachers as critically-important and truly sustainable change agents. Today, the Teachers Without Borders membership of teacher leaders spans 171 countries. TWB offers a suite of free teacher development courses, workshops, resources and initiatives in a range of topics such as teacher preparation, girls’ education, peace and human rights, and education in emergencies, all of which are aligned with global competencies and the Sustainable Development Goals. Teachers Without Borders has been awarded the Champion of African Education Award, the 2018 Luxembourg Peace Prize, and the 2018 Ahmadiyya Muslim Prize for Peace. Dr. Mednick is also a professor in Education Sciences at the Free University of Brussels. His book, “I Want to Meet the King of America: Stories of Remarkable Teachers” includes first-hand accounts of teachers as community change agents and essays celebrating Teachers Without Borders’s two-plus decades.
Gail Davvis-Carter is an UN ECOSOC Representative, UN Partner and Social Entrepreneur. In the past, Gail has owned companies in Europe and US simultaneously. During the first livestreamed event for the UNDP, Quincy Jones and NetAid to eradicate Poverty in 1998, Gail created TheCreators2030 UN SDGs Arts & Youth Initiative (TheCreators2030.Org) to support Creative Professionals, Youth, Sports, NGOs, Private Sector and all citizens by collaborating with their respective countries for an overall quality of life. She later created the ListenGive Initiative in 2012 to provide solutions for global issues utlizing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Education and Stakeholdership.
UK
Girish joined STiR as its Chief Executive in January 2021 after five years as Chief Executive at ActionAid UK. He brings more than 35 years’ experience as a leader in the international development sector, having previously held roles as International Programmes Director and Deputy CEO at WaterAid UK, where he was responsible for programmes across 22 countries in South Asia and sub Saharan Africa. Girish was born and brought up in India, and started his career with the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme. He has also worked at ActionAid, Plan International and DFID in India. Since moving to London in 2005, he has also served on the boards of various not-for-profit organisations. He is currently on the board of Hope and Homes for Children, UK and Plan International UK.
Certified Trainer in System Thinking, Mapping and Leadership at IM STENSETH.
Interdisciplinary Curator – creative entrepreneurs for a sustainable future. Inge Mette Stenseth is both founder and galvanizing force behind ground-breaking deep ecology projects that bring together specialists in business, the arts, science, and education from around the globe. Dedicated to positive interaction with the natural environment and cultural preservation, her work has included: Augural Youth conference at the Library of Alexandria, Egypt, co-founding 360hub Global (Sweden, 2001) co-founding of World Climate School (Norway, 2020), with India, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Pakistan. Inger-Mette is part of the Art across boarders ImaginAction Network, initiating partner of the Nordic Think Academy, she is on the board of Norwegian Climate Network, Climatfestival §112, and Project Manager for the network for different youth projects funded by Erasmus Plus, Europe: www.c6world.eu Inger-Mette Stenseth is a trained facilitator in System Thinking and brings forward creativity as a meta-skill in bringing forward transformative and systemic change. Based on her fashion enterprise in Norway, circular economy and sustainable fashion is her strategic profile. She is dedicated to lifelong learning, and has been part of the global network of the Society for Organizational Learning since 1999. She lives in the city of Molde, Norway – in the northwestern part of Norway – and facilitates online to all corners of the world. The situation of Covid19 has accelerated international projects and the rethink of the rethink: - how on earth can we get our children and youth back to school and accelerate basic literacy to the hours lost in the lockdown? How can we join forces together?
Director of Program Development USA.
Born in Chicago, Joanne has always been an adventurer. She has lived and worked in France, Pakistan, Egypt, and Qatar. Joanne is fluent in French and can get by in Arabic. She has worked in many fields including education, radio, tv and even brain training. Today she continues her adventures into the world of literacy. She is passionate about her work as Director of Program Development at Literacy Chicago where she can pull together all the skills she has learned over the years, in order to innovate and create exciting programs for students. Joanne also manages the Volunteer Tutor program at Literacy Chicago and has a team of over 150 enthusiastic volunteers working with students.
Author USA
Jon Corippo describes himself as a “formerly disgruntled student.” He made it almost all the way through school with a 2.9 GPA. His final three semesters in Advertising changed everything, though: Advertising classes were project-based. Jon’s grades shot to nearly 4.0. 20 years later, Jon had served a decade at the K-8 level, opened a 1-1, PBL, Google-based high school, served in two county offices, including as an Assistant Superintendent and IT Director. Jon has been recognized as a County Teacher of the Year, a 20 to Watch Educator by the NSBA, and was Top 100 Influencer in the 2019 EdTech Digest Awards and a 2020 Edtech Digest Awards Trendsetter Winner. Jon also holds the Apple Distinguished Educator, Google Certified Innovator, and Microsoft Innovative Educator badges. Jon served as the Chief Learning Officer for CUE for over half a decade, leading the training of over 60,000 educators in the last 5 years. Jon is also the Co-Author of the Eduprotocol Field Guide Books 1 and 2 and assisted with the new Eduprotocols Math Edition. The Eduprotocol Field Guide series helps teachers to be far more effective (how about a 4x academic boost?) and work less (how about being done 6 weeks earlier than normal?). Eduprotocols are free, shareable, and work in nearly ANY grade level or subject so they are super portable. Jon lives in Coarsegold, California, near Yosemite, with his wife (a very successful educator and administrator), three children, and a random number of free-range chickens.
CEO & Co-founder USA
Recipient of the 2014 Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community Born in Zanesville, Ohio, Zimmer attended the University of Iowa and graduated from George Washington University Law School. She worked as a corporate attorney for several years in Washington, DC while also volunteering as a tutor for Martha’s Table, a multi-service community organization for the District’s families in need. Realizing that the children she was working with had no books to call their own spurred Zimmer to take action and in 1992, Zimmer founded First Book. To provide quality books to underserved children, Zimmer developed two groundbreaking models of social entrepreneurship: the First Book Marketplace, an award-winning, self-sustaining program that purchases new books from publishers and makes them available to educators and program leaders at affordable prices, and the First Book National Book Bank, which serves as the nation’s largest clearinghouse for new books donated by publishers. In addition, First Book’s market-driven Stories for All Project is serving as a catalyst to increase diversity in children’s books, so that all children can see themselves in books. With Zimmer at the helm, First Book distributes millions of new books and educational resources every year to children from low-income families through a growing network of schools, programs, churches, and institutions across the United States, as well as in as well as in Canada, Peru, Haiti, Jamaica, India and other countries. A passionate advocate for social entrepreneurship, educational equity, and the importance of literacy to further economic competitiveness and global understanding, Zimmer has participated in some of the world’s most prestigious economic forums. In 2013, Zimmer was a presenter at the University of Oxford’s “Power Shift: Forum for Women in the World Economy” at the Saïd Business School at Oxford. Zimmer and First Book were also featured at the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative. Zimmer was also a presenter and blogger at the World Economic Forum in Beijing in 2012, served as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Social Entrepreneurship, and was featured as a presenter at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2010. Zimmer has won numerous awards and honors, including the Carle Honors Angel Award in 2009, the first ever American Marketing Association Nonprofit Marketer of the Year in 2008, and the Outstanding Social Entrepreneur of the Year in the United States in 2007 from the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Ashoka, which works to ensure that social entrepreneurs and their innovations continue to inspire a new generation of local change-makers. She also serves on the Youth Venture Board of Directors and as a member of the board for James Patterson’s ReadKiddoRead.
Founder and Practitioner USA
Mary McCool Berry is a literacy specialist who worked with children as a public school educator for over three decades in the United States.
Mary is also a grants writer; she wrote several grants, which resulted in awards totaling thousands of dollars. The grant monies provided materials for children during her teaching career. Mary’s grant awards involved science, math, reading, writing, speaking, and history. Mary’s organization, ‘Schools with Soul,’ promotes active learning to build students’ background knowledge.
Ms. McCool Berry passionately believes schools and organizations must provide experiences for children to use their imagination and ingenuity through project-based or problem-based learning.
In 2019, Ms. McCool Berry retired from teaching to devote time to educating the public about the importance of ‘Literacy for All.’
Ms. McCool Berry traveled to the island nation of Saint Lucia as a volunteer and taught teachers and students using the Wilson Reading System in early 2020.
Recently, Ms. McCool Berry co-wrote a literacy grant to the United States Libary of Congress for Wilson Reading materials for the island of Saint Lucia. A decision is currently pending for this grant.
Mary appeared on the Thinklum.com podcast in February 2021 in a talk titled, “Parents Do Not Know What is Available to Teach Their Kids Reading.”
Mary currently teaches students of all ages across the United States to assist those who struggle with literacy.
Mary works very closely with parents to educate them about literacy in American schools.
Soon, Mary will have a website, ‘Readingkeys.com’ to assist parents in navigating the maze of literacy instruction.
Achieving literacy for all people across the planet is the work to which Mary McCool Berry is now dedicating her time and skill.
He is currently the Education Technology Director for ScaleLIT.
Michael Matos: He is currently the Education Technology Director for ScaleLIT (formerly Chicago Citywide Literacy Coalition) managing the Illinois Digital Literacy Lab, The Chicago Connected digital literacy team, and more. He is currently on the IACEA Board – The Voice of Adult Education in Illinois (Region 1 Director) and the COABE Board (Region 3 Representative for 8 States in the Midwest and Technology Chair). Past positions include: Senior Director of Adult Education, Employment and Training Programs managing the adult education and ESL programs, Computer Technology Center Director and Instructor, and an ESL/ABE/ASE tutor trainer in math, writing and lesson planning. He has been an instructor teaching ESL/ELL, ABE, and ASE for over 20 years and was a high school teacher for 10 years before that. He is a certified ABE/ASE Adult Education Standards Specialist in Mathematics and certified English as a Second Language Standards Proficient Instructor. He has been presenting at conferences nationally since 2007. He has presented on LINCS, ProLiteracy Conferences, and for 12 years at COABE’s national conferences. His activity ideas for teaching math, financial literacy, job readiness, science, technology and social studies for ESL/ELL, ABE and ASE are in use by many instructors and administrators throughout the U.S. He has shared my ideas with thousands of instructors throughout the country.
Director
Anand is a media and communications professional having worked for over 20 years in large media houses, academics and corporate sector. In 2010, he founded GreyMatters Communications & Consulting, offering advisory services in Public Relations, Public Af fairs, Political Communications, CSR, Social Media, Advocacy and host of related areas. He is a commentator, blogger and columnist and writes on a range of media, social, political and economic issues. His weekly column, published every week between 2016 - February 2019 in national daily The Pioneer, was very popular. He has been associat ed as consultant and trainer with government & police agencies including UP Govern ment, Assam Government, Bihar Government, Meghalaya Government, Indian Police Service (Central) Association, Rajasthan Police, UP Police, Border Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, Ministry of Tribal Affairs etc. He has also consulted major politi cal parties including BJP, Indian National Congress, JD (U) on on media and social me dia management.
Anand has consulted agencies including the World Bank, International Labour Organization and Unicef. Previously, Anand worked as General Manager, Corporate Affairs & Communications at Reliance Industries Limited, New Delhi. Prior to that, Anand worked extensively in journalism including The Indian Express (1996-99), The Times of India (2004-2006) and The Pioneer (2006-07). He had a stint at tech mag azine PC World (1999-2000) as editor as well. Anand blends vast professional experi ence with high-end academic and research training. A doctorate in Sociology of Me dia from prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University, Anand has authored two books including The Media Effect (2003, Spectrum) and made over 50 contributions by way of chapters, academic papers for national and international journals on com munication, book reviews and seminar presentations.
Anand has been a visiting faculty teaching media policy, journalism, marketing & strategic communication, CSR communications, and public relations at many presti gious institutions including Indian Institute of Mass Communications, IIM Lucknow, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Amity School of Communication, Asia Pacific Institute of Management, Lady Shri Ram College, MDI Gurgaon. He has also set undergradu ate and postgraduate examination papers for Delhi University and Indraprastha University.
A graduate in Economics from DU’s Hindu College, Anand has written on a variety of subjects including health, education, automobile, information technology, urbaniza tion, new-economy trends in his journalism career. Anand is a keen blogger and con tributes to various newspapers as well. He is a Member of International Centre of Goa, Press Club of India. He is also Founder, President, Forum for Indian Journalists on Education, Environment, Health & Agriculture (Fijeeha), a development communica tion forum and a pan-India & South Asia network of journalists (www.fijeeha.in)
Participated as a panelist in live television shows, Public Forum at Lok Sabha Television on top ics like Poverty & Inequality, TV Soap and Impact on Society, Direct To Home & Conditional Access System (CAS); Times Now on Consumers Issue; Digital Divide and Developing Nations at IIMC to communication professionals from SAARC countries; Media, Community and Change at Lady Irwin College to students of Michigan State University attached to Department of Commu nity Resource Management and Extension; Training on Why, How and What of Communication in Development Sector for a team of development graduates (XISS, Bhubaneshwar, TISS, Mumbai) for SEWA India. Workshop with PR managers of PSUs on The Making of A Publicity Campaign as part of 2-day session on Effective PR & Media Strategies organised by MDI, Gurgaon. Served as reviewer to online journal New Media & Society of University of Illinois, USA; Chapter Modi Magic Unfolds in Making of New India: Transformation Under Modi Government, Edited by Bibek Debroy, Anirban Ganguly, Kishore Desai, Wisdom Tree, New Delhi. 2018; Chapter JP & Gandhi: Press as Partners in Quest for Participatory Democracy, Rawat Publications, Jaipur, India, 2010; Paper Grim future for Indian tabloid in Vidura, a journal of Press Institute of India. Vol 44, Is sue 3, July – Sep 2007. Paper Internet & political communication in Communication Today, Vol 10, No 2, April – June 2007, Jaipur India. Chapter What makes news in book Making News, Ox ford University Press, 2006; Old Age Pension in India: Scope for Expansion, a World Bank spon sored research paper for Chronic Poverty Group, UK, 2006; Book review of The Wired Home stead, An MIT Press Sourcebook on the Internet and the Family (Ed. By Joseph Turow and An drea L. Kavanaugh), The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2003 in the International Jour nal of Mass Media, University of St Gallen, Switzerland: IJMM 6 (3&4) Pp247-250, December 2004.
Professor of Economics France
Nicolas Gravel was born on April 21 1964 in Accra (Ghana) as a Canadian citizen. He obtained a Bachelor degree in Political Science and economics at the University of Montreal in 1986, a Master degree in economics at the same university in 1989 and a Ph. D. in economics at University of British Columbia in 1993. He has been research fellow at the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium), professor of economics at university of Sherbrooke (Canada), Maître de conférences at the Université de Cergy Pontoise (France) and, after being ranked 4th at the national French Agrégation exam, became professor of economics first at university Paul Valéry (Montpellier III) and then at Aix-Marseille University (after October 2002). From September 2004 to 2007, he has been under deputation at the French Ministry of foreign affairs where he worked as a researcher at CSH Delhi. He then got back to Aix-Marseille University from 2007 to 2017 as a professor of economics. Nicolas Gravel’s main field of expertise is public economics, broadly defined as the branch of economics that examines the causes and the consequences of public intervention in the economic sphere. His recent research themes include the measurement of inequalities, poverty, and social mobility, the analysis of processes of human group formation, tax competition, contribution to public good and decision under uncertainty. He has published about fifty research articles on these themes in various journals, including the American Economic Review, Journal of Public Economics, Economic theory, Journal of Economic Theory, and Social Choice and Welfare. He has also co-edited, with Jean-François Laslier, Marc Fleurbaey and Alain Trannoy, the book “Freedom in Economics: New perspectives in normative analysis” (Routledge 1998). Nicolas Gravel has been also actively involved in the management of research. He has been the director of GREQAM from 2012 to 2017, and has served as an expert on many evaluative boards, including the French HCERES, the Belgium FNRS and the Canadian SSHRCC
CEO India
Nixon Joseph comes to CLT India after a distinguished career in the banking and non-profit sectors. Most recently, Mr. Nixon served as President & Chief Operating Officer of SBI Foundation-the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) unit of State Bank of India & Deputy General Manager of SBI. Prior to that he served as Manager (Operations)-SBI Bahrain and Chief Executive Officer-SBI Tokyo branch. As a career banker, he has extensive experience in various facets of banking and has worked all across India. He is a Certified Credit Professional, Certified Banking Compliance Professional and Certified Information Systems Banker. As President of SBI Foundation, Nixon has supported strong impact projects to help the underprivileged and needy. A post-graduate in English Language and Literature, he joined State Bank of India in 1985 as probationary officer.
Nixon has completed with distinction the “Social Intrapreneurship” course of Ashoka Changemakers. He is the recipient of the Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam award 2018 for excellence in public service and Dr Kalam Memorial Ignited Minds award. His name figures in the “Be the Inspiration” Book released by Rotary Club, Mumbai where 45 inspiring Indians were listed. He was recently recognized as a “Covid Warrior” by the Governor of Maharashtra for spearheading covid relief activities as well as an “Aspire Circle Fellow.” In addition to his extensive philanthropic activities, Nixon is an accomplished and celebrated marathon runner, having completed 51 full marathons
UK education system for 25 years.
As Global Programmes Director, Peter works closely with our teams in Cambodia, Myanmar and Nepal to deliver a high-quality, inclusive education to all of the children UWS supports. He is also responsible for overseeing the growth of our three programmes and for introducing programmes into new countries. Peter joined UWS in April 2019. He had initially studied for a Degree and Masters in International Development and worked and travelled in India and Latin America as well as working as an actor, director and writer. He then became a teacher and worked in the UK education system for 25 years. After seven years as Headteacher of an inner-London secondary school, Peter established himself as a leadership specialist, coach and trainer. He worked for a range of schools across the primary, secondary and specialist sectors, as well as for leading national organisations such as the Association of School and College Leaders, Ambition School Leadership, the Cooperative College and Oxfam Education.
Peter Kwasi Kodjie is currently the Secretary-General of the All-Africa Students Union (AASU), where he previously served as the Head of Research and Communications. He is one of the youngest persons to ever serve on the Board of the Ghana AIDS Commission, the Vice Chancellor’s Endowment Fund Committee at the University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA), Technical Committees at the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Peter represented the students of Africa on the Tuning Africa Project Advisory Group (TAPAG) Phase II, and currently an advisory board member of the Harmonization of African Higher Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation (HAQAA) Initiative, and the Africa Continental Qualifications Framework (ACQF) - joint European Union-African Union projects on the harmonization of the Higher Education ecosystem in Africa. Peter has extensive experience in students and youth leadership, ranging from high school to the tertiary level, where he was elected as President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS). In the past, Peter has worked in several volunteer roles with leading advocacy civil society organizations like the Consumer Advocacy Centre (CAC), African Youth Network (AYN) and Transformed Youth Initiative (TYI) to initiate key talking points and advancing the conversation for an empowered youth in Africa. Together with other youth leaders, Peter is a founding Trustee on the 100 Million Campaign (founded by the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Kailash Satyarthi). Peter is also a founding member of the Global Student Forum (GSF), and he serves on the Governing Council of the Magna Charta Observatory (MCO) as the global student representative. Peter has a strong passion for leadership, youth empowerment, and human rights. Expertise: Defending Students’ Rights and Children’s Rights, Quality Assurance in Higher Education Institutions, Advocate for student-centred Learning, Regional Integration, International Relations and Diplomacy, Women’s Rights Advocate, Youth in Governance and Leadership.
Associate Director, Programs and Partnerships.
Pradeep has been working in the Indian development sector for over 18 years, managing education, protection and humanitarian programs with grassroots, national and international NGOs both in rural and urban settings. With Room to Read since January 2015, he managed operations in various states and specifically led a Scaling up Early Reading Intervention (SERI) program across the state of Uttarakhand.
Pradeep holds a Masters in Education & Political Science and a Masters in Philosophy in Education from the University of Delhi. He lives in Delhi with his wife, daughter, and son.
Reading is one of Pradeep’s passions alongside traveling, movies and sports. He loves Urdu Shayari (a genre of poetry) and can recite Urdu and Hindi poems for hours. He is currently reading ‘The Idea of India’ by Sunil Khilnani. This book explores the journey of India and its evolution since its independence in 1947
President USA
Rana Dajani Ph.D. molecular cell biology from U of Iowa, currently Cmalakova Fellow at the Jepson school of Leadership at the University of Richmond, Harvard Radcliff fellow, a Fulbrighter, Fulbright Foreign Student Program, Jordan to the United States, 2000; Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program, Jordan to the United States, 2012. Eisenhower fellow, Professor, former center of studies director, Hashemite University, Jordan, Yale and Cambridge visiting professor. World expert on genetics of Circassian and Chechan populations in Jordan. Established stem cell research ethics law in Jordan. Advocate for biological evolution and Islam, speaker at McGill University and MIT. Jordan team leader in studying refugee youth with Yale University and the epigenetics of trauma across generations. Higher education reform expert, member UN women Jordan advisory council. Writer in Science and Nature, Established a women mentor network, received Partnerships for enhanced engagement in research (PEER) award 2014. Organized the first gender summit for the Arab world 2017. Most influential women scientists in Islamic World, 12 among100 most influential Arab women 2015, women in science hall of fame 2015, King Hussein Cancer Institute for cancer and biotechnology award 2009 and 2016 Global Changemaker Award for celebrating 70 years of the Fulbright Programm. President of the Society for the Advancement of Science, Technology and Innovation in the Arab World. women of influence in the Arab World 2021 Arabian Business magazine’s list
Awarded the Jordan star of science by His Majesty King Abdullah II, University of Iowa, College of medicine, distinguished alumni Award 2018, Higher Education Reform Expert EU-TEMPUS, Jordan, founder service learning center, Hashemite University, speaker at TEDxDeadsea and TEDxPSUT, World Islamic Economic Forum 2012 and World Science Forum 2015 and 2017.
Developed a community-based model “We love reading” Changing mindsets through reading to create changemakers, received Synergos Arab world social innovators 2009, Clinton Global Initiative 2010, Library of Congress best practices 2013, World Innovation Summit in Education Award 2014, King Hussein Medal of Honor 2014, Star Award 2015, IDEO.org best refugee education program 2015, UNESCO International Literacy Prize 2017, World Literacy Council Award 2018 and the Jacobs social entrepreneurship award 2018, Science, Technology and Innovation Award UN 2019, Ashoka Fellow 2019, UNHCR Nansen Refugee awardee 2020.
Author of the book: Five scarves, Doing the impossible: If we can reverse cell fate why cant we redefine success, Nova Publisher 2018. Reviewed by Nature
Founder and President India
Ravi is the Founder of Indian School of Development Management. He worked for 24 years in the corporate sector, most of which was at HSBC where he was the Regional Marketing Head for Middle East and Africa, Head of Consumer Products for Asia Pacific, Consumer Banking Head of Indonesia, CEO and President Director of Bank Ekonomi (a local bank in Indonesia that was acquired by HSBC). He quit his corporate career and switched to the social sector in 2011, joining Azim Premji Foundation where he was the Head of Education Leadership & Management. Ravi has an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and a B. Tech. from IIT-BHU.
Rebecca Doreen Zvomarima from Harare, Zimbabwe. I'm an accountant but currently a teacher and School Director. I am involved in climate change education through the World Climate School and the African coordinator. I'm also the founding director of Vadiwa Trust Organization that assists the elderly
Director of Partnerships. USA
Richard W. Allen, Ed.S., is a recently retired public school Principal and Central Office Administrator. Serving learners, teachers, educators, and parents for more than 34 years, Richard finished his career by leading the first early college high school in NJ. Currently serving as the Director of Partnership with VOYCE, an international language interpretation service provider, Richard remains active in the Education arena as an adjunct professor at Monmouth University and Brookdale Community College in their graduate and undergraduate Education programs. Additionally, he facilitates the New Jersey Alternate Route Teacher Certification program at Brookdale Community College for the NJ Department of Education (NJDOE). He served as an active member of the Educational Leadership Cadre for the NJDOE and the NJDOE Novice Principal’s Mentoring Program. Richard is the co-founder and co-facilitator of the New Jersey Autism Think Tank.
Richard serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Voyagers’ Community School (VCS). VCS is a private, PK-12 progressive school focused on problem-based, project-based, and problem-based learning. He also serves a consultant for Brookdale Community College and several private schools in NJ. A frequent speaker at professional conferences, Richard’s work is also featured in several books focused on disrupting the status quo in education; including Eric Sheninger’s book, Uncommon Learning: Schools That Work for Kids.
As the co-founder and creative director for DisruptEd TV and DisruptED Today, Richard has worked with many of the top educators and influencers in Education world-wide. His collaboration with Ted Dintersmith, Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Rick Wormeli, Pam Moran, Eric Sheninger, Don Wettrick, and many others has helped shape his view of schools as a collaborative innovation space with a mission to foster imagination and create problem-solving incubator spaces for real-world problem-solving. These learning arenas should prepare the learner for the challenges of today’s 21st Century world while setting the groundwork for the 22 nd Century.
Director Turkey
Robert Thorn is an international educator and former principal with more than thirty years’ experience in various educational systems and cultural settings. He is a proponent of learner-development-centred approaches to education and is the Founding Director of Developing Real Learners – a non-profit organization intent on helping schools develop learning communities that will, ‘through their own cultural perspectives, foster an approach to education that develops the holistic learner, leading to wise action and all within the current systems young people find themselves in.’ Robert’s message is one of communities transforming themselves and their approach to education through accessible and straightforward processes that rely on our common humanity and their own cultural perspectives.
Samuel is the Programmes Officer for Tertiary Education at the All-Africa Students Union.
Samuel is the Programmes Officer for Tertiary Education at the All-Africa Students Union. He leads the Education and Students Rights Working Group at AASU. Samuel is AASU’s primary contact to the UNESCO COVID-19 Global Education Coalition as well as the focal person for the Union at the Education Cannot Wait’s Youth Subgroup. Samuel served, as a student leader at his university, the national, and now at the continental level. Samuel is a strong advocate for equal access to opportunities, including employment and education. He also leads the All-Africa Student Union’s efforts on child rights programmes and campaigns.
Manager, Philanthropic Advisory. India
Driven with the strong belief that everyone deserves equal opportunities regardless of their background, Shrutika left her corporate job in search for something more meaningful. Her journey began in 2009 as a teacher in a low-income school where she worked closely with the community for two years and witnessed the stark realities of inequity; reinforcing that her shift to the sector was, indeed, the right choice.
Over the years, Shrutika has worked directly with beneficiaries, set up operations for NGOs like Teach for India, liaised with the government and other stakeholders to drive impact. Shrutika was also instrumental in the launch of the India School Leadership Institute - the first school leadership training program in Mumbai. It is through her work that Shrutika hopes to play a small role in changing the status quo. At Dasra, Shrutika is a part of the capacity building team, working on the Adolescents Collaborative and supporting organizations in their journey to impact. In her free time, Shrutika takes a deep interest in Indian Mythology and actively supports many social causes.
Shrutika is the recipient of the prestigious Li Ka Shing scholarship at the National University of Singapore (NUS) where she pursued her Master’s in Public Administration. She worked on multiple social projects and won the Global Public Policy Network competition for her idea in driving the Sustainable Development Goal of responsible consumption.
Professor South Africa
Sigamoney Naicker PhD (University of Western Cape) is extra-ordinary Professor at the University of Western Cape in Cape Town.
Sigamoney was also a National Commissioner on the Committee for Education Support Services appointed by the then President, Nelson Mandela to investigate the state of Special Education during South Africa’s transition to a democracy. He is currently Chief Director of Inclusive Education in the Western Cape Education Department. Dr Sigamoney is greatly respected educationist figure in South Africa and worldwide. Sigamoney is a writer and speaker and his latest book is titled Inclusive Education in South Africa and the Developing World: The Search for an Inclusive Pedagogy. Dr Sigamoney worked previously in the National Department of Education in Pretoria, South Africa as National Director of Inclusive Education. He has assisted in the write up and release of Education White Paper 6 on Special Needs Education: Building an Inclusive Education System in South Africa. He is an important asset in the worldwide education arena. Dr S Naicker believes if we are not good listener the we are total failures in our professional & professional lives. Listening is for happiness, progress and peace .
Sig has more then 20 years experience working with start-up initiatives and early stage companies in China. He now focuses mainly on companies in the EdTech sector. Sig is the founder of the Children reading platform Pickatale, aiming to disrupt the way kids learn to read and provide high quality reading material to children around the globe. He served as managing partner in Origo Partners, supporting their startup initiatives. As a Partner of Ascend Ventures, he co-founded and invested in several Chinese companies, covering mobile and online services, furniture and hospitality sectors. Previously, Sig founded and served as the Chief Operating Officer of Mezzme Ltd, China's first and leading wireless service provider focusing on the media sector. Sig earned a Diploma in Hospitality Management from the Swiss School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SSH) and holds a MBA from the University of New South Wales.
President USA
Prior to his career in education, Dr. Stephen Peters received a full scholarship and was a basketball star at Hampton University. Peters was inducted into the Colleton County Basketball Hall of Fame in January 2016 and continues to follow sports faithfully. Upon his graduation from Hampton, he went into teaching, and after demonstrating an ability to transform the classroom and school environment into one of success and achievement in even the most challenging circumstances, he rose up to become one of the most respected educators and school turnaround experts in the U.S. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion are at the forefront of his vast experiences in education and the non-profit world. Most of his experiences include working in underserved communities and providing opportunities for access and equity.
Stephen has been a classroom teacher, assistant principal, principal, director of secondary education, and superintendent of schools. He has served on panels as an education expert with former U.S. Secretary of Education, Dr. Rod Paige in Washington, D.C. He is also the author of several award winning and best-selling books including Do You Know Enough about Me to Teach Me and Teaching to Capture and Inspire all Learners. Peters is the former Superintendent of Laurens County School District 55 (LCSD 55), Laurens SC. The county is an underrepresented community. During his four-year tenure as Superintendent, college scholarship funds received by graduating seniors increased by more than $14 million. LCSD 55 was named a 2018 National School District of Distinction under the leadership of Peters, an honor awarded to school districts that are exemplary models of how schools and school systems work. More recently the high school has been named the 2019 “National Tomorrow’s Tech School of the Year” by Tomorrow’s Tech Magazine.
Currently, Stephen is the CEO and president of the Peters Group, an education consulting company that is dedicated to creating and sustaining success in schools and districts by supporting educators. Key areas include: leadership, social justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. He is also founder of a national mentoring program that builds soft skills, STEM, literacy and leadership skills. The Gentleman’s and Ladies Club, which cultivates success in at-risk students through mentoring and self-empowerment, has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show as well as America, America. Peters was featured in the BBC documentary, “An American High School” in 2016. “An American High School” was just named “Best Documentary of 2016” in London and began airing on the National Geographic channel in the U.S. in October 2017. Dr. Peters is an advocate for literacy and also serves as the President of the Board of Directors for the International Literacy Association.
President India
Dr. Swati Popat Vats, President of Podar Education Network, is a global educator with over 32 years of experience and holds many important positions in the field of early childhood education. She is the President of the Early Childhood Association of India, the national representative, and a member of the planning committee of the World Forum Foundation and a member of the global Think Tank of Kidzania.She helped set up the Euro Kids chain and was the expert behind TATASky’s Actve Whiz kids channel. She recently set up the world’s first video based parenting website ‘Born Smart’ which helps parents understand the importance of brain development in the first 1000 days (birth to 3 years). Dr. Swati has authored several books for parents, teachers and children and regularly blogs, tweets about childhood, parenting and child rights.
Co-Founder and president. Brazil
Sylvia Guimarães is an educator, co-founder and president at Vaga Lume (www.vagalume.org.br/en/) and Director of Community Engagement at Avenues – The World School São Paulo Campus. Nonprofit organisation Vaga Lume promotes education and culture in rural communities in the Brazilian Amazon region, where it has established 82 community libraries in 20 municipalities. It has trained over 4,000 volunteers in early literacy and read aloud programs. Vaga Lume has a staff of 15 people and an active network of 600 volunteers in the Amazon, mostly young people. Sylvia is directly responsible for developing the libraries program and additional ones, such as an Intercultural Dialogue Network with teenagers from São Paulo and a Handmade Books Publishing Program, to value oral history in the Amazon.
Sylvia is a social entrepreneur acknowledged by the BMW Responsible Leaders, United Nations Intercultural Leaders and Vital Voices Global Partnerships. Sylvia has a strong commitment to the children in general.
Sylvia joined Avenues team to build bridges between K12 private schools & the social sector aiming to create a culture of social entrepreneurship at the upper classes as well. At Avenues Sylvia supports student work, parent engagement, volunteers programs and builds a network of community partners for the school.
HCL Foundation.
Colombia
Laureate of the first edition of the Yidan Prize for Education Development (2017) and 2013 WISE Prize for Education Laureate, Vicky Colbert is founder and director of Fundación Escuela Nueva. Colbert is a Sociologist from Javeriana University in Colombia and pursued her graduate studies in Sociology of Education and Comparative International Education at Stanford University in the United States. In 2015, the American University of Nigeria distinguished her with an Honoris Causa Doctorate in Philosophy. She is co-author of the worldwide renowned Escuela Nueva model. Colbert has pioneered, expanded and sustained this educational innovation from many organizational spheres: as Escuela Nueva first National Coordinator in the Ministry of Education, Director of Open University in Javeriana University, Viceminister of Education of Colombia, UNICEF´s Education Adviser for LAC – Latin America & Caribbean Region and now from Fundación Escuela Nueva (FEN), an NGO she founded to ensure the quality, sustainability and innovation of Escuela Nueva. She has been recognized with several awards and distinctions in the fields of leadership and social entrepreneurship, such as the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, the Clinton Global Citizenship Award and the Kravis Leadership Prize. She has also been recognized as Outstanding Social Entrepreneur by the Schwab Foundation from the World Economic Forum, Ashoka and the World Technology Network.
HCL Foundation India
Yogesh Kumar is an Indian Administrative Services officer. He is presently the Additional Commissioner of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in Uttar Pradesh, India. Previously, he was posted as the District Magistrate of Banda and Amethi districts. His areas of interest include education, employment, skill development, social security and natural resources management. He has completed his M.A and M.Phil from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
Additional Commissioner, MGNREGA India
Yogesh Kumar is an Indian Administrative Services officer. He is presently the Additional Commissioner of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in Uttar Pradesh, India. Previously, he was posted as the District Magistrate of Banda and Amethi districts. His areas of interest include education, employment, skill development, social security and natural resources management. He has completed his M.A and M.Phil from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.