With over 15 years of driving impact in global education, I specialize in leveraging technology to transform learning outcomes in underserved communities. Starting my career as a teacher, I combined my expertise in computer engineering and statistics to lead large-scale education programs across South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa.

 

I have designed and scaled edtech solutions that enhance teaching and learning in low-resource settings, collaborating with governments, global organizations, and leading philanthropies to implement sustainable, high-impact initiatives. My focus is on using innovative technologies to address the most pressing challenges in education and bridge equity gaps for learners worldwide.

Joshua Elder is the Vice President & Head of Grantmaking at Siegel Family Endowment, which explores the impact of technology on society across learning, infrastructure, and workforce. Joshua oversees strategic investments and partnerships across each of SFE’s portfolio areas. Prior to SFE, Joshua was Director of Strategic Initiatives at CSforALL, one of SFE’s partner organizations, where he led strategic efforts to help build the capacity of school districts and other education agencies to provide computer science education to all students. Prior to that, Joshua spent 10+ years in domestic and international education with a focus on science education, instructional leadership, and pedagogy. Joshua is a co-founder of a network of low-cost private schools operating in South Africa and Kenya. Joshua has a Master’s in Public Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, an M.Ed. from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a BS from Longwood University.

Corina Gardner joined IDPF in 2020, and as CEO, she’s responsible for expanding the Foundation’s work funding partner organizations, who strengthen and advocate for the affordable non-state education sector.

 

Before IDPF, her career focused on international development, specializing in global health, technology, and gender across Africa, India and the Caucasus. She served as Director of Global Strategy for the Nike Foundation’s Girl Effect, which built youth brands and mobile research tools to empower girls. Here, she guided offices in Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, and Rwanda, and facilitated strategic partnerships with multinationals and non-profits like Unilever and UNICEF.

 

Corina brings a wealth of experience from her work on global health within numerous government agencies, including USAID and the U.S. Department of State, where she acted as liaison to the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

 

She’s been a guest lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, Royal Holloway University of London, London School of Economics, and University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School.

 

With an undergraduate degree from the University of California Berkeley, Corina received her MBA from the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School (class of 2009). She’s based in London, UK.

Kumar has helped to shape the science and tech landscape for almost two decades. Working with Eric Schmidt, he helped design and launch moonshot initiatives in education, provided early support to game-changing ideas and pioneers, and built ongoing multi-donor and multi-sector collaboratives.

 

Prior to that, he helped set budget and policy priorities for the Obama Administration as part of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and drove progress on topics ranging from education and workforce issues, biotechnology, entrepreneurship, space, advanced manufacturing, broadband, nanotechnology, behavioral sciences, digital media, incentive prizes, and broader innovation policy.

 

In particular, he led the Obama Administration’s efforts to bolster science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, including development of major budget and policy initiatives in the State of the Union to train 100,000 excellent STEM teachers and bring computer science to all K-12 students, development of the Educate to Innovate campaign with over $1 billion in in-kind and philanthropic investment, and creation of iconic events such as the White House Science Fair.

 

Prior to his time in government, Kumar worked on behalf of parents and children seeking educational reform as an education lawyer and advocate. Kumar received a B.A. from Dartmouth College and a law degree from Yale Law School.

Heather Graham is Program Director at the Oak Foundation for its Learning Differences Program. Oak Foundation commits its resources to address issues of global, social and environmental concern. The Learning Differences Program is committed to building a world in which schools unlock the creativity and power of every young person and equip them to shape more just and equitable communities. The program partners with not-for-profit organizations that improve education for all students, particularly those who are furthest from opportunity. Previously, Heather served as a Principal with Education First and a Program Officer with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

 

In those roles she provided strategic and business planning, operations and governance support to education non-profits and developed coalitions with national, regional and global foundations, non-profits and government. Prior to joining the Gates Foundation, Heather served as a Vice President with Teach For America, a White House Fellow with the United States government and a Program Associate with the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Heather spent a year in Chengdu, China as a Henry Luce Scholar and she began her career as a middle school teacher in the South Bronx with Teach For America. Heather earned her master’s degree in Public Affairs from Princeton University and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She currently lives in Durham, North Carolina.

Todd Grindal, is Co-Director of the SRI Center for Learning and Development where he oversees a portfolio of education-focused research and technical assistance projects. His own work examines how policies and programs shape the development of young children and children with disabilities. Grindal has led multiple federally funded research projects including work for the Institute for Education Sciences, Administration for Children and Families, and the Department of Education.

 

Grindal has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, regularly presents his work at scholarly conferences, and has been an invited speaker at the United Nations. His work has received awards from the American Educational Research Association and the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness. Grindal lecturers at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where he helps to prepare future educators to support students with disabilities in schools. Before beginning his doctoral studies, Grindal worked for six years as an elementary and preschool teacher and school administrator.

Libby Hills is a Senior Advisor at the Jacobs Foundation. She co-leads a global education technology investment portfolio at the Jacobs Foundation. Libby is interested in the intersection of technology, research, and practice in education. She has published academic research on edtech and AI in leading journals and conferences and runs a podcast about applications of AI to education called Ed-Technical. Libby has been working in education for over 15 years. This includes experience as a teacher on the Teach First programme in the UK, Chief Technical Officer for an award-winning network of low-cost private schools, and on the board of Lively Minds, a fast-growing education charity. Libby holds an MSc Education focused on emerging technologies and AI from the University of Oxford, an MSc in Social Business from the London School of Economics and a BA from King’s College London. She also has two professional teaching qualifications (QTS and AST).

Dan founded and led learning science technologies and academic-research partnerships at Infinite Campus, the education data management system for 8 million K-12 students in 2300 school districts and 7 state departments of education. He co-created Infinite Campus’s machine-learned school dropout early warning system and education research infrastructure. Dan also previously created and sold a personalized college recommender system, which won industry, philanthropic, and U.S. Department of Education awards.

 

Dan holds an M.S. in computer science from the University of Minnesota with a focus on recommender and sociotechnical systems, and an undergraduate degree from Valparaiso University.

Dr Asyia Kazmi, OBE, is the Global Education Policy Lead at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, leading on effective teaching and learning solution, edtech and AI, and our education work in India.

 

Asyia was a mathematics teacher (top 2% value add in England) and teacher coach. In PwC, she led the Girls’ Education Challenge, a $1bn fund set up by the UK to support the education of 1.5 million girls in 17 countries. Asyia has worked in three UK Government departments: senior education adviser in DFID; project director in DfE; and senior Her Majesty’s Inspector in Ofsted. She inspected mathematics and teacher training.

 

Asyia has a MSc in Applied Mathematics (Imperial College London) and a Doctorate in Education (University College London). She also has a PGCE in Leadership development and educational consulting.

 

Asyia was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s 2022 New Year’s Honours list for services to education, particularly girls’ education.

Natalia I. Kucirkova is Professor of Early Childhood Education and Development at the University of Stavanger, Norway and Professor of Reading and Children’s Development at The Open University, UK. Natalia’s work is concerned with social justice in children’s literacy and use of technologies. Her research takes place collaboratively across academia, commercial and third sectors. She advocates for greater Equality, Diversity and Inclusion across academia and society. She is the co-founder and current CEO of the university spin-out WiKIT, AS, which integrates science with the children’s EdTech industry.

Michele is a program officer for the Education Program. The Foundation’s Education Program supports all children in finding their unique path to a life of opportunity and purpose.

 

Before joining the foundation, Michele was the assistant director of the Institute for Education and Social Policy at New York University, where she conducted research on the contextual factors and ecosystem enablers that support educational success. She began her career as an elementary school teacher.

 

Michele holds a B.A. in education and human development from Boston College and an M.A. in education policy from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree.

Pete Lavorini leads the Innovative Schools portfolio at Overdeck Family Foundation, which aims to expand access to tech-enabled, student-centered K-9 learning environments. A former 6th grade teacher, Pete has led district-level initiatives for both the New York City Department of Education and Pittsburgh Public Schools and has helped social impact organizations set and operationalize strategy while with The Bridgespan Group.

Jani is an expert in social value creation, with over 15 years of experience in improving the effectiveness and impact of organizations delivering value for citizens. He has worked for top-tier management consulting companies, such as McKinsey & Company, and for public sector organizations at the local, national and international levels. While employed at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, he worked for three years as a governance advisor for Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and Office of the President. At JBJ Foundation, he oversees the Foundation’s education work in Malawi.

 

Jani’s hometown is Helsinki, Finland, where he has lived in the same neighborhood all his life, except for his years abroad living on four different continents. He holds a Master of Social Sciences degree from Helsinki University.

Bryan Richardson is a Senior Program Officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation where he leads investments for the K-12 Education R&D focused on education technology and increasing the availability of data critical to R&D, analytics, and personalization. Previously, Bryan co-founded UPD Consulting, a management and technology consulting firm focused on organizational reform in K-12 Education across the US. From 2004-2007, Bryan served as the Director of SchoolStat for the Baltimore City Public School System and from 2001-2003 served on the US Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works. Bryan is a native of Oklahoma, received a B.A. in International Studies from Emory University and a Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Mathias Rigbolt is the Strategy Lead at The LEGO Foundation, reporting to the CEO, with responsibility for strategy formulation, implementation, and review across the Foundation’s programmes in children’s learning and well-being. In this capacity he has recently developed The LEGO Foundation’s first digital strategy, which will steer the Foundation’s funding to help realize the transformative potential of digital technologies for children’s learning and well-being. Prior to this role, Mathias was a Senior Strategy Manager in KIRKBI, which is the Kirk Kristiansen family’s holding and investment company, that aspires to a future where all children have the opportunity to learn through play. Mathias spent the first part of his career in ReD Associates – a strategy consultancy based in the social sciences – where he was a manager in ReD’s social impact practice.

Lucas Rocha leads innovation at the Lemann Foundation. His team is responsible for research and experimentation of new technologies and methodologies that can contribute to a more hands-on, active and collaborative education experience. Lucas has advised the federal and local governments on policies around innovation and technology and has founded a movement in Brazil to promote “code to learning”. His background is in computer engineering and he is a fellow of practice at the MIT Media Lab.

Dan Meyer taught high school math to students who didn’t like high school math. He has advocated for better math instruction on CNN, Good Morning America, Everyday With Rachel Ray, and TED.com.

 

After earning his doctorate from Stanford University in math education, Dan joined Desmos to design Desmos Math, a digital math curriculum that emphasizes social connection and mathematical creativity. Dan now works at Amplify, Inc, as the Vice President of User Growth, where he focuses on teacher efficacy and student learning across Amplify’s suite of curriculum and technology products. He lives in Oakland, CA.

Kathryn S. McCarthy is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology in the Department of Learning Sciences at Georgia State University. Her research explores the higher-order processes involved in learning from content-rich text with emphasis on how these processes vary across disciplines and across learners. She is interested in how we can use technology to study and support learning and how educational technology can be leveraged to make learning more effective and equitable.

Liz McCreary (she/her) is the Chief Impact Officer at Digital Harbor Foundation. Liz started her career in Baltimore teaching high school social studies to the most incredible students. She then worked for Teach For America’s recruitment team before following her passion for adult education and teacher development to Johns Hopkins University School of Education where she served on the MSEd Program Team until moving abroad to work with Teach For India. Upon returning to the United States, she worked as a Senior Production Manager for the education technology company 2U before reconnecting with change makers in Baltimore and joining the inspiring team at Digital Harbor Foundation. She has a M.A.T. from Johns Hopkins University School of Education and a B.A. from Macalester College.

Maria Mercedes T. Rodrigo is a professor at the Department of Information Systems and Computer Science. She is the head of the Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences and co0-head of the Ateneo Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Realty Laboratory. Her research work focuses on artificial intelligence in education, learning analytics, and educational games.

 

Her current projects include virtual reality games for informal education and the use of LLMs for medical education. She is on the Executive Committee of the Artificial Intelligence Education Society. In 2021, Dr. Rodrigo received the Distinguished Researcher Award from the Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education (APSCE) and is President of APSCE.

Joe Shook is a Program Officer for the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, focusing on the K-12 education grants portfolio. Joe started his career in the classroom as a Teach for America corps member, serving students throughout the Bay Area as a Special Education and General Education Teacher for nearly a decade. Prior to joining CHSF, Joe also served as an adjunct professor, coach, learning experience designer, and educational consultant.

 

Joe earned a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Community and Environmental Sociology, a Masters from Loyola Marymount University in Special Education, and a Masters from the Stanford Graduate School of Education in Learning Design & Technology. He lives in San Francisco with his husband.

Raman is the CEO of Octava Foundation ,where she stewards the foundation’s investment in Education, Technology in Education and Social Innovation. She’s spent over a decade in supporting social purpose organisations, social innovators and philanthropic institutions and individuals be become effective and evidence informed in solving for complex inequity challenges in learning and livelihoods across diverse contexts.

Before joining Octava, Raman was the Executive Director at Lorinet Foundation, a private family foundation focused on early childhood education and youth employability across South East Asia and Mongolia, where she developed Lorinet’s index Early Childhood Education programme for Mongolia.
Raman holds an MBA from the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen UK and a BA in Commerce and Accounting from Delhi University.

Erin Stark, a Partner at NewSchools, leads investments to benefit the 1 in 5 students with learning differences. Her passion for inclusion was inspired by her sister’s disabilities and grew and evolved throughout a 20-year career as a high school special educator in New York City. In her current role, Erin merges her personal and professional expertise to create learning opportunities that have deepened the organization’s proficiency in serving students with learning differences. Erin plays a crucial role in selecting leaders with innovative ideas to support students with learning differences, coordinating with investment teams across the organization and a community board that advises on areas of need and grantmaking.

 

Before NewSchools, Erin was the Director of Student Support at New Visions for Public Schools, where she led initiatives to improve support for students with disabilities, multilingual learners and developing readers in high school. Her achievements include designing web-based tools, developing professional development series, and managing grants worth $2.5M aimed at enhancing student support. Erin holds certifications as a School Building Leader, in English Language Arts, special education, and literacy intervention.

 

Erin lives in New Jersey with her wife and daughter and prioritizes spending quality time with her family. She deeply cherishes the values of family, inclusion, and the transformative power of truly equitable and inclusive education.

Sameer was previously the co-founder of Global School Leaders and founding ED for Pousaz Philanthropies. He is current responsible for developing the ed-tech strategy for the Prevail Fund, a pooled philanthropic fund focused on improving foundational learning in Africa and South Asia.

Luiza Toledo is a leader in the education and social impact sectors. With a solid academic foundation, she holds a degree in Psychology from Presbyterian University Mackenzie and a Master’s in Administration from Dom Cabral Foundation.

 

Throughout her career, Luiza has been at the forefront of initiatives that bridge education, technology, and employability, fostering innovation and social transformation. She previously held leadership roles in HR Institutions for 10 years, before working with education.

 

As the Executive Director of Telles Foundation, Luiza leads the organization’s mission to design and implement innovative educational programs, creating pathways for young talent to thrive in STEM careers.

Daniel is currently a Principal at VélezReyes+, a Latin America focused philanthropic platform that seeks to transform Latin America into a region with equal access to opportunities for all, founded in 2021 by David Vélez (Founder of Nubank, the largest digital bank in the world) and his wife Mariel Reyes Milk. At VélezReyes+ he co-leads the firm’s education strategy, and leads its private leadership investments.

 

Daniel honed his investing experience in the education space, working as a Fellow for Owl Ventures, the largest EdTech-focused VC fund in the world, and as an investor at Stanford GSB’s Impact Fund Education Team, having led both funds’ first investments in Latin America. He was also a Partner at Appian Education Ventures, an education-focused investment fund and venture builder, where he led its venture building and EdTech investment initiatives. Daniel has worked with and advised multiple education companies and NGO’s, including Eleva Educação, Latin American Leadership Academy (LALA), UBits, U-Planner, Hunty, BUO and Alianza Educativa.

 

Daniel earned his bachelor of science in economics and finance, Magna Cum Laude, from Bentley University’s honors program, and completed an MBA & MA in Education joint-degree at Stanford University, where he was an Arbuckle Leadership Fellow. He’s currently a board member at Crack the Code (K-12 Computer Science EdTech) and Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education’s Alumni Board.

David Monis-Weston is AI Lead at Purposeful Ventures, a leading charitable venture-builder in the UK, and the former founder and CEO of the Teacher Development Trust, the UK charity for effective professional development. He Chaired the Department for Education’s Teachers’ Professional Development Expert Group and advised the Department on Early Career Teachers and school leadership. David taught maths and physics for ten years. He is a trustee of the Teaching Awards Trust, a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and an author of the book Unleashing Great Teaching. A former software engineer, he is involved in the development of ideas around using Artificial Intelligence for teacher development. David speaks and writes frequently for the education sector and national media and has had a number of radio and TV appearances around teaching, teacher development and LGBT issues.

John Whitmer is a Senior Fellow to the Institute for Education Statistics (IES), the largest federal education research agency in the United States. His work is focused on the analysis of ecologically valid and “big” data (e.g. process data, open-ended assessment responses) to improve the education opportunities provided to all students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. He collaborates with IES stakeholders to implement contemporary data science methods into operational programs, expand access and usability of IES data, and support the creation of a program for new fellows to modernize IES analytical approaches. Open science practices are a key focus of his current work.

 

An educational researcher by training, John holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from UC Davis and a Master’s Degree in Sociocultural Anthropology from UC Davis.