Jean-Francois Rischard
World Bank Vice President
Author of High Noon: 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them
Jean-François Rischard ( Luxembourg 1948), is a recognized economist who used to be the World Bank Vice President in charge of Europe, acting as the Bank’s chief spokesman both to the European Union and to individual European countries from 1998-2005.
He is a frequent speaker and covers such topics as managing financial crises, sustainable development, corporate governance; the role of business beyond its traditional borders; new technologies and their applications for development, the changing rules and inner workings of the new world economy, and the need for new global governance mechanisms in an increasingly complex and inter-linked world. Dr.
He holds graduate and post-graduate degrees in economics (University of Aix-Marseille), a law doctorate (Luxembourg), and a master’s in business administration (Harvard Business School). He is the author of, inter alia, High Noon: 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them, in which he argues that traditional institutions are incapable of addressing the growing list of complex global issues. His book, “High Noon: 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them,” inspired what is now known as the Global Issues Network around the world.
Maggie Baird
GIN Alumnus & Youth Leader
Maggie started her journey with GIN by presenting with her project “Sea Savers” in Brazil. From there, she kept working on the GIN initiative at her school in the Dominican Republic and eventually was on the executive committee for planning the conference held at her school in March 2014. She interned at GIN and helped develop videos, curriculum, planning documents and more to help new schools host GIN conferences, especially with respect to the Global Village program. Currently an undergrad at Dartmouth College, she is continuing her work with GIN and hopes to be a mentor for future conferences and the organization as a whole.
Lee Fertig
Graded School São Paulo, Brazil
Lee Fertig has been the Superintendent of Graded School in São Paulo, Brazil for six years, but as of July 2015 will be the new Director at the International School of Brussels (ISB). Lee has more than 25 years of administrative and teaching experience in a wide variety of educational settings including four international schools (in Ethiopia, Brazil, and Spain), a private school in New York City, and a voluntary integration public magnet school in Minneapolis. He is a trainer for the Principals’ Training Center (PTC), has taught in the College of Education at the University of Minnesota, and has been a guest speaker on contemporary educational issues at a wide variety of community events. He has consulted for several educational service companies, providing specialized training and project management services to K-12 schools and districts around the world. Lee’s interests in intercultural education, school-based continuous improvement, and the role of schooling in society are at the core of his educational philosophy.
The Principles Training Center
Michael Furdyck
Co-Founder of TakingITGlobal, Canada
Michael Furdyk is the Co-founder of TakingITGlobal (www.tigweb.org), which provides innovative global education programs that empower youth to understand and act on the world’s greatest challenges.In the past, he turned his interest in technology into several successful online companies, including MyDesktop.com, which sold to Internet.com in 1999. In 2008, he was named by Contribute Magazine as one of 10 Tech Revolutionaries Redefining the Power and Face of Philanthropy.Michael has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, presented at TED, and was named one of Teen People’s “Twenty Teens that will Change the World”. Over the last decade, he has keynoted over 100 events across sectors, sharing his social media expertise and insights on youth engagement and educational reform to audiences in over 30 countries. He sits on several non-profit boards, including the Re-Inventing Schools Coalition, and on the International Advisory Council for Microsoft’s Partners in Learning program.
furdyck.com
Jessica Huang
GIN Alumnus, Instructor & Youth Program Coordinator for MIT Design Lab (D-Lab)
As a GIN alumni Jessica was inspired to develop her understanding and skills in youth empowerment and exploration.
Jessica joined D-Lab in 2009 through her involvement with the International Development Design Summit. Her current work is in areas that she has long been passionate about: youth empowerment and the intersection of environment and development. She is a co-instructor of the D-Lab: Biodiversity and D-Lab: Education classes and coordinates the new youth outreach program. Jessica has degrees in civil and environmental engineering and business from the University of California, Berkeley. On the side, she works with Zimba to improve access to safe drinking water through chlorination in eastern India and Bangladesh.
D-Lab MIT
She is currently earning her Masters studying design thinking curricula development at Stanford University.
Michael Johnston
United World College Middles School, Singapore
Mike Johnston is the middle school principal at the United World College of South East Asia in Singapore. He has co-created an educational movement known as EduCare. EduCare helps lead schools toward better environmental, global issues, and service learning education. Mr. Johnston has moved schools forward by presenting in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Asia at regional conferences. He has led workshops for teachers and administrators around the world on sustainability, global curriculum K-12, and how service learning should not just be what you do, but who you are as a school. He has dedicated much of his time to not only ensuring students are properly prepared for the world’s most pressing issues, but that they have the skills and desire to take action.
zoominfo
Clayton Lewis
Washington International School, DC, USA
Clayton Lewis was appointed head of school in 2007. He has administered international schools for the last 32 years, formerly as director of the International School of Luxembourg, and as high school principal at the American School in London and the American School of The Hague. Mr. Lewis is recognized as one of the co-founder of the Global Issues Network now involving over 500 schools around the world, and was honored by the National Association of Independent Schools with the first Leadership Award for Global Initiatives. He holds a B.A. in history from Rhodes College and an M.S. in educational administration from the George Peabody School of Education at Vanderbilt University. Mr. Lewis currently serves on the board of trustees of Independent Education, the Association for the Advancement of International Education, and the Tregaron Conservancy.
Washington International School