GIN Champions | Global Issues Network

Jean-Francois Rischard

Author of High Noon: 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them: Rischard’s book was the inspiration for the Global Issues Network

Jean-François Rischard was born in Luxembourg and is a recognized economist and innovative thinker. He was served as World Bank Vice President and chief spokesman from 1998-2005. His charge led him to work closely with individual European nation-states and intergovernmental bodies such as the European Union.

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.

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, High Noon: 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them, in which he argues that traditional institutions are incapable of addressing a growing list of complex global issues. This book inspired the rapid growth of what is now known as the Global Issues Network around the world.

Lee Fertig

Director of International School of Brussels (ISB), Belgium

Lee Fertig is the Director of the International School of Brussels (ISB) in Belgium. He has more than 30 years of administrative and teaching experience in a wide variety of educational settings including five international schools (in Ethiopia, Brazil, Spain, and Belgium), a private school in New York City, and a voluntary integration public magnet school in Minneapolis. Lee is a mentor for the Principals’ Training Center (PTC), has taught in the College of Education at the University of Minnesota, and is a guest speaker on contemporary educational issues at a wide variety of community events. He provides consulting services for schools and educational organizations around the world in the areas of governance, learning innovation, development and fundraising, and school-based continuous improvement.

Lee currently serves as a board trustee for the Association for the Advancement of International Education (AAIE); Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) in Europe; Global Issues Network (GIN); and Sao Paulo Education Foundation (SPEF). He also serves on the International Schools Advisory Committee (ISAC) for the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Lee was first introduced to GIN when his School in Sao Paulo hosted their first GIN Conference in 2012. Lee has remained supportive of GIN since that time.

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 the Emerging Leader Forum TED conference, 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 various 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.

Jessica Huang

GIN Alumnus, Instructor & Youth Program Coordinator for MIT Design Lab (D-Lab)

Through her work with GIN, 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. She earned her Masters studying Design Thinking curricula development at Stanford University. She is currently work for the MIT Design Lab in Cambridge empowering students to innovate.

Michael Johnston

Director of Colegio Maya, Guatemala

Mike Johnston is the Director of Colegio Maya in Guatemala. He has been invited to keynote and lead workshops for teachers and administrators around the world on sustainability. His work centers on global curriculum K-12 and how service learning should not just be what you do, but who you are as a school. As a member of the Compass Education team he is part of a growing community of passionate educators aiming to equip schools as learning communities to educate and act for a sustainable future. 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. In pursuing his Doctorate in Organizational Systems Mike helps to inspire and lead schools through times of change. He researches and writes on the intersection of sustainability, systems and educational transformation.

Mike is a long time GIN supporter, since his first GIN Conference in Luxembourg. This experience inspired him to support students in hosting GIN Conferences in both Qatar and Singapore.

Clayton Lewis

Director of Washington International School, DC, USA: One of the original founding Global Issues Network innovative educators

Clayton Lewis is the Head of the Washington International School since 2007. He has been a leader in international schools for the last 32 years, as the 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-founders 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.