Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of the Global Partnership for Education sets the partnership’s policies and strategies.

The Board mirrors the wide-ranging and diverse nature of the partnership and includes members from developing country governments and all development partners: donors, civil society organizations, private sector and foundations, and multilateral agencies and regional banks.

The responsibilities of the Board include: reviewing annual objectives of the partnership, mobilizing resources, monitoring financial resources and funding, advocating for the partnership, and overseeing the secretariat budget and work plan.

The Board of Directors is comprised of 20 constituencies representing all the partners of the partnership. A Board member and an alternate Board member represent each constituency. Board members serve for 2 years.

• Julia Gillard is the Chair of the Board of Directors.
• Serigne Mbaye Thiam is the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors.

Developing country partners

Constituency	Board member	Alternate Board member
Africa 1 Eritrea, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia (Somaliland and Puntland), Tanzania (Mainland and Zanzibar), Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe	Elyas Abdi Jillaow OGW, Director General, Ministry of Education, State Department of Early Learning & Basic Education, Kenya	Ndabazekhaya Cain Ginyilitshe Mathema Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Zimbabwe
Africa 2 Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Republic of Congo, Senegal, Togo	Marie Michelle Sahondrarimalala Minister of National Education, Madagascar	Komla Dodzi Kokoroko Minister of Primary, Secondary and Technical Education and Crafts, Togo
Africa 3 Gambia, Ghana, Ethiopia, Liberia, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, South Sudan	Awut Deng Acuil Minister of General Education and Instruction, South Sudan	David Moinina Sengeh Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Sierra Leone
Asia and the Pacific Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Kiribati, Lao PDR, Maldives, Marshall Islands, FS Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Timor Leste, Vanuatu, Vietnam	Golam Md. Hashibul Alam Secretary, Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, Bangladesh	Gopi Nath Mainali Government Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Nepal
Eastern Europe, Middle East and Central Asia Afghanistan, Albania, Georgia, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Sudan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Yemen	Rangina Hamidi Minister of Education, Afghanistan	Usman Sharifxodjayev First Deputy Minister of Education, Uzbekistan
Latin America and the Caribbean Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Luis Hernández Director General de Educación Primaria del Ministerio de Educación, Nicaragua	Didacus Jules Director General, OECS

Donor partners

Constituency	Board member	Alternate Board member
Donor 1 Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland	Donatienne Hissard Deputy Director for Sustainable Development French Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Sabina Handschin Senior Education Policy Advisor, Head of Education Unit, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC
Donor 2 Denmark, Sweden	Anna Rosendahl Head of Unit for Global Social Development Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)	Line Baagø-Rasmussen Chief Technical Advisor, Education and Equal Opportunities, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark
Donor 3 Canada, United Kingdom	Alicia Herbert Head, Youth and Education Department (YED), Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, United Kingdom	Louise Holt Director General, Social Development, Global Affairs Canada
Donor 4 Finland, Ireland, Norway, United Arab Emirates	Camilla Helgø Fossberg Policy Director, Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway	Rashed Mohamed Awadh Al Hemeiri Director of Development Cooperation Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, United Arab Emirates
Donor 5 European Commission, Germany, Italy, Spain	Marjeta Jager Deputy Director General at the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development of the European Commission	Kerstin Faehrmann Head of Education Division, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Germany
Donor 6 Australia, Japan, Korea, United States	Julie Cram Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)	Sarah Lendon Director, Health and Education Finance, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australia

Civil society organizations

Constituency	Board member	Alternate Board member
Civil Society Organizations 1 * International/Northern	Kira Boe Education Policy Lead, Oxfam	Yona Nestel Senior Education Advocacy and Policy Advisor, Plan International
Civil Society Organizations 2 Developing Country	Laura Giannecchini Institutional Development Coordinator, Latin American Campaign for the Right to Education (CLADE)	Helen Dabu Deputy Regional Coordinator, Asia Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE)
Civil Society Organizations 3 Teaching Profession	Gifty Anyogbe Apanbil Deputy Secretary General at Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT)	Haldis Holst Deputy General Secretary, Education International

Private sector

Constituency	Board member	Alternate Board member
Private Sector	David Boutcher Board member of Theirworld and the Global Business Coalition for Education, and Partner in Reed Smith LLP	Emily Friedman Head of Business Investment for Education Impact, Global Business Coalition for Education

Private foundations

Constituency	Board member	Alternate Board member
Foundations	Randa Grob-Zakhary CEO, Insights for Education	Imad Sabi Senior Program Officer, Education Support Program, Open Society Foundations

Multilateral agencies

Constituency	Board member	Alternate Board member
Multilateral Agency 1 UNESCO	Stefania Giannini Assistant Director General, Education, UNESCO	Maki Katsuno-Hayashikawa Director for the Division for Education 2030, UNESCO
Multilateral Agency 2 UNICEF/UNHCR	Robert Jenkins Chief, Global Education, UNICEF	Mamadou Dian Balde Deputy Director, Socio-Economic Inclusion Service, Division of Resilience and Solutions, UNHCR
Multilateral Agency 3 Multilateral and Regional Banks	Luis Benveniste Regional Director, Human Development, Latin America and the Caribbean, The World Bank	Amadou Thierno Diallo Director, Economic and Social Infrastructure Department, Islamic Development Bank

* More information about joining the Northern CSO constituency

The Board of Directors meets face-to-face generally twice a year to review progress and make strategic decisions. Other meetings may also be held throughout the year as needed. See all Board meetings below, including documents circulated and decisions made.

Five committees support the Board in fulfilling its functions in a strategic, transparent, and efficient manner.

Coordinating Committee: facilitates the work of the other Board committees; makes time-sensitive decisions between face-to-face meetings of the Board and acts as a sounding board for the Chief Executive Officer on matters regarding the Secretariat’s roles and responsibilities.

Mandate | Members | Chair: Julia Gillard

Finance and Risk Committee: oversees risk management practices, financial management and audit arrangements of GPE and its resources; provides advice to the Board to ensure that GPE resources are being managed efficiently, and consistently with its mission, objectives and policies.

Mandate | Members | Chair: Frédéric Depetris

Governance and Ethics Committee: oversees global governance arrangements and ethical standards as well as recommends policies, practices, and/or procedures to the Board to ensure that GPE is structured, governed and functioning effectively and ethically at the global level.

Mandate | Members | Chair: Nesmy Manigat

Grants and Performance Committee: recommends grant proposals to reflect GPE strategic priorities and make decision on proposed revisions; tracks progress on the portfolio of grants awarded from GPE resources and oversees the education sector plan quality assurance process.

Mandate | Members | Chair: Sally Gear

Strategy and Impact Committee: oversees the development of strategies and policies that promote best practices and foster innovation in education; monitors the implementation of GPE’s strategic plan, provides recommendations for the annual results report, and oversees independent evaluations of GPE.

Mandate | Members | Chair: David Archer