My first experience supporting education in Africa was in 1994, when I volunteered with several organizations during my junior year abroad in Nairobi, Kenya. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of living in several countries on the continent for a total of five years, as a researcher, policy specialist, grant maker, and advisor to several ministers of education. While the contexts and circumstances varied, my commitment to supporting systems, organizations, schools and individuals to provide quality learning opportunities has remained constant.  

I met Rebecca in 2015, when I was the Deputy Director of the Open Society Foundations’ Education Support Program. At that point, she was clear in her intention to make a significant contribution and lasting impact in Ethiopia and had settled on the education sector on the vehicle through which this could happen. She invited me to join her on a future visit to Ethiopia to explore her options.  Even though I knew this was a ‘fact-finding mission’, I must admit that I was truly surprised by the authentic nature of the exploration.  

After years in international development and philanthropy, I’d grown accustomed to such missions, so much so that I’d come to anticipate a process that simply verified a pre-determined outcome.  Instead, we talked to business owners to understand the intricacies of establishing a private sector entity in Ethiopia. We visited for-profit and non-profit schools to understand the associated regulations and level of academic freedom. Our conversations with school leaders explored everything from teacher training and recruitment to importing materials. We mulled over the pros, cons and implications of a day school versus a boarding school, single sex versus co-educational, locating in Addis vs one to two hours outside of the city center.  

As I reflect on the journey toward the first day of school in September 2020, it’s been a process of searching for and finding gems, with a virtuous mix of strategic precision, broad relationships, and good fortune.  From the architects, engineers and day laborers responsible for transforming what had been barley and potato fields into a state-of-the-art campus, to the leadership, faculty, administration, and students who will transform the campus into a vibrant learning community.  

Right now I am preparing to join Kari Ostrem, HMA’s Head of School, who has recently returned to NYC from Debre Birhan, to grade a batch English essays from a group of students who have applied to be a part of HMA’s inaugural class.  In what I now understand to be standard, the selection process has been carried out with the utmost care, making every effort to identify high performing students from across Ethiopia who have the potential to thrive in the HMA learning community.  

The selection process has also been an effort to establish partnerships with schools and communities, with applicants’ parents and school leaders as essential participants as well.  The importance of partnership is also exhibited EEI’s collaboration with the local community of Debre Birhan to ensure that Haile-Manas Academy is seen as a shared enterprise, and in the intent to offer community outreach and programming to area middle schools. Again, this is a step that in my experience is always espoused, but all too rarely done meaningfully.  

It is a privilege to serve as an EEI board member and Chair of its Programs Committee.