Meet The Steering Group Team
Sufiya Ahmed
Sufiya Ahmed is an award winning and Carnegie nominated children’s and YA author. She visits secondary and primary schools to talk about her childhood dream to become an author, her books and creative writing.
Sufiya is the founder and director of the BIBI Foundation, a non-profit organization which arranges visits to the Houses of Parliament for diverse and underprivileged children. She is also a public speaker on Girls Rights.
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Richard Gerver
Richard Gerver began his career in education as headmaster of the failing Grange Primary School. In just two years, he famously transformed the school into one of the most acclaimed learning environments in the world.
Richard has since transitioned to the global stage to deliver passionate, provocative and authentic speeches, drawing upon the first-hand experiences and unique insights garnered from frontline education to explore the links between great leadership, human potential, change and innovation. It is this authenticity and uniqueness which has led to Richard speaking on the most recognised stages, including TED, the RSA and BBC radio.
Karthik Krishnan
Karthik Krishnan is a Venture Chair at Redesign Health, an Adjunct Professor at NYU - Stern School of Business and an NACD Certified Board Director. Redesign Health is committed to elevating health and wellness companies that empower people to live their healthiest lives by bringing ideas, capital, people and execution to its portfolio companies.
On the World Economic Forum Expert Network, Karthik is a recognized expert on Education, Healthcare and Information Media. He is an advisor to UNICEF and Global Coalition for Education on Youth Skills and Education. He is on the board of Urban Upbound, an organization focused on transforming the lives of people in public housing in New York City through job training, financial fitness, and college access.
He was the former Global CEO of the Britannica Group, which includes the iconic Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam Webster brands in addition to other modern day brands
Sonia Thompson
Sonia is the Headteacher/Director, at St Matthew's C.E. Primary School, in Nechells Birmingham. St Matthew’s is a previous Teaching School and a current EEF Research School. Sonia worked for Birmingham LA as an English Consultant, where she was a part of the original United Kingdom Literacy association (UKLA), Building Communities of Readers research.
Sonia is passionate about evidence-based reading for pleasure and progress practices and her school won the first ever Egmont/UKLA Reading for Pleasure Award. She has run Teachers' Reading Group (TRG) and is currently a TRG mentor. Sonia has advised and supported for the OU Reading for Pleasure website and judges for the UKLA Book Awards, EmathyLab and the Branford Boase Awards.
Maeve Walsh is an experienced policymaker and government relations expert who has worked in the UK Government and not-for-profit sector. During a 17-year career in Whitehall, she held senior roles in central Departments including Cabinet Office, No10, the Department of Health and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, where she led the team responsible for delivering the UK Digital Strategy. Since then, she has worked as a consultant with a variety of organisations on digital and data policy and has been a Carnegie Trust Associate for three years, advising on their online harm reduction project. She is a Trustee at the Connection at St-Martins-in-the-Field, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has served as a parent governor at her children's primary school
Maeve Walsh
