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Who we are

Launched by African Leadership Academy in 2018, the ALforEducation Network works with education leaders across all regions of the African continent. Through our various initiatives and programs, we connect key players in African education, support the development of model institutions that push the boundaries of what is possible, and develop pipelines of extraordinary leaders for the sector. To date, we have served over 45 organizations through our entrepreneurship programs, placed more than 500 aspiring leaders into meaningful jobs and internships, and engaged a network of over 1200 change-makers in our community.
We believe that the most catalytic intervention to address many of the major challenges facing the African continent is to develop local leaders that will drive radical transformation of Africa’s education systems. African Leadership Academy’s ALforEducation Network is driving this intervention on the continent.

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How we work

A circular diagram titled "An Africa where all children can access world-class education that maximizes their potential." The diagram is divided into four sections: 1. Identify & Develop, 2. Connect & Collaborate, 3. Measure & Share, 4. Amplify & Catalyse.

Our Beliefs

We believe that access to quality education is the most powerful tool for a child to live a mission driven life.

We are committed to the idea that schools need reinventing and developing local leaders is the conduit to achieve that.


We believe that innovation breeds excellence and we must constantly reinvent and leverage best practices to achieve the desired learning outcomes for all children.

Our Beliefs

Robyn Speed
Program Director

Robyn was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. She is a dedicated social impact and nonprofit leader with a passion for expanding learning and leadership opportunities for youth globally. She holds a bachelor’s degree in African Studies, an M.Ed. in TESOL, and a Master’s in Global Human Development with a focus on Education and Human Capital. Before joining ALA, Robyn held roles in program management and business development at education-focused nonprofits in the U.S. and across various African countries. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, hiking, traveling, and dancing.

Valentine Wathiomo
Program Associate

Valentine, born and raised in Kenya, is a relationship builder and social impact enthusiast with a passion for youth development and sustainable impact on the African continent through education and economic empowerment. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science and Technology and possesses years’ experience in developing, implementing and managing youth programs. Through her experience in start-ups, she has acquired a love for creating structures, improving processes, and developing and overseeing the implementation of strategies. Away from work, she enjoys listening to music and podcasts, reading books, trying out new food spots and mental health advocacy.

Francis Kurebwa
Chief Finance Officer – AL for Education

Francis desires to see education transformed in Africa through edupreneurs who are mindful of the importance of efficiently allocating financial resources to achieve scale, impact and sustainability. Having studied Finance and is currently in his last stage of CFA and ACCA, he has had the opportunity of working in the asset management, broking and education space giving him a well-rounded appreciation of money management and deep passion in seeing learners grow and change communities.

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Melanie Smuts
consultant – AL for Education

Melanie is a consultant of the African Leadership Academy’s AL for Education Program. She is also part of the One World Network of Schools team where she leads initiatives across the African continent, focusing primarily on new school starts, personalized learning, and college & career pathways. She has managed projects in Tajikistan and supports partners in India. She has worked on public reform primary school literacy in South Africa, as the Program Director of Funda Wande, and is the founder of Streetlight Schools a community-based school which innovates on local learning. She is an advisory board member of Kinyeti Academy, and a board member of Elimu Soku and Streetlight Schools. Melanie has a masters in human Rights and Democratization in Africa.

Our Advisors

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Chris Bradford

Chris Bradford is co-Founder and Chairman of African Leadership Academy in South Africa. He is also the President of the Morehead-Cain Foundation, which operates the oldest merit scholarship program in the USA. At African Leadership Academy, Chris spent seventeen years building a unique institution that sought to address what he and his co-founders saw as the most important factor in Africa’s future development: the supply of ethical and entrepreneurial leaders across the continent. In recent years, he has worked to shape the ALforEducation network and unlock the power of education entrepreneurs across Africa through Accelerator programs designed in partnership with FFE. Chris is an Echoing Green Fellow and Siebel Scholar. He holds a BA from Yale University and an MBA and MA in Education from Stanford University.

Kelsey Cred

Kelsey is the Executive Director and Education Program Director for the Robertson Foundation. She has also served as the Director of Evaluation and Strategy for the NYC Foundation for Computer Science Education which coordinated a public-private partnership to bring computer science education to NYC public schools and as a research and administrative assistant to Sir John Hood. She holds degrees from Columbia University, as well as an MSc and a DPhil from the University of Oxford.

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Matthew Tierney

Matthew Tierney is the co-founder of the Future Fund for Education (FFE). He has been involved in emerging markets for over twenty years in both advisory and investment roles, including as a co-founder and partner of Development Capital. Matt was co-founder and general partner of Aperture Venture Partners, an early stage investor in healthcare. He also worked in the Global Corporate Finance group at Credit Suisse First Boston and was a founding TechnoServe Fellow, assisting early stage companies in Latin America and Africa. Matt serves on the Board of Trustees of the Trinity School and TechnoServe’s Global Advisory Council. He is on the Advisory Board of the African Leadership Finance Committee, was a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations and sat on the Board of The BCS Group, a Kenyan based ICT company. Matt received his B.A. from Georgetown University and his M.B.A from Columbia Business School.

Trish Tierney

Trish Tierney the co-founder of the Future Fund for Education (FFE). Trish is also a co-founder and CEO of Women’s Alliance for Knowledge Exchange (WAKE), a social impact organization that amplifies the work of women’s rights and social justice leaders worldwide. Prior to founding WAKE, Trish was Executive Director of the Institute of International Education (IIE) in San Francisco. Trish also worked in the private sector, at Cisco Systems, helping to bring the Cisco Networking Academy Program to the world’s fifty least developed countries. Trish spent spent several years at the World Bank, focusing on education reform and girls’ education in Africa. She began her career as a WorldTeach volunteer in Namibia. Trish is on the Board of Trustees of the San Francisco Day School, and holds a B.A. from Notre Dame and an M.A. from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

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