Your regional team

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Development and Recognition

 Jon Halligan

Jean-Christophe Goris

Head of Development, Africa, Europe and Middle East (AEM)

Jean-Christophe is the Head of Development for Africa, Europe and the Middle East. He is responsible for the strategic development of schools within the region, in particular working with schools as they embark on their IB journey, either as a new school or as an authorized school implementing a new programme. He also works with the various ministries, officials, regulators and other influential educational bodies to raise awareness and understanding of IB programmes and their value for national equivalency purposes.

Jean-Christophe has an extensive professional background in account management, business development and team leadership having been in the global accounts teams of both Staples and Wolters Kluwer.

 Vedrana Pavletic

Vedrana Pavletić

Senior Development and Recognition Manager, AEM

With her professional background in Arts and Humanities, Vedrana has taken a number of IB educator roles for the PYP and MYP and worked in schools across Europe and Asia, before joining the IB Global Centre in The Netherlands in 2014. As a Development and Recognition Manager for AEM, she is working with schools, associations, universities and governments to promote the IB and support the implementation of the programmes in a range of contexts in this region.

 Nicholas Lyddon

Nicholas Lyddon

Development and Recognition Manager, AEM

Nicholas Lyddon is Development & Recognition Manager for Africa, Europe and the Middle East, working on the strategic development of schools within the region, in particular working with schools as they embark on their IB journey, either as a new school or as an authorized school implementing a new programme. Nicholas also collaborates with the various ministries, officials, regulators and other influential educational bodies to raise awareness and understanding of IB programmes and their value for national equivalency purposes.

Dolly Wanjiku

Dolly Wanjiku

Development and Recognition Manager, AEM

Dolly Wanjiku has been a dedicated member of the International Baccalaureate team since 2010, currently in her role as Development and Recognition Manager. With over 13 years of invaluable experience at the IB, she focuses on the strategic development of schools within the Benelux region, while also extending her influence beyond these borders. A key aspect of her role involves project managing and coordinating outreach events, which are pivotal in engaging schools at various stages of their IB journey, from newcomers to established institutions integrating new programmes.

Dolly’s expertise in leading these initiatives is instrumental for her development team, significantly contributing to the understanding and implementation of IB programmes, particularly in regard to national equivalency and educational standards. Her collaborative efforts with various educational bodies and officials are central to promoting the value and efficacy of IB programmes in diverse educational settings, ensuring their relevance and recognition within the broader educational landscape.

 

Benson Kamau

Development and Recognition Manager, Africa

Benson is the Development and Recognition Manager, Africa. Before joining the IB, he was the IBDC at Braeburn College and later Principal at Nova Pioneer Tatu Boys both in Nairobi, Kenya. He has been an IB consultant, educator, examiner, and a workshop leader.

Benson has been a team Leader and member in several school accreditation visits across AEM Region. He is also an experienced teacher of Theory of Knowledge, Literature in English and Social Anthropology.

 Dina Khalaf

Dina Khalaf

Development and Recognition Manager, UAE, Turkey and Iran

Dina joined the IB as the Regional Development and Recognition Manager for UAE, Turkey and Iran in January 2014 and is based in Dubai. Dina has over 18 years IB experience as a teacher, DP coordinator and Head of School, as well as a strong background in IB teacher training, consultancy and evaluation of schools based on IB standards.

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Uzma Shujjat

Development and Recognition Manager, Pakistan, Iran and the Nordic Region

Uzma is the Regional Manager for Pakistan, Iran, and the Nordic region. She has over 25 years of experience teaching in private and international schools in Syria, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, the United States and China.  She is also a Member of the IB Education Network (IBEN) - IB Team Visitor, IB Examiner, IB Course Outline Reader, IB Unannounced Examination Visitor, and Programme Leader.

Uzma collaborates with various ministries, officials, regulators and other influential educational bodies to raise awareness and understanding of the IB programme and its value for national equivalency purposes.

Mary Tadros

Mary Tadros

Development and Recognition Manager, Middle East

Mary is the Development and Recognition Manager for the Middle East in addition to being the Academic Programs Advisor for Queen Rania Teacher Academy (QRTA) working on Pre-Service and in-service teacher education programmes in Jordan and the region. Mary is also the workshop director for QRTA, a professional development provider for the IB. Mary is a Senior Education Specialist working on education initiatives in Jordan and the region.

She is an IB educator with extensive experience as a workshop leader, consultant and team leader for school evaluation and authorization visits, in addition to being a professional development evaluator. Mary serves on the Council of International schools (CIS)/New England Association of schools and colleges (NEASC) visiting teams to accredit schools internationally.

Dr Kawther Saa’d Al Din

Dr Kawther Saa’d Al Din

Development and Recognition Manager

Kawther is a member of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Development and Recognition team in the Africa, Europe and the Middle East region, responsible for Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, Libya and a number of other countries. She is also an IB educator network (IBEN) lead educator and workshop developer.

In addition to serving as a member of the Jordanian Ministry of Education (MoE) Board of Education, Kawther worked as an IB Diploma Programme (DP) coordinator, an International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) coordinator, and a teacher of English language and literature at different schools in Amman. She has also been Pamoja Education’s Business Development consultant for the Middle East and Africa and co-authored three DP English B textbooks for Oxford University Press.

Kawther holds an Ed.D in Administrator Leadership, an MA in Blended Learning and a BA in English Language and Literature. Her dedication to the development of learning and teaching has earned her the European Council of International Schools (ECIS) Award for the Promotion of International Education and the Stanford University Teacher Tribute.

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Harwell Asorwoe

Development and Recognition Manager, West Africa

Harwell joined the IB in 2023 as the Development and Recognition Manager, for West Africa. Before joining the IB, he was the IB Diploma Programme Coordinator and Head of Science at Al–Rayan International School (ARIS) in Accra, Ghana. Subsequently, he served as the Head of Upper Secondary/DP Coordinator at Aves International Academy (AIA), also in Accra.

Harwell has been both an IB educator and examiner and has been teaching the IB Biology and ESS diploma programme since 2005. He has a background in educational leadership, environmental science and public health.

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Sumaya Alyusuf

Associate Development Manager

Sumaya is currently working with the IB AEM Development and Recognition team in addition to being a freelance academic consultant.

Sumaya is an expert in transformational leadership, school change management, and curriculum design, development and implementation. She has worked in the UK, the US and the Middle East, championing the merits and benefits of an open-minded, multicultural international education for over 30 years.

Sumaya joined the International Baccalaureate (IB) in 2013, initially as a curriculum manager for social-emotional learning and physical and health, education in the Middle Years Programme (MYP). Before that she worked with the IB continuum team and led the development of resources to support international-mindedness in IB programmes. She came to the IB as Director of the King Fahad Academy, London where she spearheaded the development and implementation of three of the IB programmes (PYP, MYP and IBDP).

She holds a BS in Health Education from the University of Arizona, a teaching certification from California State University, MA in School Health Education from California State University, and a PhD in Education from the University of Surrey.

Marketing

 Johanna Raivio

Johanna Raivio

Regional Marketing Manager (interim), AEM

Johanna is responsible for the AEM regional marketing team which is engaging IB World Schools and non-IB schools with compelling content, events and other marketing activities in the Africa, Middle East and Europe region.

Johanna joined the IB in 2022 and has over 10 years of experience in marketing communications, ranging from IT and biochemicals to education, PR and training promotion. Johanna holds a Master’s degree in Speech Communications from the University of Helsinki, Finland.

IB Educator Network

 Juner Garcia

Juner Garcia

IBEN Manager, AEM

Juner joined the IB at the Singapore Global Centre as Portfolio Manager in 2009 after years of working in Nepal, DR of Congo, Afghanistan, Uganda, and the Philippines as an international development worker. He has over 17 years of progressive management and leadership experience with various international non-governmental organizations, managing education projects, volunteer programmes and various human rights campaigns.

He was instrumental in the development, set up and implementation of various IB initiatives that aim to increase the numbers of IB World Schools and cohorts of IBEN leaders in Japan, Malaysia, Romania and Saudi Arabia in collaboration with foundation and education ministries from these countries. In February 2013, he moved to The Hague and started working as the IBEN Manager.

Professional Development Delivery

Picture of Jaime Clark

Jaime Clark

Senior Professional Development Delivery Manager, AEM

Jaime leads the delivery of professional development for the AEM region. Her team plans and delivers all regional, single school and multi-school events to support educators in all stages of their IB journey. Most recently, Jaime has been leading the development and launch of virtual workshops in response to the global pandemic.

Jaime joined the IB at the end of 2011 and has led professional development teams in both the Americas and AEM. Prior to joining the IB, Jaime worked for an international development consulting firm based in Washington, DC.