From his humble beginnings in rural Maryland, Justin van Fleet has become one of the top figures in global education. As a fellow at the Brookings Institute, he studied the role of schooling in developing countries and the function of philanthropy in financing educational systems. Justin was previously appointed as Chief of Staff to the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education, and as the Director of the International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity. As such, he played a pivotal role in establishing the International Finance Facility for Education and the Education Cannot Wait Fund, the UN’s global fund for schools and teaching in emergencies and protracted crises.
In 2019, van Fleet was named president of Theirworld, an international children’s charity dedicated to ending the global education crisis. Theirworld has worked with the Lebanese government to bring education and schools to over 300,000 refugee children. This year, Theirworld partnered with the Ukrainian organization Smart Ovista to help refugee students stay connected to educators in their homeland by providing free laptops. “We can’t let any disruption sidetrack a young person’s right to an education—even war,” said van Fleet. “Supporting this work and helping to empower education in conflict zones is one thing any person can do to ensure a brighter future.”
