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The Senior Leadership Team |
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Brett Wigdortz
Founder and CEO
London Office
020 7517 2721
bwigdortz@teachfirst.org.uk
Brett Wigdortz has led Teach First since its launch in June 2002. Brett wrote the original business plan for the charity while working as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and then took what was originally planned as a six-month leave of absence in February 2002 to develop and build support for the idea.
Before coming to London, his previous time at McKinsey was spent as a consultant in Indonesia, Singapore, and Manila - focusing on retail banking, organisational effectiveness, Islamic banking and Asian microfinance. Prior to McKinsey, Brett developed southeast Asia policy and business programmes at the Asia Society in New York City. He has also worked as a journalist in Asia and as a researcher at the East- West Center in Honolulu, focusing on energy and economic development issues.
He is originally from New Jersey and has also lived in Virginia and Israel. He currently serves as a trustee of PEAS (Promoting Equality in African Schools) and Governor of Wembley High Technology College in Brent, London. He is also a trustee and currently the Deputy Chief Executive of Teach For All, an organisation created in partnership with Teach For America to help other countries start similar programmes and create a global network of leaders dedicated to addressing educational disadvantage. He was recently named the 2007 UK Ernst & Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year. Brett is married with two small children.
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Sonia Blandford
Director of Leadership Development
London Office
020 7517 6417
sblandford@teachfirst.org.uk
Sonia has an extensive portfolio in education encompassing teaching, leadership, research and publications. As former Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean of Education at Canterbury Christchurch University, Sonia has been involved with Teach First since the beginning of the programme. She has published over 20 books focusing on middle leadership, special educational needs, financial management and classroom management and behaviour. Sonia has taught in primary and secondary schools in Yorkshire, Wiltshire, Bath, London and Bristol. She is also the founder of two community arts charities and Trustee of two Academies. Sonia has a Doctorate in Education from the University of Bristol, an MPhil from the University of Bath, an MA in Music from the University of Reading, and a Cert Ed and a BEd from Bretton Hall College, University of Leeds.
>> The Leadership Development Team
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James Darley
Director of Graduate Recruitment
London Office
020 7517 2737
jdarley@teachfirst.org.uk
James has proudly headed up the graduate recruitment department since 2004 and has seen Teach First grow from a ‘modest’ recruiter to an established ‘volume’ recruiter, consistently appearing in the top twenty of the prestigious Times Top 100 Graduate Employers. James has been in graduate recruitment for over 10 years and came to Teach First from Credit Suisse where he was European Head of Graduate Recruitment.
Before this he took a year off to travel around the world and fulfilled life-long ambitions including walking on the Great Wall of China, climbing the highest mountain in SE Asia, swimming with wild dolphins and hiking along the ancient Inca trail to Machu Picchu.
Prior to travelling, James spent 2 years at Deutsche Bank as Global Head of Fixed Income graduate recruitment and at the same time served as a Director of the AGR (Association of Graduate Recruiters). Before this James headed up graduate recruitment for United Biscuits and worked for a number of years in Purchasing for both UB and Spiller Petfoods. James graduated from Liverpool University with a BSc in Psychology and Computer Science and Information Technology.
>> The Graduate Recruitment Team
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Rachel Faulkner
London Leadership Development Senior Officer
London Office
020 7517 2728
rfaulkner@teachfirst.org.uk
Rachel heads up the Leadership Development Team in London, overseeing the two-year programme for Teach First participants in London from school placement through to graduation. After teaching at a boarding school in Germany, Rachel spent five years at the Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington where, as Assistant Director, she was in charge of professional development for teachers and administrators of the organisation’s 85 member schools in the Washington, DC area. Rachel holds an MSc in Voluntary Sector Management from Roehampton University (London) and a BA in English and German from Duke University (North Carolina).
>> The London Leadership Development Team
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Sarah Higgs
Director of Ambassadors
London Office
020 7517 2729
shiggs@teachfirst.org.uk
Sarah brings a background in business, education and the not-for-profit sector to her role at Teach First. Prior to joining the staff team, she was Managing Partner of a communications consultancy that worked with charities on their branding, messaging and campaigning. Before this, she spent two years teaching English and Drama at a secondary school in Kent and a further two as an educational journalist for the BBC. In her spare time, Sarah is a trustee for the sport and development charity ‘Alive and Kicking UK’, which she helped to found. Sarah graduated from the University of Bristol with a PGCE and the University of Kent with a BA in English & Drama.
>> The Ambassadors Team
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Michael Hyde
Acting Director of Finance
London Office
020 7517 2723
mhyde@teachfirst.org.uk
>> The Operations Team
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Robert Lundin
Associate Director of the Midlands
Midlands Office
0121 5000 766
rlundin@teachfirst.org.uk
Robert oversees all aspects of the development of the Midlands regional programme, including the placement and support of participants in schools, cultivation of business and community partnerships, and the building of public awareness about the scheme. Prior to joining Teach First, Robert founded and led his own school serving low-income students in Houston, Texas. He is a Teach For America alumnus, and has taught students on the primary, secondary, and university levels. In addition to his duties at Teach First, he is also completing a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Vanderbilt University.
>> The Midlands Team
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Amanda Timberg
Director of Expansion and the North West
North West Office
0161 234 0073
atimberg@teachfirst.org.uk
Amanda has responsibility for national expansion into regions outside of London. She also leads up our North West Office which currently serves schools in Greater Manchester and will place teachers in Merseyside starting in September 2008. An alumnus of Teach For America, Amanda taught primary school for three years in Los Angeles and went on to join the Los Angeles staff of Teach For America as the Managing Director of Program. Most recently she worked in the Superintendent’s office of the Los Angeles Unified School District before relocating to Manchester and Teach First in February 2006.
>> The North West Team
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