Leonora is an experienced development operations professional, with considerable knowledge in the management of large and multi-skilled teams and projects, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. 

She was previously the Country Director for the Varkey Foundation in Ghana, where she was responsible for four large-scale donor-funded education pilot projects: a Dubai Cares-funded teacher training pilot, which improved the professional practice of 5,000 teachers in government schools; a DFID-funded girls’ education project which is improving learning outcomes for over 30,000 students in the country; a UNHCR-funded project that works with Ampain and Egyeikrom Camps to improve learning outcomes for refugee children; and a USAID-funded project that provides literacy teacher training to thousands of teachers across Ghana.
 

Leonora has global experience in education, having worked in East and West Africa, France and Hong Kong, and frequently speaks on her experience running education projects that use innovative technology. A former head of Philosophy and Religion at a London school, she has implemented successful improvement programmes with students and teachers to impact educational outcomes. She is a trained teacher with a Master’s degree in education, specialising in literacy, gender and childhood development, and has published work about student gender, female literacy, and learning engagement.

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