Blog

Anne Laesecke Deputy Director of Evaluation & Research Anne Laesecke is a monitoring, evaluation, and research practitioner with over a decade of experience in international education. At School-to-School International, Laesecke is Deputy Director of the Evaluation and Research department, supporting the design and implementation of departmental and organizational strategies. She also serves as technical leadRead more

Ashley Popoola Communications Coordinator Ashley Popoola is a communication and public relations specialist with experience in organizational communication, brand identity and management, marketing, and social media. At STS, she provides support to operational communications and copyediting, as well as digital media and reporting. In previous roles, Popoola has provided communication support to a growing e-commerceRead more

Assunta Hardy Principal Researcher Dr. Assunta Hardy is an evaluation, research, and assessment professional with more than twelve years of experience in the field of education. As principal researcher, she serves as a senior leader of STS’s evaluation and research department, providing technical guidance, such as EGRA-tool adaptation, on a portfolio of USAID-funded projects. PriorRead more

Audrey Mwansa Colleges of Education Partnership and MEL Lead, TTE Zambia Dr. Audrey Mwansa is the Colleges of Education (COE) Partnership & Monitoring and Evaluation Lead on the USAID Transforming Teacher Education Activity in Zambia. She is responsible for maintaining relationships with the COEs as well as leading the monitoring and evaluation of the activity.Read more

Briona Graham-Clayton Program Coordinator Briona Graham-Clayton is a program coordinator at School-to-School International, where she provides administrative, logistical, technical, and financial management support to the programs department. Graham-Clayton’s work in the education sector includes teaching pre-kindergarten, developing social and emotional learning (SEL) interactive radio instruction, and managing training-of-trainers programs. As a Peace Corps volunteer inRead more

Bwalya Katuta Finance and Administration Officer, TTE Zambia Bwalya Katuta is the finance and administration officer for the USAID Transforming Teacher Education activity in Zambia. She provides general finance and administrative support to the team. Katuta previously worked as events organizing personnel for the Change Group London. She also served as a guest experience representativeRead more

Candace Debnam Executive Director As School-to-School International’s executive director, Candace Debnam oversees STS’s global operations and business development activities, which includes programmatic work in 15 countries. Debnam has a decade of experience across the nonprofit sector including managing large development contracts and grants for education, health, agriculture, energy, and community engagement projects overseas. She hasRead more

Carol da Silva Senior Director of Impact and Learning As STS’s senior director of impact and learning, Dr. Carol DeShano da Silva serves as the senior leader of STS’s technical team. She defines and implements a strategic vision for STS’s monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) department and ensures the department delivers on the STSRead more

Drew Schmenner Sr. Technical Writer and Editor Drew Schmenner is a senior technical writer and editor. After serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, Schmenner was an award-winning newspaper reporter in southern California before returning to the field of international development. He specializes in writing and editing reports and case studies for both qualitativeRead more

Emily Crane Program Coordinator Emily Crane is a program coordinator providing financial, program, and contract management support to STS’s projects. Crane’s work in the education sector includes supporting youth employment and life-skills programming in Yemen, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, and Tunisia; research on early childhood education policy and finance; and literacy tutoring with primary and middle-schoolRead more