School-to-School International—a leading international development organization dedicated to improving the lives of girls, boys, and their communities worldwide through access to quality education—announced this week that president and co-founder Mark Lynd will retire effective August 2024.
“Mark founded STS in 2002, alongside Jeff Davis, as a two-man shop to help children in Guinea succeed in school by tackling the interrelated challenges students face,” says Candace Debnam, executive director of STS. Since then his vision has grown into so much more. “What began as a two-man operation has now grown into a global organization that has worked in over 51 countries, with over 40 passionate staff members worldwide. That’s a testament to Mark’s vision and unwavering commitment.”
Lynd worked tirelessly over the years to “build an organization that does great work, continue to do that technical work himself and always pushing for new and creative approaches to every problem we’re trying to solve,” shares Lauren McAskill, STS’s vice president of business strategy. Debnam adds, “Mark not only built a successful business but one that remains committed to its original vision: championing an integrated approach that combines education, health, and community.”
Lynd’s signature project—the Whole Child Model—launched in Guinea in 2002. For 16 years, Lynd nurtured and refined this approach before the work was sustainable at a level that allowed for the creation of the locally-led and staffed NGO, School-to-School Guinea. In 2018, Mark shifted his attention with the Whole Child Model to Tanzania, where it seeks to serve 62,000 primary school students across 92 schools.
When asked about his most critical contributions to STS over the years, Mark joked that it was “starting the organization and working extra hours.” He more sincerely reflects that it was expanding the conversation of quality education within STS and beyond: “If we focus too much on educational outcomes, we may overlook issues of inclusion, wellbeing, and sustaining gains over time.”
“If we focus too much on educational outcomes, we may overlook issues of inclusion, wellbeing, and sustaining gains over time.” – Mark Lynd
Lynd has had a long and distinguished career, spanning more than 40 years. Lynd began his career in education and international development in 1983 when he taught English as a Peace Corps Volunteer in a secondary school in the Central African Republic. Since then, he has worked in dozens of countries to support projects in monitoring and evaluation, assessment, teacher training, policy and strategy development, and benchmarking.
A retirement celebration and symposium on Mark Lynd’s impact is scheduled for November 2024. More information is forthcoming, and details will be added here as they become available.
