World Learning welcomes five new trustees

Publication Date: October 17, 2023
Publication Location: Washington, DC
Contact: Abby Henson   |   [email protected]

World Learning is pleased to announce that five new members are joining its board of trustees: Elana Aquino, Brandolon Barnett, Spencer Boyer, Travis Feldler, and Sean Kirk. Coming from international development, technology, social impact, government, law, education, and finance sectors, the new trustees bring a wide range of experience and leadership that will help World Learning further its mission.

“Our new trustees will bring invaluable connections and expertise to our global network,” said World Learning CEO Carol Jenkins. “World Learning and School for International Training support individuals around the world to solve the most critical global issues of our time through a framework of human connections and education. With a breadth of skills, leadership, and relationships, our new board members will undoubtedly help us strengthen the important work we do.”

Elana Aquino has 20 years of experience as a practitioner and academic in international development, diplomacy, and global peacebuilding. She is the U.S. executive director at Peace Direct and a fellow for both the International Career Advancement Program and the International Peace and Security Institute and a board member of Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security, and Conflict Transformation. She has supported community-driven solutions for the return of internally displaced persons and locally driven women’s empowerment initiatives around the world.

Brandolon Barnett is an investor, author, and entrepreneur dedicated to merging technology and social impact to better move resources to those in need. He is the founder of The Regular App and is head of Innovation and Philanthropy at Giving Compass. He served as an elected advisory neighborhood commissioner in Washington, DC, and currently serves as a board member of Spur Local (formerly The Catalogue for Philanthropy). He actively mentors and invests in entrepreneurs of color.

Spencer Boyer is the deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy. Under the Obama administration, he served a deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs and as national intelligence officer for Europe in the National Intelligence Council. Boyer has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, a senior fellow or visiting scholar with numerous think tanks, and the director of the Washington Office of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.

Travis Feldler is a technology executive and the founder and CEO of TechRow. He co-authored The New York Times Virtual Reality Curriculum Guide and is an editorial contributor to the Learning Network section. He serves as an advisor to DREAMS at Teachers College, Columbia University, and the Harlem Renaissance Education Pipeline. As part of World Learning’s student research program in Oman, Feldler conducted research on political and economic development in the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf.

Sean Kirk is a private investor and has worked on debt financing for Boeing, The World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, the government of Israel, and the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), among others. He worked as a proprietary trader specializing in distressed mortgage and asset-backed debt and started the structured trading department at Seaport Global Securities. Kirk is a board member for International Medical Response and previously was a board advisor to Women’s Emergency Network.

World Learning Inc. is a global organization that works to create a more sustainable, peaceful, and just world through international education, cultural exchange, and sustainable development programs. It is comprised of World Learning, a global development and exchange nonprofit organization; The Experiment in International Living, a pioneer of abroad and virtual youth exchange programs since 1932; and School for International Training, a global university offering accredited undergraduate study abroad programs, including the comparative International Honors Program and globally focused graduate degrees and certificates. For more information, visit worldlearninginc.org.