Management Philosophy
Room to Read's goal is to combine the best of private and public sector management in order to become the trusted global educational development organization. Our leadership team is comprised of veterans of such venerable corporations as Goldman Sachs, Gap, Microsoft and Unilever, along with former managers from CARE, The Nature Conservancy and the World Health Organization. They have taught in overseas locations ranging from Kuwait to Mongolia to South Korea, and have all spent considerable parts of their careers involved in international business and social causes. Our organization is bound by a shared commitment to hiring and retaining a talented, passionate global team, maintaining financial and programmatic transparency, engaging in true partnerships with local communities to empower them to improve their situation, and being faithful stewards of donors' investments in Room to Read. Together, we seek to provide millions of children in the developing world with the lifelong gift of education.
Executive Team
John Wood
Founder and CEO
John is the Founder and CEO of Room to Read. He started Room to Read after a fast-paced and distinguished career with Microsoft from 1991 to 1999. He was in charge of marketing and business development teams throughout Asia, including Director of Business Development for the Greater China region and as Director of Marketing for the Asia-Pacific region. John brings to Room to Read a vision for a scalable solution to developing world educational problems, an intense focus on results, and an ability to attract a world-class group of employees, volunteers, and investors. John focuses on long-term strategy, capital acquisition, public speaking, and media.
John was selected as the second recipient of the Draper Richards Fellowship, has twice been chosen for the Skoll Foundation award for social entrepreneurship, and has led Room to Read to three consecutive selections for the prestigious "Social Capitalist" by Fast Company magazine and the Monitor Group. In 2004, he was named as one of Time Magazine's "Asian Heroes" - the only non-Asian ever selected to receive this award. He is also the author of Leaving Microsoft to Change the World (Harper Collins; September, 2006).
John is an active public speaker, especially to business audiences, on the subjects of corporate social responsibility and building a world-class non-profit organization. His work has been profiled by Bloomberg Television, CNBC, CNN, Fast Company, Newsweek, The New York Times, Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and USA Today. John holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Northwestern University and a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Finance from the University of Colorado.
Erin Ganju
Chief Operating Officer
Erin has been with Room to Read since 2001 and has lead the collaborative effort with our in-country teams to design Room to Read's programs and launch new Room to Read countries. She currently manages all day to day operations for the organization, overseeing the Programs, Development, Finance and Human Resource departments. Erin is an experienced international business development professional having worked most recently as Vice President, Business Development for Dejima, Inc. Erin's previous professional experience also includes having worked for two large, multinational companies: Unilever N.V. and Goldman, Sachs & Co. She has spent extensive time working overseas, particularly in Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam. Erin was awarded her Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Advanced International Studies and her undergraduate degree from The Johns Hopkins University, where she graduated with Dean's Honors and as a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Academic Society.
Charmaine Ess
Chief Program Development Officer
Charmaine joins Room to Read with over 15 years of experience in operations, finance and international development work. Previously, Charmaine was the co-founder and partner of the Axion Group: a boutique consulting firm specializing in emerging growth companies. Charmaine has also held positions at the Moore Foundation (where she managed a one billion dollar conservation grant to Latin America); Financial Services Volunteer Corps (where she established/managed FSVC's Moscow office and delivery of programs to the Russian Central Bank and Parliament); as well as Goldman Sachs (where she was part of a three-person Russia advisory team). Charmaine has worked in Denmark, France, U.K., Croatia, Russia, and Chile. She speaks five languages, has an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a BA in Political Science from Dartmouth (graduating Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and Presidential Scholar). As Chief Program Development Officer, Charmaine is in charge of spearheading Room to Read's strategy for expansion into new countries and regions.
Lisa Hogen
Chief Development Officer
Lisa comes to Room to Read with over nine years of fundraising experience having worked most recently as the Director of Development for The Food Project, a Boston-based non-profit focused on youth development through sustainable agriculture. Prior to that, Lisa worked as a Major Gifts Officer for The Nature Conservancy's Asia Pacific Program where she was responsible for raising funds to support the Conservancy's efforts to protect rainforests and coral reefs. As Chief Development Officer at Room to Read, Lisa oversees all aspects of fundraising with a primary focus on corporations and foundations. Lisa holds a B.S. in Environmental Studies and Economics from Tufts University.
Lori McLeese
Chief People Officer
Lori joins Room to Read with over fifteen years of educational, instructional design, marketing, and Human Resources experience. Most recently, she worked in corporate Human Resources at Mervyns, a west coast retailer. Prior to that she held positions at United Business Media, Oracle, and the San Francisco Unified School District. In addition, she taught in private schools in Kuwait, Egypt, and South Korea. Lori's primary responsibilities are recruitment, training, motivation and retention of great people around the globe, in addition to day-to-day HR responsibilities. Lori was awarded her Master's Degree in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of San Francisco and her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Academic Society.
International Directors
Mr. Dhir Jhingran
Regional Director, Asia
With over 15 years of professional experience in primary education, Dhir most recently served as Director of Elementary Education for the Ministry of Human Resource Development, responsible for guiding the Education For All (EFA) program, a national campaign to universalize elementary education in India. Dhir also held positions as Mission Director for EFA in the State of Assam, National Program Manager for the United Nation's International Primary Education Program, and Director of Primary Education for the Indian Ministry. Dhir is a skilled manager of significant organizational and strategic operations, has supervised programs in reading comprehension, computer education, classroom construction and language development, and is the author of two books that focus on educational access for disadvantaged children. Dhir holds an M.A. in Economics, a Post Graduate Diploma in Management and a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Mr. Min Sor
Country Director, Cambodia
With over 20 years of experience working with international NGOs primarily in the development field, Min Sor joined Room to Read from Habitat for Humanity International as the Cambodia Country Director. Min was responsible for leading, managing and developing national strategic and operational development. Previously, Min held a 12-year tenure at World Vision Cambodia in multiple posts as Project Manager, Sponsor Relations Department Manager, and Operations Manager. He earned a Masters of Business Administration from Eastern University in Pennsylvania with a focus on Leadership Development for Non-Profit Organizations. He also studied medicine at the United Nations Medical Institute in Thailand and holds a Bachelors degree from Norton University in Cambodia.
Ms. Sunisha Ahuja
Country Director, India
Sunisha joined Room to Read in 2003 to manage our expansion into India. She has been working with disadvantaged communities with a specific focus on "out of school" and working children as well as early childhood development since 1990. Most recently she was working with CARE-INDIA in New Delhi as a Technical Specialist in the area of early childhood development. Her other experiences include working as a Senior Consultant in Alternative Schooling for Educational Consultants India Limited for the District Primary Education Program. She holds a Masters degree in Childhood Development from Delhi University.
Ms. Somphet Phongphachanh
Country Director, Laos
Somphet launched Room to Read into Laos in 2005 after spending seven years as the Coordinator of the Association for Sending Picture Books to Laos Children (ASPB, a Japanese NGO). She is committed to increasing educational opportunities for the children in her country and in 1997 decided to leave a career as an Anesthesiologist at the Mahosot Hospital in Vientiane to convert this commitment into a career. She holds a Bachelors Degree of Medicine.
Mr. Dinesh Shrestha
Country Director, Nepal
Dinesh has been involved in rural development and village welfare since 1983. He has worked with organizations from Canada, Germany, the U.S. and the U.N. His most recent project was with the World Health Organization, where he was a Program Officer for WHO's polio eradication program. He has been managing Room to Read Nepal since it was founded in 1998 as a volunteer and joined our team full-time in 2003. Dinesh has a Master's in Business Administration from Tribhuwan University, Nepal.
Glenfrey De Mel
Country Director, Sri Lanka
Glen has over 20 years of experience in the development field, primarily with international organizations. He held various posts at Save the Children Sri Lanka, most recently as Manager of Advocacy, Information and Communication. In his previous position as Senior Programme Officer for Child Rights, he conceptualized and promoted the Child Rights Programming for Sri Lanka and other countries in South and Central Asia. As a Regional Research Officer for South and Central Asia in Kathmandu, he conducted a regional study on 'Children and Citizenship' in South Asia. Glen is a passionate advocate for children's rights and is specifically committed to their right to participation in decision making. He studied law at the University of Colombo and later studied education at the Department of Education at the University of Manchester.
Ms. Thuy Pham
Country Director, Vietnam
Thuy formally joined Room to Read's team in 2005 after a non-profit career focused on developing and implementing funding strategies for various organizations working with children's, women's, and immigrant issues. She was previously the Fund Developer at the Asian Women's Resource Center in San Francisco and a Development Officer at the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Thuy was honored with CompassPoint's "Unsung Hero Award" in 2001 and the "Heroes of Compassion Award" from Wisdom in Action and the Dalai Lama in 2005. She holds a BA from the University of San Francisco where she graduated Cum Laude.
Lovemore Nkhoma
Country Director, Zambia
Lovemore has a wide spectrum of development experience in Zambia, Malawi, Uganda and Zimbabwe, ranging from direct field work to government agencies to civil societies to non-governmental organizations and donors. He held multiple posts at World Vision including Deputy Operations Manager, implementing programs for orphaned and vulnerable children, and Project Coordinator of Area Development, facilitating various community-based development projects. He has managed educational infrastructure projects for the Lutheran World Federation and served as a Planning Advisor for the United Nations Capital Development Fund. Prior to his career in development, Lovemore taught secondary school for ten years. He holds a MBA from Copperbelt University.
