ISSA Board

Carmen is a recognized expert on teacher training and education programs for children age birth to three in Romania. She has introduced several innovative educational programs, such as the FasTracKids Program — the first ICT program in schools to support the development of life skills — and ReadyNation Romania a business network advocating for increased public and private investments in ECD in Romania. She is also a member of the ECD Working Group with the president’s office.

In November 2019, Carmen was decorated with the title of “Knight” by the President of Romania in recognition of her important contributions to education reform and policies in Romania.

Her areas of expertise include early childhood development, inclusive education, Roma integration, leadership, NGO development, and democracy building. She is a skilled trainer, facilitator, and mediator, with collaboration at the heart of her work. Éva holds degrees as a teacher and cultural educator, along with qualifications as a general and legal mediator.

Under her 17 years of leadership, Partners Hungary has remained a learning organization, continuously adopting innovative approaches in organizational development and the different programmatic areas. She has played a key role in building, supporting and maintaining several national networks, including the Romani Early Years Network, the Network of Roma Mediators, and the Hungarian ECD Network. Éva has also been an active member of ISSA for many years.

Dr. Sula's areas of interest include early childhood education, life-long learning, VET, with a passion on inclusion, and equal educational opportunities. Her belief that teachers are the key to a school's success is reflected in her primary focus on quality continuous professional development. Her research skills are complemented by her practice-oriented abilities, making her a valuable consultant for both government and non-governmental organizations, among which World Bank, UNICEF, SwissContact, Open Society Foundations.

Throughout his career, he has been instrumental in the establishment of several non-profit organizations and civic associations, focusing primarily on Early Childhood Development. His expertise in capacity development, financial management, and risk management has been pivotal in driving organizational growth and ensuring long-term sustainability.

Miroslav Sklenka has managed numerous projects connected with socially disadvantaged gorups and migrants. His professional experience extends to governmental and international spheres. He worked at the Government Office of Slovakia managing projects financed by the European Union and served as National Project Officer for the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

Deepa joined the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority in 2020, where as a Senior Advisor she is contributing to the establishment of a comprehensive ECD system in the Emirate. Deepa has an academic background in Child Development and holds a doctorate from the University of Sussex, UK.

Hana has also contributed her expertise internationally, serving as a consultant to the Council of Europe in Albania, as well as acting as a researcher and evaluator for several projects in Kosovo. She also served on the ISSA Membership Committee for many years.

Deeply committed to equity and inclusion, Hana is a strong advocate for policies and practices that reduce disparities in access to quality early childhood services. Her vision for the ISSA network is prioritizing marginalized and vulnerable children—ensuring that no child is left behind.

She has served on ISSA’s Board and other bodies in the past, and brings a great deal of experience both in board advising and as a speaker at conferences and seminars.

The program aimed to improve services and policies for all children, with a specific focus on Roma children and children in other minority communities, children with disabilities, refugees, and children living in poverty and in remote areas. Beginning in 2006, Sarah expanded its original focus in Central Eastern Europe and Eurasia to include Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. In 1994, Sarah helped launch Step by Step, the Foundations’ flagship early childhood program, and in 1999, the International Step by Step Association, a network established to support early childhood professionals in Central Eastern Europe and Eurasia. She served as the association’s Executive Director from its inception to 2006.

Sarah holds a doctorate in international early childhood education from the UCL's Institute of Education in London, an MA in developmental psychology from Columbia University Teachers College and a BA in Russian studies from Brown University.

ISSA also broadened its scope to address various aspects of Early Childhood Development, with mechanisms and programs to address the needs of young children and families affected by adversity and emergencies. Her career before ISSA, included a senior position in the Higher Education Support Program of Open Society Foundations and serving as Co-President of the Civic Education Project (CEP), an organization working to reform higher education in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. She serves on various boards, global initiatives and movements, such as the Executive Leadership Council of the Early Childhood Development Action Network (ECDAN), the Steering Committee of Moving Minds Alliance (MMA), the High-Level Advisory Group of Act for Early Years Campaign and WHO's Advisory Group for the Nurturing Care Framework. Liana is a certified Kripalu Yoga Teacher.

Languages: Romanian, English, Hungarian and Dutch

With a background in Economics and Multilateral Governance, she brings a systems-thinking approach to philanthropy, policy, and program design. Her interdisciplinary expertise spans behavioural science, AI for education and philanthropy, grant management, research, and Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL). Tatiana’s work bridges program design and advocacy, focusing on driving systems-level solutions aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. She is passionate about positioning ECD as a strategic, cross-sector investment to tackle global challenges, from inequality and poor health to climate resilience. She is also a proud mother of three.

She also offers technical assistance in programme design, innovations and learning to strengthen knowledge. Nafisa has been with the Aga Khan Development Network for over 20 years, holding key leadership roles in education and early childhood development programmes across Afghanistan, East Africa, and Switzerland. Before joining the global programme team, she served for five years as Regional Education Programme Manager for East Africa. Prior to that, she spent over five years with AKF in Afghanistan, where she successfully led the expansion of the Foundation’s education portfolio, including the launch of flagship girls’ education and early childhood development programmes. Nafisa is currently a member of the Geneva Global Education in Emergency Hub, the Moving Minds Alliance and the Educating for Pluralism Innovation Lab at the Global Centre for Pluralism.

Her work stands at the intersection of early childhood education and developmental psychology and has focused on early childhood development and education, and preschool quality across Asia. She has received awards for both research and teaching and has considerable senior management experience. She is firmly committed to knowledge exchange and has served on many non-profit and professional boards throughout her career. Internationally, she has provided expertise and consultancy services to UNICEF, UNESCO, the World Bank, the OECD, and the WHO.

During the next 20 odd years, he worked as professor in family pedagogy at Ghent University. His practice and his research interests include quality and accessibility in ECEC with a special focus on equity and diversity. He authored my international publications on these issues and is coordinating editor of the groundbreaking book series “Contesting early childhood” (Routledge), together with Liselott Olsson. He now works as a policy advisor for the Flemish Minister of Welfare.

Mathias has 25 years of experience in designing and leading international collaborative research projects and has a well-established track record of publications. In 2018, Mathias was awarded the ‘Marianne Bloch Distinguished Career Award’ by the international Reconceptualising Early Childhood Education network. In 2020, he was awarded the ‘President’s Award for Research Impact’ by Dublin City University. From 2009 to 2011 he coordinated the CoRe project (Competence Requirements in Early Childhood Education and Care), funded by the European Commission, Directorate General for Education and Culture. The project developed the concept of Competent Systems in Early Childhood Education and Care, which has been adopted widely in ECEC global policy. Mathias is a member of the European Commission Expert Working Group on Early Childhood Education and Care, a member of the Global Advocacy Group with the global Right to Education initiative, and a member of the Board of TASC – Think Tank for Action on Social Change. He is the lead author of the Early Childhood Development, Education and Care policy briefs for the T20/G20 presidencies 2018 (Argentina), 2019 (Japan), 2020 (Saudi Arabia), 2021 (Italy), 2022 (Indonesia), 2024 (Brazil), and 2025 (South Africa).

She built programs to support both Jordanian and refugee communities across the country. Muna established a wide network of International Organizations, including Civil Society Organizations and Government Institutions with strong links to regional and global efforts playing a strong role in advocating for gender equality, girls’ and women’s rights, and youth empowerment. She also worked with Save the Children and UNRWA to design and lead programs responding to humanitarian needs of refugees and affected crises populations in the Middle East.

In 2014, he co-founded and continues to co-lead a 5000-member global community of practice focused on scaling up development and climate outcomes with members from 127 countries. Larry is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and serves as a board member for a wide range of non-profit organizations including the Society for International Development (board chair), World Learning (past chair), Elma Philanthropies, and the Carter School of Peace and Conflict Resolution.

Over the past 50 years Joan has made significant contributions in the areas of child and family policy as an innovative leader and policy advisor to national and international organizations and foundations and as a public servant. Joan served as the first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood during the Obama Administration and the first Director of the Child Care Bureau during the Clinton Administration. Joan has served as an advisor to a range of organizations including UNICEF, WHO, UNESCO, and The World Bank Group, among others. She serves on the Executive Leadership Council of the Early Childhood Development Action Network and as a research advisor to the Moving Minds Alliance. She was a founder of Global Leaders for Young Children, hosted by the World Forum Foundation and the author of numerous publications from research to policy, from service delivery to system reform.

His work bridges research, policy, and practice—generating new evidence that influences systemic change and delivers tangible outcomes for communities. Over the past two decades, he has successfully designed and implemented initiatives across public health, primary healthcare, and humanitarian programming, particularly in remote and disadvantaged communities. With strong leadership experience, he brings a deep understanding of place-based approaches, co-design, and cross-sector collaboration to tackle complex social challenges. Prior to Minderoo Foundation, he worked with Save the Children Australia.

He joined the Center in 2008 to lead the development of its international work. In his current role, James leads Center-wide efforts focused on understanding the early childhood ecosystem and the Center’s role in it, including developing strategic collaborations and partnerships, and leading efforts to understand and measure the impact of the Center’s work.  He also continues to provide strategic guidance to the Center’s international portfolio and partnerships. He is constantly inspired by how many people in places all over the world find the Center’s materials useful in their efforts to improve the lives of children and families. Prior to joining the Center, James served as the Director of Programs at the World Conference of Religions for Peace, and as Director of the Advocacy and Action for Children Program, fostering cooperation among the world’s main religious communities to address critical needs of children. He holds master’s degrees in international relations and theology from Yale University and a bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard University

Before that she was the Executive Director of For Our Children Foundation and in that role she co-led Bulgaria’s deinstitutionalisation movement, established innovative, community-based services for early childhood and child protection, and built cross-sector partnerships that set new standards for NGO leadership. On the global stage, she has served as Vice President and Board Member of leading international NGO networks and provided senior consultancy to UNICEF, the European Commission, and global think tanks. She has supported governments and partners across Bulgaria, Kosovo, Indonesia, Montenegro, and beyond, on various issues, including cross-sectoral ECD strategies and financing models. With over 25 years of experience in public administration, civil society, and international consultancy, she is  currently working as an independent consultant and senior advisor, assisting governments, NGOs, international organisations, and socially responsible businesses design and implement transformational social systems that promote wellbeing, sustainable development and justice.


Prior to this, Ms. Borisova was UNICEF’s global lead in the area of early childhood education and care (ECEC), responsible for global strategy development and its implementation across regions in the area of ECEC, aimed at achieving equitable access to quality pre-primary education by 2030. Prior to joining UNICEF, Ms Borisova served as the Director of Impact and Innovations for Early Years at Save the Children. She is a national of Bulgaria and she holds a Doctorate in Human Development and Education from the Harvard University.

He is a community and developmental psychologist who conducts research-policy and research-practice partnerships related to immigration, early childhood, youth development, and poverty reduction across the lifespan. He conducts research in the United States and in Latin America, South Asia and the Middle East. His recent projects include a project on experiences of Florida's K12 education policies; leading the research and evaluation for Ahlan Simsim, the first MacArthur Foundation 100&Change award (with Sesame Workshop and the International Rescue Committee), implementing and evaluating early childhood programming for Syrian refugee families in the Middle East, as well as Play to Learn, providing and evaluating early childhood programs for Rohingya in Bangladesh as well as in humanitarian contexts in the Middle East and Colombia. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the William T. Grant Foundation; the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP); and the LEVANTE advisory board of the Jacobs Foundation. He served on the National Board on Education Sciences during the Obama and Biden administrations. In 2025, he was awarded the Klaus Jacobs Research Prize of the Jacobs Foundation.  He is the author of numerous publications.

She is a newly elected member of the Academy of Science of South Africa.  As a founding member and past president of the South African Research Association for Early Childhood Education, she led pioneering work with multiple stakeholders that created action for early childhood as a public service. This has earned her national awards for transformative research.  Professor Ebrahim continues to lead cross-cultural projects, contribute to continental strategies and build the capacity of multiple stakeholders for epistemic and social justice in the early years.

With her highly experienced teams of Senior Fellows, she focuses on national policy planning, financing, training, research, and monitoring, evaluation and reporting. They advise countries in all world regions, always using participatory and culturally appropriate methods. Previously, she was a USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator for Education, founded and directed a large ECD and ECI organisation in Austin, Texas, Any Baby Can, conducted educational planning and research for the Ford Foundation and UNESCO, and was a university professor. She has a PhD in anthropology and educational planning from Stanford University and has published many books and articles in peer-reviewed journals.

For almost a decade, Dominic led two of UNICEF’s global research teams, education and social policy and economic analysis at the Office of Research – Innocenti, where he oversaw work on family cash transfers and cash plus programmes (including gender responsive social protection), social expenditure and ECD policies, the Innocenti Report Card Series, teachers and teaching, development of social and emotional skills, and global research on family policies, child development and well-being. Dominic previously worked with OECD Social Policy Division on a broad range of studies covering child well-being, evaluating family policies, integrating human services, and social impact investment. Dominic has led or co-authored multiple reports on comparative child well-being in high-, middle- and low-income countries. Dominic was awarded the 2018 Jan Trost Award (lifetime achievement) for Outstanding Contributions in International Family Studies by the National Council for Family Relations in the United States.

He also serves on the Advisory Council of the Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (OEI). From 2014 to 2024, he was Education Program Director at the Inter-American Dialogue, where he led influential work on early childhood development, education systems reform, education technology, skills development, and inclusion. Previously, Dr. Fiszbein served as Chief Economist of the Human Development Network at the World Bank, overseeing global work on education, health, social protection, labor markets, governance, service delivery, and impact evaluation. In addition to his policy leadership, he has taught at institutions including Johns Hopkins SAIS and Universidad de San Andrés, and has published extensively on education quality, early childhood development, social protection, inequality, and evaluation methods. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.