Carol Bellamy, Chair of the Board of Directors for the Education for All/Fast Track Initiative  
Carol Bellamy has recently assumed the position of Chair of the Board of Directors for the Education for All/Fast Track Initiative. In this role, she will provide leadership for the global partnership supporting universal primary education by 2015. Prior to this, she served as President and CEO of World Learning, a private nonprofit organization which promotes international understanding through education, training, exchange, and development activities in more than 70 countries. Bellamy also served 10 years as Executive Director of UNICEF, the children's agency of the United Nations, and was the first former volunteer to become Director of the Peace Corps. She has worked in the private sector and as an elected public official, including five years in the New York State Senate. In 2009, Bellamy was awarded the Légion d’Honneur by the Government of France.

» Learn more about the Carol Bellamy

Join Carol on Saturday during the World Forum Plenary Session and at 9:15 a.m. for her Thought Leader session entitled “A Conversation with Carol Bellamy”.

Judy A. Bernstein
In her capacity as an International Rescue Committee mentor in 2001, she met co-authors, Alephonsion Deng, Benson Deng, and Benjamin Ajak. Awed and deeply touched by their tragic childhoods, epic journey, and heroic survival, when they wrote accounts of their experiences she helped them develop their poignant stories.

Judy is a mother, writer, Student Advisor for the Community Economic Development Department at San Diego State University, volunteer mentor and Chair of the Advisory Committee of the San Diego International Rescue Committee, and co-founder of the IRC Lost Boys Education Fund.

Join Judy on Friday during the Plenary Session and at 9:00 a.m. for the Thought Leader session entitled ”The True Story of Three Lost Boys of Sudan”.

Lost Boys
In the mid 1980's, during the Second Sudanese Civil War, over 27,000 displaced and orphaned young boys from the attacked south fled into the night. Many no more than five or six years old, without food and clothing, began their epic journey lasting years that would take them a thousand miles across Sudan into refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. Less than half survived. Those who did became known to the world as the Lost Boys of Sudan.

After several years in Ethiopia, Alephonsion and Benson Deng, and their cousin Benjamin Ajak walked to the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya when the civil war in Ethiopia began. They were then relocated to the United States as part of an international refugee relief program and arrived in 2001. Their memoir They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys of Sudan was published in 2005. Now all in their mid-twenties, they live in San Diego, California.

Benson Athiin Deng runs the computer and digital photography system at Waste Management in El Cajon, Calif. He hopes that the book will allow them to further their education and help their family back home who are still suffering.

Benjamin Ajak holds a Class A license, and from behind the wheel of an 18 wheeler has seen all 48 states. He resides in San Diego and speaks full time to organizations and schools, sharing his amazing life and insights into surviving as a child of war and a newcomer to the U.S.

» Learn more about the Lost Boys

Join the Lost Boys on Friday during the Plenary Session and at 9:00 a.m. for the Thought Leader session entitled “The True Story of Three Lost Boys of Sudan”.

Haru Inouye, Chief Executive Officer, Shinnyo-en Foundation
Haru Inouye has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Shinnyo-en Foundation, as well as a member of the Board of Directors since the inception of the foundation. His academic and professional backgrounds include multicultural and international education as well as intercultural management in both nonprofit and for profit organizations. He also serves at the Shinnyo-en Head Temple in Redwood City, California.

Haru will be speaking during the Thursday Plenary Session.

Jim Kielsmeier, Founder, President and CEO, NYLC
Kielsmeier has committed his life to transforming the roles of young people in society — building youth-adult partnerships that help young people grow from recipients of information and resources to valuable, contributing members of a democratic society.

Jim will be speaking during the Wednesday Plenary Session

Talia Leman, CEO and founder, RandomKid
Talia Leman is CEO and a founder of RandomKid, a nonprofit organization that helps kids help others. She has worked with kids from 20 countries and reported close to 10.5 million dollars for her RandomKid-guided initiatives. Talia is 13 years-old, and resides in Iowa. Talia was UNICEF's first National Youth Ambassador and Youth Spokesperson, and served in that position in 2005-2006. She served as the spokesperson for Build-a-Bear Workshop's Huggable Heroes program in 2008, recognizing young philanthropists around the world. Talia has been the recipient of numerous international and national awards for her philanthropic work, including having been recognized by three Presidents, and was named "Citizen of Character" in the state of Iowa through Character Counts. This past summer, Talia was named one of the top 10 youth volunteers in the United States, and was presented with an award by the US Secretary of Education in the Chamber of Commerce – the Prudential Spirit of Community National Award winner. Talia has been twice featured on the TODAY SHOW, and will be featured in an article on youth philanthropy in USA Today coming out in October, and in a new book coming out this fall called "Asset-Based Thinking for Teens". Talia was recently awarded the "Nobel Prize for Children."

» Listen to Talia Leman

Join Talia on Saturday during the World Forum Plenary Session and at 9:15 a.m. for her Thought Leader session entitled “The Power of ANYone”.

Elson Nash
Nash has been with the Corporation for National and Community Service for more than seven years and has more than 17 years experience in higher education, nonprofit management and government relations. Throughout his career he has worked on civic engagement and service-learning.

Elson will be speaking during the Wednesday Plenary Session

Kathy Payne, Senior Director, State Farm's Education Excellence
Payne is in charge of State Farm’s business education partnerships. Prior to joining State Farm, Kathy was a 12-year veteran special education teacher at the secondary level.

Kathy will be speaking during the Wednesday Plenary Session

Sir Ken Robinson is an internationally recognized leader in the development of creativity, innovation, and human resources. He works with governments in Europe, Asia, and the U.S., and with international agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and some of the world’s leading cultural organizations. In 1998, he led a national commission on creativity, education, and the economy for the U.K. Government. He was the central figure in developing a strategy for creative and economic development as part of the peace process in Northern Ireland, working with the ministers for training, education enterprise and culture. He also was one of four international advisors to the Singapore government for its strategy to become the creative hub of South East Asia.

» Listen to Sir Ken Robinson

Join Sir Ken on Thursday during the Plenary Session and at 2:30 p.m. for his Thought Leader session entitled “Cultivating Creativity in Schools”.

Anthony P. Chavez, Cesar Chavez Educational Institute

Join Anthony on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. for his Thought Leader session entitled “Connecting Education with Service”.

Nadine Cruz, Independent Consultant

Bev Hiott, Richland School District 2

Join Bev on Friday at 1:45 p.m. for her Thought Leader session entitled “Research-based Practices for District-wide Service-Learning Coordination”.

James Toole, University of Minnesota

Pamela Toole, Compass Institute

Join James and Pamela on Friday at 3:30 p.m. for their Thought Leader session entitled “Innovations in K-12 Service-Learning Practice”.

Reuven Gal

Join Reuven on Friday at 3:30 p.m. for his Thought Leader session entitled “Lessons from Israel: Military and National Youth Service”.