Jenny Abramson and Emiliana Vegas have been appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Jacobs Foundation, effective January 1, 2021. Jenny Abramson is Founder and Managing Partner of Rethink Impact. Emiliana Vegas is Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the Center for Universal Education at The Brookings Institution. Marta Tienda, Member of the Jacobs Foundation Board of Trustees for more than 20 years, is retiring from the Board.
“With its new strategy 2030, the Jacobs Foundation wants to transform education systems around the world and provide children and youth with effective knowledge, skills and equitable opportunities to reach their full learning potential and thrive together. Jenny Abramson is a leader in impact investing and brings a wealth of experience in education and entrepreneurship. Emiliana Vegas is a world-renowned expert in international education policy and economics of education. Emiliana and Jenny will offer invaluable insights and strategic advice to the Jacobs Foundation and help us to promote systemic change in education”, says Lavinia Jacobs, Chair of the Jacobs Foundation’s Board of Trustees. “On this occasion, we would also like to express our sincere and heartfelt thanks to Marta Tienda, who, as our longest-serving Trustee, has contributed so much to the work of the Foundation.”
Jenny Abramson founded the venture capital fund Rethink Impact, where she acts as Managing Partner. She was the Director for Program Strategy & Development at Teach for America, and the Director for Transformation Management at Washington, DC’s public schools in the US. She has a master’s degree in sociology (organizational behavior) from Stanford University, USA, holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, USA, and was a Fulbright Scholar at the London School of Economics.
Emiliana Vegas is Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the Center for Universal Education, at The Brookings Institution, USA. She previously served as Chief of the Education Division at the Inter-American Development Bank and Lead Economist of the Human Development Department at The World Bank, USA. Emiliana has a doctor’s degree of education from the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University, USA, and holds a master’s degree in public policy from Duke University, USA.
The new Board of Trustees of the Jacobs Foundation as of January 2021:
- Lavinia Jacobs (Chair of the Board of Trustees)
Zurich, Switzerland - Jenny Abramson
Founder and Managing Partner of Rethink Impact; Washington DC, USA - Prof. Dr. Patrick Aebischer
Professor at EPFL; Lausanne, Switzerland - Hans Ambühl
Former General Secretary of the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK); Bern, Switzerland - William Egbe
Investor; Johannesburg, South Africa - Sandro Giuliani
Executive Director at GESDA; Geneva, Switzerland - Prof. Dr. Ulman Lindenberger
Director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development; Berlin, Germany - Dr. Emiliana Vegas
Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the Center for Universal Education – The Brookings Institution; Washington DC, USA - Dr. Olaf von Maydell
Partner at Schomerus & Partner; Berlin, Germany - Dr. Joh. Christian Jacobs (Honorary Chairman of the Board of Trustees)
Investor; Hamburg, Germany