World Education Services Announces the Appointment of Four New Board Members


NEW YORK, May 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- World Education Services (WES) today announced the appointment of four new members to its Board of Trustees. The new members are Dr. Feridun Hamdullahpur, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waterloo; Helen Hayward, an Ontario-based independent board director and strategic advisor to organizations in the public and not-for-profit sector; Maryana Iskander, CEO of South Africa-based Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator; and Aaron Williams, who served as the 18th Director of the Peace Corps, from 2009 to 2012, and was most recently executive vice president of RTI’s international development group. 

“I am so pleased to welcome our new board members to WES,” said Hans de Wit, chairman of the WES Board of Trustees and Director of the Center for International Higher Education at the Lynch School of Education at Boston College. “They bring the perfect combination of skills, insight, and global experience to WES as it embarks on the next phase of its evolution.”

“These four individuals bring exceptional depth and breadth to an already world-class board of trustees,” said Esther Benjamin, CEO and Executive Director of WES. “Their expertise spans non-profit, business, and government sectors, and each will contribute a wealth of knowledge and experience to WES’ future as it embraces digitization, an expanded philanthropic and policy agenda, and, in the coming months, a new strategic plan.”

A professor of mechanical engineering, Dr. Feridun Hamdullahpur has served as an educator and leader over the span of a more than 35-year career in research and higher education. His focus as President of the University of Waterloo has been twofold: fostering excellence in academics and research, and deepening the institution’s focus on innovation. Hamdullahpur previously served as Provost and Vice-President (Academic), and as Vice President (Research and International) at Carleton University in Ottawa. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering from the Technical University of Nova Scotia, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Istanbul in Turkey.

Helen Hayward was born and educated in Hong Kong and came to Canada as an international student. She has a successful track record of advising and leading change in high-profile and complex environments. Hayward recently retired as a National Partner with Western Management Consultants (WMC), a Canadian management consulting and executive search firm. She was previously with Mercer Delta International Organizational Consulting, a consulting firm based in New York. As a Certified Management Consultant, she has worked extensively with national, provincial, and municipal governments and their agencies. She serves on multiple health care, justice, and education boards.

An Egyptian-American, Maryana Iskander immigrated to the United States when she was young. She has a track record of scaling organizations through partnership models, data-driven delivery, talent management, and technology innovation. Prior to joining Harambee in 2012, she was Chief Operating Officer for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, a $1 billion organization that is the nation’s largest provider of women’s reproductive health care. Iskander has been an associate at global business consulting firm McKinsey & Company, a strategy consultant for W.L. Gore & Associates, and a law clerk at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York, and Vinson & Elkins in Houston. She received a bachelor’s degree from Rice University, and earned a Master of Science from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She also holds a Juris Doctor from Yale University.

Aaron Williams has extensive experience in the strategic design and management of assistance programs in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. In addition to his role as Director of the Peace Corps, he was a diplomat and senior official for 22 years at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where he reached the rank of career minister in the Senior Foreign Service. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the boards of directors of the Ron Brown Scholar Program and ChildFund International, as well as the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs’ Advisory Board. He has also served on the board of directors of the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign, CARE, the National Peace Corps Association, and the Institute for Sustainable Communities. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Chicago State University, and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

About WES
Founded in 1974, World Education Services Inc. (WES) is a 501(c)3 non-profit social enterprise dedicated to helping international students, immigrants, and refugees achieve their educational and workplace goals in the United States and Canada. WES evaluates and advocates for the recognition of international education qualifications, and for integrating immigrants into the workforce. Over the course of more than 45 years, WES has provided credential evaluations to nearly three million individuals from around the globe.

For more information, contact Ashley Craddock, Director of Strategic Communications, World Education Services. T: 512.212.3998 E: acraddock@WES.org