Our people

Patrick became Chief Executive in August 2017 having been Director of Education Services. Having spent his career to date delivering life-changing education programmes around the world, Patrick's vision is for Education Development Trust to continue to deliver on its mission and transform even more lives around the world by improving education. He is rigorous in ensuring that our work meets our exacting values of excellence, integrity, collaboration and accountability – and that we work hand in hand with our clients to ensure the impact of our work is long term and sustainable.

Tony McAleavy is Education Development Trust’s Education Director with corporate oversight of the educational impact of all Education Development Trust’s activities and our public domain research programme. Tony has worked extensively on school reform in many countries, particularly in the Middle East. He has an MA in Modern History from St John’s College, University of Oxford.

Cheryl is passionate about creating change at scale, enabling people to make the most of their lives. At Education Development Trust, she is instrumental in telling our unique and inspirational story to audiences around the world ensuring we can continue to transform lives through education. Prior to joining Education Development Trust, Cheryl led the public engagement function at the Fairtrade Foundation.

Dr Anna Riggall leads Education Development Trust's global programme of academic educational research and promotes evidence engagement across the organisation. She has over 20 years’ experience leading international educational research and holds an MA in Education & Development Studies and PhD in Education. She specialises in the areas of education system reform, education for marginalised groups including children with disabilities, girls and refugees, teacher development, leadership, accountability and education in emergencies.

Tarek oversees our Africa, Middle East and Asia operations. Dynamic and experienced, he uses his exceptional expertise to work closely with governments and partners to realise ambitious and far-reaching reform in both public and private education systems. With extensive knowledge of system reform, inspection and school management, he develops solutions that improve learning outcomes for children and empower teachers and principals. Educated in the UK and Australia, Tarek is a fluent Arabic speaker and has lived in the Middle East for 12 years.

Bob manages our finance and corporate services teams and, in doing so,  ensures that our reputation for integrity and accountability can be evidenced in all that we do and that the organisation can call on the professional services and infrastructure required to support delivery of excellent charitable impact. A chartered accountant (as well as a qualified teacher and with an MA in languages from Cambridge University), Bob worked in the professional services, corporate commercial and charity sectors both in the UK and internationally, before joining Education Development Trust in 2014.

Sarah has extensive experience of working for not-for-profit organisations and has seen how education empowers individuals to achieve their full potential and act as a catalyst to transform our communities, creating more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable societies. At Education Development Trust she works collaboratively to develop the culture and people strategies which attract, retain, and enable our talented people to thrive and deliver impact.

Mick leads the finance team at Education Development Trust, overseeing financial accounting, financial planning and analysis and commercial finance for the Trust. Through the application and promotion of highly effective commercial expertise, high standards in systems and controls, and a culture of transparency and accountability, the finance team ensures Education Development Trust programmes are characterised by compliance and value for money. Mick is a Chartered Accountant with a BSc in Philosophy and Economics, an MSc in Development Studies and 20 years’ experience in audit and finance roles in the professional services and charitable sectors.

Laura oversees our careers portfolio in the UK and supports regional directors with opportunities within the careers/employability sectors across our global operation. Self-motivated and enthusiastic about our work in the careers field, she inputs to government policy and translates that policy to our operational contracts, providing innovative solutions to our clients issues while not losing sight of the customer experience. Laura is also the President of the Careers Development Institute, the membership organisation for career professionals in the UK and a board member for Careers England, the trade association for career employers.

Natasha leads the Marketing and Communications team who support Education Services in the UK. With a background in Education and Technology, both inhouse and as a consultant, she is focused on reaching new audiences to enable EDT to deliver on our vision of ‘Transforming Lives through Education’. Collaborating with our partners to demonstrate our joint capabilities and engaging with participants to share their learning experiences, widening reach, is central to our marketing and communications strategy. A Chartered Marketer, Natasha is passionate about embedding professional practice in our external relations and within the team.

Deborah Leek-Bailey is Head of UK Independent Schools at Education Development Trust. She oversees the independent schools which Education Development Trust owns and manages within the UK. Deborah is a former headteacher and government advisor, with experience of advising ministers on multi-stakeholder partnership engagement, focusing on raising aspirations, attainment and social mobility across sectors. She also holds an OBE for services to education.