Dr Suzanne Grant Lewis served as Chair of Education Science and Policy of Education.org from 2021 – 2024. She was lead author of the evidence synthesis on accelerated education programs and the international technical group that drafted methodological guidance to make a wider range of evidence easier to identify, access, and appraise for educational decision-making. She has extensive experience in improving educational opportunities in the developing world, particularly in education policy and planning in Africa. She has published books, journal articles, op-eds, and blogs on education in Africa, reaching marginalized learners and school governance for democratic participation.

Suzanne has worked in the United Nations, philanthropy, and academia. She served as the Director of UNESCO’s International Institute for Education Planning (2014 – 2021), overseeing 128 staff in offices in Paris, Dakar, and Buenos Aires. She was the first female Director and the highest-ranking American in UNESCO.

In philanthropy, she helped launch the International Education Funders Group (2020 – 2012) and was Coordinator of the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa, a collaboration of seven US foundations supporting African universities. She was a Harvard University faculty member (1997–2006), co-designing the Master’s program in International Education Policy.

Suzanne pursued graduate studies at Kenyatta University (Kenya) and holds a PhD in International Development Education from Stanford University (USA). She has lived in the US, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Malawi, and France.