Room to Read is proud to welcome two new members to its board of directors – Jerry del Missier, Barclays Capital President and Co-Chief Executive of Corporate and Investment Banking, and Fernando Reimers, Ford Foundation Professor of International Education and Director of International Education Policy at Harvard University. In addition, Dr. Cory Heyman joins Room to Read’s senior management team as a strategic advisor.

Del Missier joins Room to Read’s Board of Directors after serving as a founding member of the organization’s U.K. advisory board and with a distinguished background in international finance. Most recently, del Messier was appointed to the Barclays Group Executive Committee at Barclays Capital, where he is responsible for the firm’s global markets businesses, encompassing the trading, sales and research functions globally. Before joining Barclays Capital in 1997, del Missier was the senior managing director of derivatives products for Bankers Trust in London. 

Reimers joins Room to Read as a board member after having previously served on its advisory board. Prior to joining the faculty at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Reimers was a senior education specialist at the World Bank. He has extensive experience in the area of international development assistance with the United States Agency for International Development, the World Bank, the Inter American Development Bank and other development organizations. Reimers is best known for his theory of 'Informed Dialogue', an approach to bridge scientific research and education policy through the mapping and mobilization of social networks.

Room to Read is also pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Cory Heyman to its executive team, where he will serve as a strategic advisor supporting the organization’s Girls’ Education program and monitoring and evaluation units.

Heyman has been a close advisor to Room to Read since 2004 when he assisted in developing the organization’s first monitoring and evaluation study, and he has been an active member of its advisory board since 2008. He joins Room to Read full time in March with an extensive experience in international development and education, having recently served as the vice president and deputy director of the Academy for Educational Development’s Center for Gender Equity. Heyman has worked at the nexus of public, private, and non-profit sectors for nearly two decades and brings with him great experience in managing large-scale educational projects in the United States, Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

“Adding these three amazing individuals to the Room to Read family is an incredible way to start our second decade,” said John Wood, Room to Read Founder and Executive Chairman. “They all bring such a wealth of talent and experience that will make us even more effective as we pursue our goal of bringing educational opportunities to 10 million children across the developing world. We are honored to have them join us, and I can say with confidence that a strong team just got stronger."

Del Missier has previously served on the board of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association and currently sits on the board of directors of SIFMA (Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association) and the board of trustees of Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. Del Missier received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and an MBA from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. 

Reimers is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations; a fellow of the International Academy of Education; a member of the advisory board of the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Academy of Sciences; and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Education. Reimers earned doctoral and master’s degrees in education from Harvard University and obtained a Licenciatura en Psicologia at the Universidad Central de Venezuela. Most recently he was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters by Emerson College for his work advancing global education. 

Heyman received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. in sociology from Johns Hopkins University. 

Room to Read's Board of Directors also includes Hilary Valentine (Chair), Christopher Beer, Craig Bruya, Scott Kapnick, Kim Anstatt Morton, Dambisa Moyo, John Ridding, Muneer A. Satter and John Wood.