Submit a tip
Do you have info to share with HuffPost reporters? Here’s how.
From the early start-up days of Room to Read, Erin has been instrumental in the design and implementation of the organization’s scalable, replicable model for improving the quality of education across Asia and Africa. She oversees Room to Read’s global operations which includes implementing programs in ten countries; a technical assistance unit called Room to Read Accelerator; fundraising teams in North America, Europe, Australia and the Asia Pacific region; and a worldwide staff of more than 1,400 employees. Under her leadership, Room to Read has been recognized with prestigious awards, including the U.S. Library of Congress Literacy Award (David M. Rubenstein Prize), the UNESCO 2011 Confucius Prize for Literacy and the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. In addition, Erin has been selected as one of the World Economic Forum’s Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurs (2014); recognized as a Global Impact Featured Member for 2017 by the Young Presidents’ Organization; and honored with the Women’s Bond Club Isabel Benham Award (2014). Erin was named one of Fast Company’s Extraordinary Women (2012) and is a contributor to Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Insider Network. Before founding Room to Read, Erin worked at Unilever, Goldman, Sachs & Co. as well as a couple of technology start-ups. She has spent extensive time working and living in Asia, where she saw firsthand the need to enhance developing countries’ educational systems. Erin holds a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree in international relations and economics from The Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C.