COLLEGE PARK, MD (May, 2015) Dr. Justin van Fleet (Ph.D. 11), chief of staff to the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education, was the invited speaker at Potomac State College of West Virginia Universitys 112th commencement on Saturday, May 9.
Dr. van Fleet entered the doctoral program in International Education Policy at the College of Education after attaining a masters in the same field from Harvard University. Originally from LaVale, Maryland, he now works with the UN and global partners to advocate for schooling for the 58 million children worldwide who are denied education. He is a supporter for the Up For School campaign, which aims to be the largest petition in history advocating for the right to an education.
Dr. van Fleet previously served as deputy chair for education at the Clinton Global Initiative, as an instructor at the University of Maryland, and as associate director of the Council on Foreign Relations Center for Universal Education. He served on the board of trustees, originally as chair, for Creative Minds International Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. from 2011 to 2015. COE alumna Dr. Golnar Abdein (Ph.D. Organizational Leadership and Education Policy 10) is the head of the school.
Dr. van Fleet now serves on the advisory board of the Global Business Coalition for Education, works with the UK childrens charity Theirworld, and is a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution. He has been published in dozens of publications and made many conference presentations on philanthropy, public-private partnerships, global citizenship, and education in developing countries.
Click here to learn more about Up For School.
-end-
For more information on the College of Education, visit: www.education.umd.edu
Media contact
Joshua Lavender, Communications Coordinator, at: lavender@umd.edu
