MEET THE TEAM
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Cate Noble
Managing Director
Cate specialises in helping educational organisations to deliver on their purpose and promise.
She brings experience as an education leader, having previously been CEO of the Varkey Foundation and a Director at PwC, as well as senior education focused roles with not-for-profit, commercial, and government organisations. Cate is a Co-Founder of Better Purpose.
She has worked across a range of international contexts including Middle East, Latin America, South East Asia and Africa, with a particular focus on strategy, organisational leadership and development, and business transformation.
Dr Julie Bélanger
Director
Julie is an education specialist with a strong research and evaluation background. She built and led the international early childhood and education research portfolio at a large non-profit research consultancy (RAND Europe) where she led research projects spanning from randomised controlled trials and systematic reviews of evidence to qualitative exploratory research.
Through her previous roles at the OECD, a national think tank in Canada and a small non-profit international consultancy, she advised governments in the Global North and the Global South in their education policy reforms and initiatives. Her professional interests include using evidence to inform local, national and international education and social policy, and using adaptive management and MEL approaches to improve organisational health and increase impact. Julie is fluent in English and French.
Nicola Dean
Associate Director
Nicola is an Associate Director at Better Purpose. Nicola brings substantial experience as a senior leader in the international development sector with a strong emphasis on education and youth issues. She has worked extensively in sub-Saharan Africa and is currently based in the UAE.
Alongside her experience designing and delivering programs on the ground, she has spent the past 10+ years working at a senior level for grant making foundations (most notably Comic Relief and Dubai Cares), identifying high potential NGOs and supporting them to maximise their impact, working alongside local government and other stakeholders. Her work has always had a strong emphasis on collaborative ways of working and strategic partnerships which she believes are fundamental to lasting change.
Georgina Klein
Project Manager
Georgina has a background in education, research, and advocacy, with expertise in educational neuroscience and personal development.
Her previous experience includes being Head of Education at BecomingX, an education technology company. She has a MA in Educational Neuroscience, and as an education consultant, she has helped to bring the science of learning into global programmes. She has worked on international education events, managing content and logistics, and has run a youth group and advocacy work for young people seeking asylum.
Her career started with Teach First UK, training as a primary school teacher in Birmingham.
Simi Otusanya
Senior Associate
Simi is a Senior Associate at Better Purpose. Simi brings a wealth of experience within strategy, programme design, research and project management across both the private and public sector in the UK and Nigeria.
Simi has experience within the Further Education & Skills sector designing and implementing programmes for young people to enhance education, employability and training prospects.
She has a BSc in Business and International Relations (First) and is currently undertaking her Master’s in Education and International Development. She is passionate about improving learning outcomes globally as well as supporting the transition into employment.
Our core team is complemented by a high quality, international network of associates. We maintain close relationships with education sector leaders, funders, leading teachers, and Ministries of Education across the world.
Alice Cornish
Director
Alice specialises in designing and delivering education initiatives designed to help children access quality education at scale.
She has experience as a senior leader in the education sector, with a global focus, having worked extensively in India, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, the US and UK. Alice is a Co-Founder of Better Purpose.
Her work has included education strategy, complex education programme design and leadership, leading and overseeing research, market feasibility and engagement, large-scale government reform work, school set-up and management, and donor fund management.
Pearl Boateng
Associate Director
Pearl is an education specialist with a focus on low- and middle-income contexts. Her key areas of expertise include qualitative education research, teacher professional development, gender, mathematics education and education programme design and implementation. Through her previous roles, Pearl has developed strong experience in technical leadership, delivery and programme management.
She also has a strong research background and has produced a range of reports, policy briefs and rapid literature reviews on issues ranging from language of instruction policies in sub-Saharan Africa to psycho-social support for students in conflict affected states.
Pearl is also a UK qualified secondary school mathematics teacher and a doctoral candidate at the University of Sussex.
Heba Younes
Project Manager
Heba is a Project Manager at Better Purpose. She brings extensive experience in the field of social development, and she has consistently made impactful contributions within international NGOs, with a primary focus on critical areas such as education, youth development, empowerment, healthcare improvement, and child protection. Her commitment to creating lasting change is evident in her 8-year tenure with the United Nations agencies; between UNICEF and UNDP, working on developing, implementing, and managing strategic programmes.
Before her UN roles, Heba dedicated 8 years of work to the U.S. government on healthcare improvement projects, collaborating with the government stakeholders in Egypt. Heba is dedicated to fostering positive social change and improving community lives.
Rigobert Pambe
Project Manager (SDP)
Rigobert Pambe is a teacher, researcher and development worker with a decade of experience in designing, piloting, implementing and assessing innovative evidence-based solutions in the field of education in sub-Saharan Africa.
He brings a wealth of experience within project delivery, stakeholder engagement, monitoring, evaluation and learning of education programmes across multiple countries in Africa, including in conflict zones.
In his previous role as a programme manager at eBASE Africa, he pioneered audits and feedback in education and mobilised educational evidence in Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Chad.
He has a Master’s degree in accounting and a postgraduate technical teacher training diploma.
Kylie Chan
Associate
Kylie is an Associate at Better Purpose. She brings a range of experience from the education non-profit sector, where she worked in various roles in both programme delivery, as well as in training and quality assurance, for an approved provider for the government's National Tutoring Programme.
She has accumulated a diverse set of skills including programme implementation, training volunteers, quality assurance, CPD development for learning management systems, project management, MEL processes, as well as developing teaching and learning materials.
Kylie started her career in education as a school teacher, having taught across all primary year groups. She has a BA in English Language and English Language Teaching (First) and a PGCE in Primary Education (5-11 years) with Qualified Teacher Status.
JOIN US
We are always looking for individuals to join our team on a permanent or occasional basis.
If you are interested in a role at Better Purpose, please e-mail Alice Cornish with a one page cover letter and CV.