Boys & Education
Caring educational environments can help boys reach their full potential. This group will explore how education systems can better understand boys’ gendered experiences and patterns of underachievement, while developing strategies that support their holistic growth. The goal is to create spaces where boys are both seen and are able to see others with empathy – ultimately enabling them to thrive in all areas of life, relationships, and future opportunities.
The changemakers will build momentum by engaging key stakeholders who shape education and training systems, from teachers and academics to policymakers and the media. Together, they will work to shift how boys are taught, expand the range of careers presented to them, and improve the messages they receive through education.
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Dr. Ros Baxter
Chief Executive Officer, Good Start Early Learning
Dr. Ros Baxter
Chief Executive Officer, Good Start Early Learning
Ros is a nationally recognised education executive with 25 years’ experience championing early intervention and education as vital tools to disrupt intergenerational disadvantage. Her unique background—spanning frontline social work, law reform, government policy, and executive leadership—has enabled her to shape national policy and strategies that create positive change for children, families, and communities.Appointed CEO of Australia’s largest early learning provider in 2022, she has also held senior public policy roles with responsibility for gender equality, family and domestic violence, and programs for men and boys. Ros’s dedication began in 1996 as a child protection social worker, where she witnessed firsthand how skilled early learning educators can transform lives. Guided by the principle “Who needs us most?” Ros has since held influential roles across government and community organisations, ensuring the early years remain central to national policy.At Goodstart, Ros leverages her expertise in public policy, research, and community engagement to drive innovative, child-centric solutions. As a mother of four, including three boys, she understands the importance of inclusive, high-quality early learning for every child, and strives to nurture their strengths and potential.“We have a never-to-be-repeated window of opportunity in the early years to imagine and realise better ways of learning, growing and caring. Together.”
Action Track
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Ramya Subrahmanian
Chief: Research on Gender Equality, Child Rights and Protection, UNICEF Office of Strategy and Evidence – Innocenti
Ramya Subrahmanian
Chief: Research on Gender Equality, Child Rights and Protection, UNICEF Office of Strategy and Evidence – Innocenti
Ramya Subrahmanian is an international gender equality and child rights expert with over thirty years’ experience working with NGOs, within academia and with the UN. Currently she leads the Gender equality, child rights and protection research team at the UNICEF Office of Strategy and Evidence – Innocenti, with a portfolio that includes gender, care, social and family policy; violence against children and women, migration and displacement, child marriage, child labour, and children’s care reform. Previously she was Executive Director of Know Violence in Childhood, a global learning initiative that collaborated with 140 researchers on the evidence on effective strategies to prevent violence against children. Prior to that, she has worked as a Social Policy specialist at UNICEF India and has been a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex where she also co-directed and taught the MA Programme in Gender and Development. She is passionate about working across sectors, across institutions, and across actor networks to find innovative and impactful ways to drive and sustain change.
“To achieve gender equality we need to focus on understanding both the relational and structural aspects of inequalities between boys and girls, and men and women, and find ways to address them through transforming how we relate as humans, how we care collectively, and how we collaborate intentionally for more equal and just societies.”
Action Track
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Dr. Matthias Eck
Program Specialist: Education for Inclusion and Gender Equality, UNESCO
Dr. Matthias Eck
Program Specialist: Education for Inclusion and Gender Equality, UNESCO
Dr. Matthias Eck is a Program Specialist in the Section of Education for Inclusion and Gender Equality at UNESCO. He has worked with the Global Education Monitoring Report, the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and UNICEF, leading on knowledge products, technical advice to ministries of education and project implementation.He played a key role in the design of SDG4. He has a lead-role in the two KIX projects “Lifting barriers: Educating boys for gender equality” and “Accountability for Gender Equality in Education (AGEE): Bridging the local, national and global”.Matthias is co-author of the “Education 2030 Framework for Action” and of global reports such as “Leave no child behind: Global report on boys’ disengagement from education” and “The Price of Inaction: the global private, fiscal and social costs of children and youth not learning”. His research work has been published with Routledge and in peer-reviewed journals. He has acted as a peer reviewer for academic journals, including from Springer Nature.“I believe that if we focus on promoting positive masculinities through education, we can support boys to achieve their full potential and to become who they want to be, while creating a more gender-equitable world.”
Action Track
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Sindy González Tijerina
Early Childhood Manager, FEMSA Foundation
Sindy González Tijerina
Early Childhood Manager, FEMSA Foundation
Sindy González Tijerina has been part of the FEMSA Foundation team since 2012 and currently serves as Early Childhood Manager. In this role, she leads strategic initiatives focused on strengthening early education and preschool education, as well as empowering parents, promoting positive parenting practices, and supporting caregiver well-being. Her work also centers on advancing public spaces designed from a child- and caregiver-centered perspective, and on strengthening the early childhood ecosystem through the advocacy of effective public and corporate policies.
Firmly convinced that lasting change is built collectively, Sindy actively promotes cross-sector collaboration. Her purpose is to contribute to the construction of a more humane and equitable world—one in which every child can fully develop and thrive, regardless of their context or gender.“Children are the greatest treasure we have as humanity. Every one of them, regardless of their context or gender, deserves the opportunity to fully develop, flourish, and thrive.”
Action Track
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Dian Castillo Maheia
Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology of Belize
Dian Castillo Maheia
Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology of Belize
Mrs. Dian Castillo Maheia has spent her life in and around schools. Raised by a mother who was a teacher and later a principal, she found herself following in those capable footsteps. After completing her Bachelor’s degree as a Fulbright scholar at 19, she returned to Belize and to her alma mater, SCA, where she taught English and Literature for 12 years, preparing students for CXCs and immersing herself in academic life.
In 2003, she led the planning of the first National Education Summit, which resulted in a four-day gathering, published papers, and a national action plan. She later served as Action Plan Coordinator for Belize’s Ministry of Education and worked with Macmillan Caribbean as a writer, editor, and trainer. In 2009, she co-founded Horizon Academy, a child-centred, inclusive school where she has served as principal since its inception. As a teacher, mother, and leader, Mrs. Maheia remains deeply committed to education and to Belize.
“When boys feel seen, heard, and valued, they rise. Our work at Belize’s Ministry of Education has always been about fostering environments where young men understand that their voice matters and their future is worth investing in.”
Action Track
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Alanna Williams
Vice President and Managing Director, American Institute for Boys and Men
Alanna Williams
Vice President and Managing Director, American Institute for Boys and Men
Action Track
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Dr. Alex Blower
Founder, Boys’ Impact
Dr. Alex Blower
Founder, Boys’ Impact
Dr. Blower is an author, researcher and global thought leader on issues related to masculinity, inequality and education. Since completing his doctoral research which focused inequality and access to university for white working-class boys in the West Midlands in 2020, he has been a keynote speaker at national and international conferences, talking on issues related to inequality and the experience of young working-class men in education. In 2023, he founded Boys’ Impact, a UK-wide network of educators who are committed to taking an evidence-based approach in closing the gap in educational outcomes for young men who are eligible for Free School Meals. Regularly commenting on issues related to masculinity and inequality in education for media outlets such as the BBC, LBC and The Times, his first book, Lost Boys: How Education is Failing Young Working-Class Men, was published last summer.
“To truly protect and honour the emotional lives of boys we must challenge the patriarchal culture. And until that culture changes we must create subcultures, the sanctuaries where boys can learn who they are uniquely, without being forced to conform to patriarchal masculine visions. To love boys rightly we must value their inner lives enough to construct worlds, both private and public, where their right to wholeness can be consistently celebrated and affirmed, where their need to love and be loved can be fulfilled”. – bell hooks
Action Track
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Dr. Yalda T. Uhls
Founder and Executive Director: Center for Scholars & Storytellers, University of California, Los Angeles
Dr. Yalda T. Uhls
Founder and Executive Director: Center for Scholars & Storytellers, University of California, Los Angeles
Dr. Yalda T. Uhls is the founder of UCLA’s Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS), the leading organization bridging developmental science with entertainment and media creation. A former senior executive at MGM and Sony Pictures, she now collaborates with studios, streaming platforms, and game companies to bring research-based insights into storytelling and youth-focused content. Dr. Uhls is an internationally recognized expert on media’s impact on adolescent development and the author of Media Moms & Digital Dads.
“Young people are growing up with screens, and the stories they consume shape their understanding of themselves and their world. We’re building a future where stories help young people thrive.”
Action Track
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Giovanna Lauro
Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Equimundo
Giovanna Lauro
Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Equimundo
Giovanna has more than 20 years of experience advancing gender equality and preventing gender-based violence, with a focus on transforming harmful masculinities. As Equimundo’s Deputy CEO, she leads global research and program strategy. Previously, she was Associate Director of the Women and Population Programme at the United Nations Foundation and conducted research at the London School of Economics. A native of Italy, Giovanna is fluent in English, French, and Spanish, and serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for foster youth in the United States.
“Let’s choose care over fear; speaking up for equality over silence; and let’s do it together!”
Action Track
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Melissa Wong Oviedo
Regional Technical Lead – Latin America and the Caribbean, Equimundo
Melissa Wong Oviedo
Regional Technical Lead – Latin America and the Caribbean, Equimundo
Melissa is a Regional Technical Lead at Equimundo, overseeing international projects with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. She brings extensive experience in preventing violence against women and children, advancing women’s economic empowerment, and promoting human rights. Previously, she worked with Plan International Peru and Innovations for Poverty Action, collaborating closely with grassroots, rural, and Indigenous communities across Latin America.
“To teach is to show what is possible; to learn is to make yourself possible.” — Paulo Freire
Action Track
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Richard V. Reeves
President, American Institute for Boys and Men
Richard V. Reeves
President, American Institute for Boys and Men
Richard V. Reeves is the founder and president of the American Institute for Boys and Men(AIBM). Before founding AIBM in 2023, Reeves was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. While at Brookings, he focused on policies related to economic inequality, racial justice, social mobility, and boys and men.
Reeves is the author of several books, including “Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male is Struggling, Why it Matters, and What to do About It” and “Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That is a Problem, and What to do About It.”
Inspired by his own experiences as a father and policy expert, Richard founded AIBM to bring awareness to the challenges facing boys and men today and to develop evidence-based solutions.
Action Track
