Message from Aashti Zaidi Hai, our Founder
After almost ten years founding and building Global Schools Forum, I am stepping down as CEO, leaving an organisation that is stronger, larger, and more influential than I could have imagined when I convened our first gathering in Wolfsberg, Switzerland in 2017.
What began as a conviction that something powerful would happen if you brought together the world’s leading non-state education organisations to learn, share and connect across borders and contexts has become a community of over 200 organisations across 71 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, collectively reaching 150 million children. From those early conversations in Switzerland, to the move to Kenya in 2019, to convenings in South Africa, Ghana, and back to Kenya again, together we have built GSF into one of the most respected convenors and knowledge accelerators in global education.
Nine years later, GSF is in a strong position with a robust 2025–2028 strategy, a high-performing leadership team, a cohesive board, trusted relationships with funders and partners, and an expanding programme of work. My decision to step down is made from a place of deep personal conviction and immense organisational confidence, with a ready and able successor in place.
What I will carry with me, above everything else, is the community. The 200+ organisations who are the heartbeat of GSF: the school leaders, the innovators, the entrepreneurs, the educators working at the frontlines of some of the most challenging contexts in the world. What I have come to understand is that networks and community are not just a soft lever for change – they are also one of the most powerful drivers of sustainable transformation in education that we have. When proximate leaders (those closest to children, families and communities) are connected to each other, able to learn from each other, access resources and find the partners they need to grow, something extraordinary happens. That is what GSF exists to do. Nothing gave me more joy than getting to know these organisations, celebrating their work, and watching what became possible when they found each other.
Building GSF is a defining chapter of my life, and I’m leaving with a sense of genuine confidence and excitement about what the next ten years will bring for GSF and the community it serves. And I’ve always believed that a big part of building something that lasts is knowing when to hand it over.
I am delighted to announce that Alina Lipcan has been appointed CEO by our Board. Alina has been part of GSF’s senior leadership team for five years, walking alongside me through every stage of the organisation’s growth, from a small startup network to a globally respected partner and convenor in the global education space. Alina knows our team, funders, programmes, strategy and mission inside out, and brings the vision and leadership qualities this next chapter deserves. She steps into this role with my wholehearted confidence and the full support of our Board. Alina is excited to continue working alongside our community – helping achieve its ambitions, navigating its challenges, and achieving its extraordinary potential. I hope you will welcome her warmly, and give her the same generosity and partnership you have shown me over the years.
Message from Alina Lipcan, GSF CEO
When I joined GSF five years ago, it felt both exciting and risky to build a whole area of work and a team from scratch. Aashti and our shared belief that the passionate entrepreneurs driving real change in classrooms are the key to improving education made the decision very easy. GSF today looks very different from the GSF from five years ago, and it is a world apart from the organisation that Aashti started nurturing almost a decade ago. Together, we have expanded the GSF community as well as the ways in which we deliver impact for education organisations and for the education sector more broadly, under a more ambitious, coherent strategy with people at its heart. It is an honour and a responsibility to now steward GSF’s next chapter.
GSF occupies a unique space in the education ecosystem. We have been bridging the gap between local and global for a decade, elevating practitioner insights and connecting them with the networks, know-how, funding, and partnerships they tell us that they need to succeed. “Localisation” and “field catalysts” have recently become trendy words. At GSF, the firm belief that proximate leaders know best how to drive change and that our role is to thoughtfully support them has been a defining value of our organisation.
If you lead an organisation working hard to keep children safe, happy and learning, please know that you can hold me and the team accountable. Tell me – have we been effective in supporting you to achieve your goals? Have we been kind? And have we made your journey at least a little bit more joyous?
Please do not hesitate to e-mail me (Alina.lipcan@globalschoolsforum.org) with your ideas and any questions that arise about GSF’s next steps. And let’s also find time to talk – I’d love to hear from you.
On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Aashti for her vision, leadership, and deep commitment to advancing education globally. We are delighted to appoint Alina as CEO — a trusted and values-driven leader who has helped shape GSF’s growth and is exceptionally well placed to lead its next chapter.
About Global Schools Forum
Global Schools Forum is a community convenor, knowledge accelerator, funding catalyst, and partnership builder supporting non-state organisations in low- and middle-income countries to innovate, deepen impact, and achieve scale.
Read our latest Annual Report here.
Find out more about our 2025-28 Strategy and work here.
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