Chemonics at CIES 2023 .
Event | February 14, 2023
Chemonics was proud to be a sponsor of the 67th annual meeting of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), which took place online and in Washington D.C. from February14-22, 2023.
The theme for this year’s event was “improving education for a more equitable world”, and we shared our work on education in conflict and crisis, social and emotional learning, data- and technology-driven approaches to positive youth development, and the intersection of youth, climate action, and workforce development.
Our education experts presented during the following sessions:
February 15, 2023 – 7:45-9:15 am (Online):
Climate awareness and action for all ages and stages: findings and recommendations from studies at the intersection of climate change and children and youth
Katherine Centore, Chemonics’ senior specialist for gender equality and social inclusion, presented on Centering Youth in the Green Workforce.
Katherine is an expert in leading technical design and providing strategic guidance to global projects in the youth development space. She helps to craft partnerships with organizations from around the world to build effective and impactful teams to carry out work with youth across technical areas, and built the cohort of contributors, researchers, and writers to publish Chemonics and Unbounded Associates’ Centering Youth in the Green Workforce Guide.
February 20, 2023 – 4:45-6:15 pm (Grand Hyatt Washington, Floor: Independence Level (5B), McPherson Square):
Pritioizing the well-being of learners and educators during crises: insights from social and emotional learning (SEL) programming
Mary Beth Wilson, monitoring, evaluation, research and learning director for Injaz III, and Michele Bradford, team leader for the RISA Fund, presented on Utilizing Longitudinal Data to Evidence Sustainability of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Trauma-Recovery Programming.
Mary Beth is a dedicated social scientist who believes that understanding development efforts through ethical, grounded monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) efforts is essential to improving outcomes and impacts for people and communities. She has worked as a MERL professional for more than 15 years, and has gravitated towards working on child and youth education, social and emotional learning, and trauma-recovery in conflict and post-conflict countries.
Michele is a governance specialist with more than 20 years designing, managing, and adapting programming in conflict-affected contexts in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia. Michele is a long-serving chief of party for a diverse technical portfolio and most recently served as chief of party for a multi-donor education governance program in Syria where she led the design of evidence-driven innovative programming in Social and Emotional Learning, Psychosocial Support and Trauma Recovery.
February 21, 2023 – 9:30-11:15 am (Grand Hyatt Washington, Floor: Constitution Level (3B), Cherry Blossom Boardroom):
Youth development: policy, program, and parenting
Audrey Spencer, Chemonics’ global practice lead for education, and Ashley Hill, Chemonics’ education specialist, presented on Cross-Sectoral Analysis Reveals Hidden Links to Youth Development.
Audrey has over 15 years of experience as an international education professional specializing in programming and training for literacy, numeracy, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), teacher support and healthy youth practices that are grounded in inclusive and gender-equitable foundations, such as Universal Design for Learning. Audrey has provided technical assistance and thought leadership on projects in Central Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific regions.
Ashley is an international education professional, whose experience intersects pre-primary and tertiary education, health, and workforce development. Having provided technical assistance and thought leadership to projects in Asia, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa, she is passionate about closing the opportunity gap for those from marginalized communities, and has used data analytics to identify trends and opportunities to improve educational access and outcomes.
For more information visit https://cies2023.org/