About the Author

Rebecca Winthrop is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Universal Education at Brookings, and a leading voice on education issues in the developing world. She is the former head of education for the International Rescue Committee, and has spent more than twenty years advising international institutions and senior policymakers and has field experience in multiple countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Her work focuses on girls' education, learning opportunities for the world's most marginalized children, and innovative education models.

Gene Sperling is the founder of the Center of Universal Education. He was National Economic Advisor in the White House for President Clinton (1996-2001) and President Obama (2011-2014). He was founder of U.S. Chapter of the Global Campaign for Education, co-founder of the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict (with Angelina Jolie), a member of U.N. Millennium Task Force on Girls' Education and represented the U.S. government at the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal in 2000.