Room to Read Announces Appointments to Board of Directors

Room to Read announced today the appointment of three new members to its board of directors: Mike Cannon-Brookes, CEO, Atlassian; Sabine Chalmers, General Counsel, BT; and Stasia Obremskey, Strategy Director, Rhia Ventures.

“As longtime supporters of Room to Read, Mike, Sabine and Stasia bring extensive knowledge of our programs and invaluable business perspective,” said Dr. Geetha Murali, CEO of Room to Read. “Their appointments will strengthen our organization as we plan for our next phase of growth.”

Cannon-Brookes is the co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Atlassian, a leading provider of team collaboration and productivity software. Based in Australia, Cannon-Brookes has received international recognition, including being named Ernst & Young's Australian Entrepreneur of The Year in 2006 and Australian Business Person of the Year by the Australian Financial Review in 2017. He has also been honored by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader and was named on the 2017 Forbes Global Game Changers list. Cannon-Brookes was a founding member of Room to Read’s Australia Regional Development Board in 2012 and has served as a key advisor in IT strategy and development. The Atlassian Foundation has donated more than US$10 million towards Room to Read’s programs.

“My wife and I have been involved in Room to Read for over a decade, and I have seen first-hand from visiting their projects in multiple countries how access to a quality education transforms the lives of so many young people,” said Cannon-Brookes. “I'm proud to continue my support of Room to Read in an expanded role, joining the board of directors.”

Chalmers is general counsel of BT Group Plc. Prior to working for BT, Chalmers was the chief legal & corporate affairs officer and secretary to the board of directors of Anheuser-Busch InBev from 2005 to 2017. She holds a law degree from the London School of Economics and is qualified to practice in England and New York State. She is on the board of advisers at Harvard Law School’s Center for the Legal Profession, where she also received its Legal Profession Award for Excellence in 2016. Chalmers is a member of Room to Read’s New York and UK regional development boards.

Obremskey is the strategy director for Contraceptive Technology Development at Rhia Ventures, a social impact investing firm focused on women’s health. Stasia has over 25 years of experience providing financial and strategic planning consulting to organizations in the U.S. and Asia. She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in finance, from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the Harvard School of Business. Her introduction to Room to Read began in Hong Kong in 2008 and has continued to grow since her relocation to San Francisco.

Jerry del Missier will join Room to Read’s Emeritus Board after ten years on the board of directors. A full listing of Room to Read’s board of directors can be found here.

About Room to Read

Founded in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®, Room to Read’s innovative model focuses on deep, systemic transformation within schools in low-income communities during two time periods that are most critical in a child’s schooling: early primary school for literacy acquisition and secondary school for girls’ education. We work in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments to develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children and ensure girls can complete secondary school with the skills necessary to negotiate key life decisions. Room to Read has benefited 16.8 million children across more than 30,000 communities in 16 countries. Learn more at www.roomtoread.org.

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