The Team

Wedu’s team consists of a group of young professionals and students from all over the world, working all over the world around the clock to deliver impact. Their different experiences provide a complementary set of skills to the vibrant start up. We strongly support and promote diversity, starting from our very team.

CORE TEAM

Mario Ferro,  Co-Founder and Director, brings innovation and experience in social entrepreneurship. He is a former  Senior Advisor for Energy Investments for Greenpeace and a former Senior Consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Advisory as well as Acumen Fund Fellow. Previously he worked on in the post-disaster relief effort after the earthquake on January 2010 in Haiti and trade promotion from small medium enterprises working in China. He holds a Master in Economics and Management from University La Sapienza and a MSc in Development Management, from the LSE. He has been studying and working in Italy, Finland, Ireland, United Kingdom, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Haiti, India, United States, Cambodia and Thailand.

Mari Sawai is Co-Founder and Director. Mari is currently working for the United Nations in Thailand. She brings her passion in women’s issues, particularly education; experience working with disadvantaged youth in Peru and the U.K.; and a background in communications and partnership development. Mari holds a Masters from the LSE in Political Economy of Late Development and a BA in French and Hispanic Studies at the University of Bristol.

Long Zhao is a qualified lawyer who has experience advising both corporate and non-profit sector clients in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific region.  Following a recent stint in Cambodia working in international humanitarian law, he is currently reading for the MPhil in Development Studies at the University of Cambridge.

Shane Heywood brings to the team his experience working in microfinance in Southern Africa. He started his career at Procter and Gamble managing Sales and Marketing projects. As an Acumen Fund Fellow, Shane had the opportunity to work on Sales and Marketing initiatives with Western Seed Company, a Kenyan maize seed manufacturer. Shane has degrees in Business Administration and Political Science from the University of Western Ontario, and MSc in Development Studies at the LSE.

 STAFF

Stef Lau is currently a MSc Social Policy and Development student at LSE and the communication intern at Wedu Fund. She has previously undertaken internships in both the public and private sector in China and Ghana and she has also had study abroad experiences in National University of Singapore (Singapore) and UCLA (the United States). She is particularly interested in promoting gender equality as well as the welfare of migrants.

Xiju Yang is reading the Msc Development Studies at LSE and Business Development Intern at Wedu. She has interned in research, marketing, and strategic public relations with private sector agents in the Netherlands, Germany, China, and the UK. Academic interests include peace and conflict management, ethnic geography, and Chinese development aid.