Andrew (Andy) Cunningham, from Rutland, VT, is an international advocate for girls education and leader in community development. He has spent the last two years living and working out of a mud hut in Muhuru Bay, Kenya as the Co-Founder of the Women’s Institute for Secondary Education and Research (WISER), which opened in 2010 as the first all girls’ secondary boarding school campus and community center for development in the region (www.wisergirls.org).

Throughout its development, WISER has served as a catalyzing partner with organizations such as UNICEF, the Nike Foundation, Goldman Sachs, LAFC Chelsea Football Club, and others to develop innovative, community-led holistic approaches to improving economic, health, and educational outcomes for girls in the region.

Before coming to WISER, Andy graduated summa cum laude from Duke University in 2008 with a B.A. in International Comparative Studies and Chinese. His passion for children’s rights stems from his time in college teaching inner-city youth in New Orleans with the Breakthrough Collaborative, raising $125,000 for his students affected by Hurricane Katrina, producing an audio documentary about youth and HIV/AIDS in China, volunteering with Mother Teresa’s Missions in NY, Calcutta, and Nairobi, and interning with the Chancellor of DC Public Schools on new school design.

He is also the recipient of the prestigious Robertson Scholarship, Truman Scholarship, Goldman Sachs Global Leaders Award and Marshall Scholarship. He has been a featured speaker at the United Nations Youth Assembly, Global Issues Network Conference in Geneva, and the Zurich International School Conference on Sustainability. He has also been honored to deliver the commencement address at the graduation ceremonies of Rutland High School and the International School of Luxembourg.

Andy continues his passion for WISER at Oxford University where he is currently pursuing his graduate degree in Comparative International Education.