Kylie Barker
Executive Director

A co-founder and the dreamer behind EDGE, Kylie has been chasing international education since she was in elementary school. After studying Cross-Cultural Education in University, she spent three years teaching English in Turkey. During that time she also received her Master's in Applied Linguistics and led several educational and cultural exchange trips to West Africa. Since launching EDGE, Kylie’s led the development of educational programs reaching displaced refugees in the Middle East, inspiring young leaders and senior educators in West Africa, and equipping future scholars from Asia Pacific. She loves being in the classroom and designing projects and curriculum to build connections and make a difference through education.

Jim Bennett
Senior Director for Global Learning

Jim has spent the last 30 years in education, the majority of it in international settings. Throughout his academic career, he has served as a high school history teacher and university professor, dean, director, and vice president. In addition to his work at EDGE, his current roles include Adjunct Professor of Global Learning and Innovation at a private university and senior fellow at a Washington DC organization. He previously served as the Director of Global Education Initiatives at Clemson University where he was also the founding director of Clemson’s Global Connections youth development program.
Jim is a Fulbright alumni whose interest in international exchange and partnerships has taken him to six continents and nearly fifty countries to develop youth leadership programs, lecture at universities, lead study abroad programs, provide professional development for teachers, and strengthen education systems in otherwise fragile contexts.

Jeremy Barker
Director of Operations and Finance

A co-founder and the logistics behind EDGE, Jeremy has been instrumental in making EDGE a reality. With degrees in History, Cross-Cultural Studies, and International Relations, his skills in networking and advocacy serve to deepen the impact that EDGE has through strategic partnerships and culture-sensitive programs and engagement.

Since 2010 he has had particular focus on the Middle East. He has worked in rights-based relief, development, and advocacy across the region from Iraq and Turkey to Egypt and Morocco with a particular focus on issues of religious persecution and post-conflict justice and accountability. He currently serves as Director of the Middle East Action Team at the Religious Freedom Institute and is studying for a PhD in Development Studies at the Institute of Development Studies / University of Sussex (Brighton, England).

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