Our Team
Tony Bloome – Executive Director and Founder
Anthony Bloome is the Founder and Executive Director of the Mobiles for Education (mEducation) Alliance. He has specialized in the field of international development and technology for over 28 years.
From 2009 to 2020, he was USAID’s Senior Education Technology Specialist where he provided technical advice to HQ, Missions and counterpart agencies regarding the appropriate uses of technology to support quality educational outcomes in developing countries. While working at USAID, Tony founded the mEducation Alliance to strengthen global collaboration and catalyze knowledge exchange and evidence-informed investments for edtech use in developing countries. He also founded the All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development as an open innovation competition and partnership with World Vision and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to catalyze tech-based innovations to advance early grade reading. He subsequently managed both programs for 11 years before leaving USAID in 2020 and establishing the mEducation Alliance as an independent non-profit.
From 2006-2009, Tony was Peace Corps’ technology for development specialist where he supported staff and volunteer activities across all development sectors. From 1995-2006, he served as a distance education specialist for the World Bank in Washington, D.C. and Zimbabwe where he focused on various applications of technology for education, health, and youth and workforce development. While at the World Bank, he also served as the Zimbabwe Country Director and Anglophone Africa Regional Coordinator for the World Links for Development (WorLD) initiative which supported national EdTech policies, teacher training, and national schoolnet development.
Tony serves on multiple advisory boards including for Benetech and Rotary International’s Basic Education and Literacy Action Group (BELRAG). He previously served for many years as a board member on the Library of Congress Literacy Awards. He is also the 22-23 President of Rotary Club Washington Global. Tony has a M.A. in Telecommunications from George Mason University and a B.A. in English Literature from UCLA.
Mary Effie Akinyi – Communications and Engagement Coordinator
Effie is a Senior at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a Minor in Economics, Politics and Public Policy. She is passionate about community development and social justice and has worked with a number of organizations looking to promote youth and women’s empowerment, and diversity, equity and inclusion causes.
At mEducation Alliance, Effie is combining her passion for community development and skills in communication to support the Alliance’s catalyzing, communicating, community building, and convening activities.
Scott Nicholson – Escape Games for Education Strategic Advisor
Scott Nicholson is a Professor of Game Design and Development at Wilfrid Laurier University in Brantford, Ontario and the director of the Brantford Game Network game lab (BGNlab). He has written research papers on escape rooms, meaningful gamification, games in libraries, online education, and data mining. He is the author of Everyone Plays at the Library: Creating Great Gaming Experiences for All Ages and the designer of two board games – Going, Going, GONE!, and Tulipmania 1637.
He is also the co-author of a 2021 book on Unlocking the Potential of Puzzle-based Learning-Designing Escape Rooms and Games for the Classroom.
His main interest is in creating games and helping others create games and simulations that can change the world, otherwise known as transformative games, serious games, educational games or applied games. Based upon the situation, these might be board and card games, digital games, or live-action games like Escape Rooms.
Dr. Scott Nicholson volunteers as the Escape Games for Education strategic advisor for the mEducation Alliance, and is the designer of the Alliance’s EscapeIF game system, which allows teachers and other community stakeholders to use and design low-resource, non-tech storytelling games, including for foundational literacy and numeracy, which can be used in low-resource context in developing countries.
John Comings – Senior Literacy Specialist
Dr. Comings has more than 40 years of experience focused on the teaching of basic skills (reading, writing, and math) for children and adults in the U.S., Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. He began his career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal and later directed a World Bank funded team of consultants advising the government of Indonesia on the implementation of their national adult literacy program. After returning to the US, he served as a vice president at World Education, the director of the National Center for the study of Adult Learning and Literacy at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, an appointee in the Obama administration advising on the startup of USAID’s early-grade reading initiative and the All Children Reading: a Grand Challenge for Development, a Senior Literacy Consultant at the Education Development Center and World Education, and a faculty member at the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he teaches a course on systems change in support of literacy learning in low income countries. As an integral part of our team, John provides his vision, leadership, and guidance to help shape the mEducation’s Alliance portfolio of foundational literacy and numeracy activities including capitalizing on our Literacy League and Math Power! initiatives.
Peter Joyce – Senior Digital Scaling Specialist
Dr. Peter Joyce is a known expert in the power of technology and education, shaped by over 30 years in both the private and public sectors. He is a Senior EdTech Advisor to the Alliance on matters related to accelerating and scaling evidence-based EdTech good practices. Dr. Joyce was Global Manager with Cisco Systems, including work on the Networking Academy program that included partnerships with 10,000 schools in 125 countries. He most recently completed a 3 year special assignment with USAID Kenya and East Africa as the Senior Advisor to the Education and Youth Unit where he supported an ICT Private Sector Working Group. Dr Joyce concurrently serves as a Senior Visiting Scholar at the University of North Carolina’s Global Social Development Innovations. He holds a Doctorate in Education from Harvard University.
Mark Saul – Senior Mathematics Advisor
Mark Saul has touched the lives of thousands of students around the world through his work as a teacher and author. He has served as Executive Director of the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival, as Director of Competitions for the Mathematical Association of America, and as Director of the Center for Mathematical Talent at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University. He has been President of the American Regions Mathematics League (ARML), Director of the Research Science Institute, and editor of Quantum, The Mathematics Teacher, and the AMS Notices.
Mark grew up in the Bronx, got his BA from Columbia University and Ph.D. from New York University. He then spent 35 years in and around New York, teaching mathematics in classrooms from grades 3 through 12.
Mark has also served as Senior Scholar for the John Templeton Foundation, and as a program director for the National Science Foundation. His portfolio there included directing the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. He is a 1984 recipient of that award, the nation’s highest honor for work in the classroom.
Mark has consulted for mathematical organizations in more than 25 countries, including Russia, Bulgaria, China, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and India. In 2001, he served as Chief Guide for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in Washington, D.C., and in 2013 as coordinator. He has been a program officer for the National Science Foundation and a consultant in gifted education to the John Templeton Foundation. His publications include 15 books and numerous articles, including an elementary text on trigonometry, co-authored with I.M. Gelfand, and a translation and reader’s companion for Jacques Hadamard’s Elementary Geometry.
Matthew Incardona – Web Designer
Arkadzi Rakach – Intern
Arkadzi Rakach, a junior at Carnegie Mellon University studying International Relations and Politics, is deeply interested in the global disparities in access to educational technology. His studies have provided him with a keen understanding of how political and international dynamics affect educational opportunities across different regions, and is eager to explore the potential of technology in transforming education, particularly in underrepresented areas. Ultimately, he aims to contribute to the mission of mEducation Alliance while gaining insights and making a meaningful impact in the field of educational technology.
Cristian-Michael Heichen-Cabello – Intern
Cristian, a Business Administration major at Carnegie Mellon University with a concentration in Global Economics & Business and a minor in Politics & Public Policy, is deeply engaged in understanding the intersection of economic trends and global development, particularly within the realms of education and economic empowerment. Through active participation in various university clubs, he has refined his skills in strategic planning and collaborative leadership.
At mEducation Alliance, Cristian aims to bring his analytical skills in global economics and finance to address contemporary issues in education and societal development. He is dedicated to contributing to innovative solutions that foster equitable growth and effective public service, leveraging his academic background and leadership experiences to make a meaningful impact.
Jingxuan Ren – Intern
Jingxuan is a graduate student from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, majored in Learning Science and Technology, a field where her curiosity and passion deeply intertwine. Her interests lie at the nexus of Technology and Education, showcasing her dedication to exploring how these two realms can synergistically enhance each other. As a restless innovator, Jingxuan is particularly focused on the application of Artificial Intelligence in education, constantly seeking novel ways to integrate AI to revolutionize learning and teaching experiences.
Morgan Erin Simmons – Intern
Morgan is a second-year student pursuing a BA in Applied Statistics and a Data Science minor at the University of Virginia. She’s interested in learning more about how technology can improve educational outcomes for minority students, as well as what technology hinders students. She hopes to gain more insight on this, as well as other pressing topics throughout her time with mEducation Alliance.
Tanvee Sai Sunkari – Intern
Tanvee Sunkari, a second-year student at the University of Virginia, is dedicated to the intersection of technology and education. Currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science with a Minor in Psychology, Tanvee is passionate about leveraging her technical expertise to address real-world challenges.
Tanvee looks forward to immersing herself in original content creation, digital skills, and partnership development to advance quality educational outcomes. With a deep commitment to utilizing technology for significant change, she is thrilled to embark on a journey toward strengthening networks and building a transformative impact on education
