Team

Adam Armanski joined UWC Dilijan as Head of School in August 2023. His career in the field of education spans 25 years at seven IB schools in seven countries. Prior to moving to Armenia, Adam was the founding head of an international school in Norway. He has also been actively involved in the work of the International Baccalaureate in multiple roles towards the organization’s mission of creating a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

“In a world where education is often seen as a commodity, the UWC movement is a community of changemakers that help each other maintain the right set of values to pass on to the next generations.“

Aly Kassam-Remtulla is the Chief International Officer at Princeton University, where he leads a team of 250 professionals to enable and facilitate international activity; support and advocate for Princeton’s 3,100 international students and scholars; and manage the university’s global footprint, including an environmentally-focused campus in Kenya and a centre in Beijing. In addition, he is a faculty advisor for first- and second-year students and occasionally teaches an undergraduate seminar.

Aly is also co-chair of the Faculty Advancement Network, a consortium of research universities collaborating to advance diversity and inclusion in the American professoriate.

Earlier in his career, Aly worked at the MacArthur Foundation where he was the program officer for arts and culture and managed two term-limited initiatives which awarded more than $60 million in grants.

Aly has made a significant commitment to board service. He is the incoming board chair of UWC-USA and a trustee of Allegheny College, Princeton in Africa, and Princeton in Beijing.

Aly was born in Kenya, raised in Canada, and graduated with honours and with distinction from Stanford. He received an MSc, MBA, and DPhil from Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar. His recent commentary has appeared in WIRED, the Chicago Tribune, and Al Jazeera.

“For me, as for so many others, UWC was a transformative experience that changed the way I thought about the world. More than ever before, a UWC education presents the tools, relationships, and lived experience necessary to address the world’s most intractable problems.”

Angelique is a Dutch national, who now lives in Maastricht. She studied law at the University of Nijmegen and attained her Master’s degree in Brussels. Her career started in London as Legal Adviser for the record industry. In 1988 she moved back to the Netherlands to work for Royal Philips Electronics, ASML and Royal DSM, respectively. In her latest role she was SVP Communications and Branding. After retiring from this role in 2019, she took up several Non-Executive Board memberships. Angelique has one daughter who is an alumna of UWC Maastricht and as a parent Angelique has been active as member and Chair of the Participation Council of the school. She joined the Board of the school in February 2020 and has become Chair of the Board in January 2022.

“I really believe education is a powerful tool to change the world for the better. I am pleased to be part of the UWC movement, whose mission is to do just that!”

As International School Moshi makes the transition to become the second UWC in Africa and eighteenth in the world, Anna looks forward to being the founding head of the newest UWC. Anna first heard about UWC when working with VSO in Zimbabwe in the late 1990s and she was very excited to move to Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa in 2002 to teach Chemistry. Leaving Waterford Kamhlaba nearly a decade later, Anna moved to the Fiji Islands to lead International School Suva where she stayed for six years. Returning to the African continent in 2017, Anna is delighted to once again be part of the UWC family. Having taken a somewhat unconventional route into teaching, Anna values the opportunities education can give.

“If schools cannot be where young people can test themselves and try out new ideas as they grow and make sense of the world around them, where can they do this?”

Anthony graduated from the Hong Kong University in 1968. He has been serving in the field of education for nearly 50 years.

Starting as a teacher, he rose through the ranks in the Hong Kong Education Department before retiring in 2002 as the Deputy Director of Education responsible for Departmental Reform, Policies, Curriculum Development, and Quality Assurance.

From 2002 to 2007, he served as the principal of an Anglican secondary school in Hong Kong.

He is currently the Executive Director of Amity Foundation, Hong Kong – a charity working on poverty alleviation and disaster relief mostly in Mainland China.

Active in volunteer services, he has served in the Auxiliary Medical Services, AFS Intercultural Exchange and social services centres. He has been the Chairman of Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong since 2007 and also serves as supervisor of two primary schools.

“For nearly 50 years, I have been looking for the holy grail of what makes a good education for our young people in this very troubled world. Even when I planned LPCUWC in 1987, I wasn’t sure that this would be it. After the much closer encounter of serving on the Board for nearly 15 years, I’m convinced that the UWC movement holds the best promise for a better world.”

I have been privileged to have worked with wonderful colleagues at schools in Canada, Russia, China, Zimbabwe and now Japan. Although I have a BEd and an MA that have provided excellent foundations, I have learned more from experience, my colleagues, and from wonderful, collaborative organisations such as ACAMIS, ISSEA, EARCOS and now UWC. I strongly support design thinking and ensuring that students have a wide range of opportunities to have a positive impact on themselves, their schools and the wider world.

“UWC inspires me due to its hard-core commitment to socio-economic diversity. With a healthy impatience for the status quo, it’s our responsibility to live that precarious balance between helping our students fly, and ensuring that their roots (and prefrontal cortex) are firmly developed.”

Cengiz Cemaloglu is an alumnus of Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong (2012-2014) and is the Co-chair of the UWC Azerbaijan NC. He is currently pursuing his MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, raised in Istanbul, Turkey – Cengiz, graduated from Harvard College, cum laude with High Honors. He has worked as a management consultant at ReD Associates, and an investor in Goldman Sachs, Picus Capital, and Glade Brook Capital. He is joining Bridgewater Associates as an investor full-time after graduation. Cengiz is also a board member of the Telluride Association, acting as a custodian to its $72m endowment to support education and the humanities.

“UWC changes minds and lives – drastically. I want to ensure that UWC can touch the lives of as many young people as possible and inspire countless acts of compassion.”

Christian was born 1958 in Freiburg in the very Southwest corner of Germany and went to UWC Pearson College (1975-1977). He studied Economics at the LSE, where he graduated with a B.Sc. (Econ) and a M.Sc. After his return to Freiburg he wrote a PhD on theoretical Labour Economics. In 1985 he then joined the family owned publishing businesses. Since 1997 he has been the CEO and co-owner of the Badische Zeitung, a regional daily newspaper in Baden. Since 1986 Christian has been engaged in the UWC movement in various capacities. He cofounded the German National Committee that year and was its President from 1992 until 1998. In 1996 he was elected to the International Board and became its Chairman between 1999 and 2006. He is a founding member of the Board of UWC Robert Bosch College, which he now chairs. He heads the Kuratorium of RBC. In 2014 he was awarded the “Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande” by the President of Germany for his community work.

“These turbulent times are an additional motivation on why the world needs UWC. Fear, hate, segregation, sexism and religious phobia are back, on a larger scale than most of us anticipated. We need to spread the sincere conviction of respect, tolerance, empathy and international understanding today more than ever. Since 1986 I am happy and almost compelled to carry the flag! May compassion and reason prevail!”

A member of the Argentinian National Committee since 1998, Cristian has combined his love for teaching languages with volunteer work in local NGOs.

“In an increasingly individualistic and unjust world, UWC reminds us that a diverse “we” is always the best promoter of peace and understanding and that no one can save themselves alone. Strengthening our national committee system is fundamental for me as the key to fuel our movement’s uniqueness and collective power.”

Diego is an economist with a Ph.D., excellent analytical skills and extensive applied policy experience harnessing policy engagement in data and analytics. He also leads strategic institutional engagement to enhance effective programme delivery in complex operating environments. Diego’s areas of expertise include poverty and vulnerability analysis, as well as various aspects of public financial management, and the ability to leverage technology and innovation as catalysts for inclusive growth.

“I have witnessed first hand the injustice of privilege by virtue of where one is born. I believe that potential and talent should have a greater role in the formula for success and achievement.”