More information about the Advisory board

• Gernanda Schutte

  Gernanda Schutte is Chair of the Executive Board of Stichting Agora Zaandam, which oversees 24 primary and special primary schools in the Zaanstreek region. She began her career as a teacher in Amsterdam and, through various leadership roles, was appointed to her current position in 2022. Gernanda is also a member of the PO-Raad negotiation delegation for the national collective labour agreement in primary education.

• Emily Yeomans

  Emily Yeomans is Co-CEO of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) in the UK. She was previously the EEF’s Director of Research, overseeing the organisation’s research portfolio, including programme evaluations and studies on the impact of everyday decisions made by teachers and school leaders.

  Throughout her career, Emily has focused on generating rigorous evidence and ensuring it makes a real difference in practice. Her path has included research into malaria treatments, training and working as a secondary science teacher, and leading education research, policy, and practice projects at the Wellcome Trust. At the EEF, she combines her two main passions: high-quality research and improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.

• Rien Rouw

  Rien Rouw is a strategic advisor at the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and an advisor to the OECD. He previously worked as a policy analyst at the OECD’s Directorate for Education and Skills, contributing to research on governing complex education systems. Rien has also been a research fellow at the Netherlands School for Public Administration and the Dutch Scientific Council for Government Policy, where he focused on evidence-based policymaking in the public sector.

• Iroise Dumontheil

  Iroise Dumontheil is a Professor of Psychology in the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne. She specialises in developmental cognitive and educational neuroscience, focusing on how cognitive control and metacognition develop from childhood through adolescence and how these processes relate to learning and academic achievement

• Jo van Herwegen

  Jo Van Herwegen is a Professor of Developmental Psychology and Education and the Academic Head of Research for Psychology and Human Development at UCL. Her work focuses on understanding cognitive development and educational needs across typical and atypical populations. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and serves as Educational Needs Advisor for the Williams Syndrome Foundation (UK), where she also sits on the Professional Panel. Jo is a board member of the European Association for Research in Learning and Instruction (JURE portfolio) and a member of the British Psychological Society.

• Sabine Peters

  Sabine Peters is a Senior Researcher in Youth Mental Health at the Trimbos Institute. She is an experienced program and project manager with a broad background in youth and well-being. Known as a creative thinker and connector, she focuses on innovation and impact, translating research into practical tools for policy and implementation. Alongside her work at Trimbos, Sabine also practices as an independent psychologist and researcher.