Manal has spent the last ten years as an Early Childhood Development (ECD) specialist, serving with international organizations including UNICEF and the Aga Khan Development Network. Manal is a global leader in ECD, and has held strategy, policy, management, and advocacy roles. Manal believes that ECD has a very important role in ending poverty for both children and parents. She tackles ECD as an integrated challenge, bringing together the fields of health, education, parenting, job creation, and security within a responsive caregiving approach. ECD is her career, and her passion. As a lifelong learner, Manal is completing her master’s degree at Geneva University in International Education and Research and holds a variety of credentials and advanced certificates in Early Childhood Development, brain development, early education, and education in emergencies. Outside work, Manal is a curious, exploring newcomer from Syria, and a humbled mother of a rambunctious three-year-old child. She enjoys listening to music and is active in voluntary work.