Management & Coordination

Michael Jones

Executive Director

Michael has worked in education, youth empowerment, and nonprofit governance for over a decade. Before turning 20, he served on the board of directors for both local and national youth advocacy nonprofits in addition to co-founding a political action committee aimed at promoting human rights. He went on to spend six years in the classroom, teaching various ages and subjects in both the US and abroad, until moving to rural Cambodia to work as an education consultant. This work led him to merge his two great loves in life, education and open content, and he founded Open Equal Free to spread the best possible education to the most difficult corners of the world as efficiently as possible.

Michael has spoken on creating quality resources for the developing world in Singapore, on how we learn in Siem Reap, on rethinking education development at TEDxPhnom Penh, and on the power of open content at TEDxUF.

Travis Thompson

Communications Director

Travis began his career on the run and in front of the camera as a TV reporter with NBC affiliates in Central Missouri and Lexington, Kentucky. Prior to TV, Travis spent time as a reporter for NPR radio affiliates in the Missouri State Capitol. After reporting all day, he served as a tutor and teacher for children who couldn’t afford extra classes otherwise.

By 2010, Travis decided to devote his life to education in the developing world, leaving his reporting job and joining the Peace Corps in Cambodia. He helped launch Open Equal Free’s news site in 2011 while also continuing his responsibilities in the classroom near Siem Reap, Cambodia.

As a TV reporter Travis’s work won Best Hard News Feature Story by the Kentucky Associated Press in 2007. He was also honored as one of the top 20 student TV reporters in the United States by the Hearst Journalism Awards in 2006.

Megan Smith

Program Coordinator: /Collaboration

Megan served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Timor-Leste from 2004 to 2006, where she worked on health education and promotion with a local health center. She then went on to earn her MA in International Educational Development from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City. Currently, she works with Caring for Cambodia as the Deputy Country Manager, and also finds time to moonlight as Open Equal Free’s /Collaboration coordinator.

Amy Sevegny

Program Coordinator: Teachbuzz

Studying Sociology at the University of Tampa, Amy has learned about the many challenges facing women and girls worldwide; particularly the lack of access to education, health care and basic human rights. Such realizations led Amy to spend seven months working with a school for young women based in Kigali, Rwanda. After graduation, Amy hopes to continue working to empower women and girls worldwide by increasing their access to quality education.

Program Assistants

Jonathan Davidson

Teachbuzz

Ling Shu

Ed Now

Amanda Bragg

Ed Now

Education Now Reporters

Jessica Wheeler

With a background in ecology, my passion is in science education and outreach. A relative “newby” to the field, I am optimistic about the change that we can create through developing new curricula from the ground up and revolutionizing our concept of education. I’m on the ground in the good ole US of A.

Sara Van Note

I’m a bilingual Spanish/English teacher, currently on a self-designed
sabbatical to teach and write in Nicaragua. I’m inspired by Nicaragua’s
lush landscapes, its history and politics, and the openness and resilience
of the people.

Tiffany Tsai

Recently graduated in the Earth Sciences and Archaeology, I have a long-term goal of advancing educational frontiers in the Global South through practice and research. I’ve lived, worked, and studied in Belize, Taiwan, and Egypt.

Sera Yoo

Having graduated with a degree in Political Science, I have a great passion for human rights as well as education. While I am currently teaching at a children’s learning center, I continue to foster my passion for reading and writing while traveling as much as possible.

Jana Melpolder

I recently graduated with a Master Degree in International Development and currently work as a web editor in New York City. I am passionate about human rights, gender equality, and working towards the education for all children. In my spare time, I enjoy visiting museums and eating a ridiculous amount of hummus.

See all of our Contributors, both past and present

Directors

None of this would be possible without our board of directors. A small and growing group, the board is compiled of not only people who are passionate about our work, but who come with a wide variety of training and knowledge to help Open Equal Free be the best it can be.