Esther Benjamin

Esther Benjamin has been a global leader in business, government, and non-profit organizations for more than 25 years working in over 100 countries. She is currently CEO and Executive Director of World Education Services. She is a Visiting Fellow with the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. She joined Candid’s board in 2022.

Previously, Esther worked with Laureate Education as CEO for Africa Operations and then as SVP for Global Public Affairs. Esther served in President Obama’s Administration as Peace Corps Associate Director for Global Operations.

Earlier in her career, Esther was CFO and then VP for Business Development at the International Youth Foundation. She was Executive Director for Resource Development at the International Partnership for Microbicides. She worked on the Brookings Institution’s publication The World Bank: Its First Half Century. She worked in management consulting with Grant Thornton.

In 1999, President Clinton appointed Esther a White House Fellow. Esther was also a United Nations Humanitarian Affairs Officer in Somalia.

Dickinson College awarded Esther an honorary doctorate in International Education. She holds master’s degrees in International Affairs and Applied Economics from American University, and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and English from North Central College where she is a Trustee.

Esther serves on the Board of Directors of Echoing Green and B Lab Global. She received the 2021 Fulbright Award for Global Leadership from One to World. New York Times best-selling author Wes Moore profiled Esther as “The Globalist” in his book The Work: Searching for a Life that Matters.