Let’s Work Together!
Sarah Wolman
Founder & CEO
Sarah Wolman is a sector leader in education and early childhood philanthropy. She is a sought-after speaker, trainer and thought leader and who has spoken widely on the importance of hands-on, minds-on learning. Sarah’s work with the LEGO Foundation, particularly as one of the architects of the LEGO Idea Conference helped her build an understanding of how to create effective hands-on experiences to share learnings in the Learning Sector.
Sarah has presented in a wide range of settings on the importance of hands-on learning. Her talks have focused on humanitarian and classroom settings, the science of child development and practices for educators.
Sample speaking engagements include:
Harvard Graduate School of Education – Equity & Inclusion Initiatives, Guest Speaker
Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University – Webinar Speaker – Learning through Play
USAID Global Health Mini University – Speaker, Early Childhood Development in Fragile Contexts
Early Childhood Training Institute, Keynote Speake
Global Business Coalition for Education – Panelist, Closing the Skills Gap through Education
New Profit – Reimagining Learning, Speaker, Building the Future of Learning
Parent Training Institute, Playhouse, Keynote Speaker
Omidyar Network and Promise Ventures – Early Futures, Speaker
Hult Prize Foundation/MIT Ledia Lab – Mentor/Coach
Bright Horizons Foundations – Webinar Speaker, Getting Serious about Play
Right to Play – Presentation to Canadian government, Ottowa, Speaker
International Education Funders Group – Presenter, Facilitator
Columbia College Reunion “TED Talk”
Congressional Briefing – Humanitarian Aid for Early Childhood
U.S. Senate Congressional Briefing – America Forward, Featured Speaker
Shine Early Learning, Keynote Speaker
Early Horizons, Keynote Speaker
Early Childhood training Institute, Keynote Speaker
The Brookings Institution Center for Universal Education, Closing the Skills Gap (Panelist)
Sample Committee work has included:
- The Brookings Institution: Center for Universal Education, Learning Landscapes Steering Committee
- Teach for All: Global Advisory
Other Activities have included:
- Columbia Law School: Lecturer-in-Law, Legal Education in the Community
- Trust for Learning: Early Childhood Grant Review committee
- Tools of the Mind: Advisory Committee on Strategic Future
- Clinton Global Initiative: 2016 Planning Retreat
- Tinkercast: Tinkerer-in-Residence; Design Sprint Facilitator
- Build a World of Play Challenge: Grant Reviewer
Advisors
Sarah Bouchie, The LEGO Foundation
Nathaniel Foote, TruePoint
Meredith Halpern-Ranzer, Tinkercast
Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Temple University
Ellen Lambert, EWLambert LLC
Amy Loughane, Kinetic Consulting
Mirjam Schoening, ViaEd
Jennifer Kotler-Clarke, Google
Areas of Expertise
High Impact Grantmaking
Portfolio Development
Global Education Trends
P-12 Education – U.S.
Early Childhood Development
Board Development
- Non-profit Strategy and Growth
- Social Entrepreneurship
LEGO Serious Play
Design Sprints
Clients & Projects
Testimonials
"Sarah Wolman is completely unique—she has extensive knowledge about children and their development and she knows how to apply that knowledge so that it can be understood and heeded. She’s uniquely an expert on children and on communication. To add to that, She's fast, brilliant, flexible, caring and a joy to work with."
"Sarah makes sense of things – especially when others get caught up in complexities – and she does so with deft brilliance.”
It was such a pleasure (and a ton of fun) to work with Sarah to make a virtual meeting a more interactive experience. Meeting participants shared that they listened more attentively, had more fun, and appreciated that they were “walking the talk” of playful learning in this meeting compared to past meetings.
"Sarah is a gifted facilitator who creates a warm, safe space in which a team can ideate, brainstorm and engage in blue sky thinking. For our workshop she tailored an agenda that was engaging and interactive and put us on a path to achieve our goals. She is a delight to work with and definitely hope to work with her again"
