Room to Read Announces Appointments to Board of Directors

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SAN FRANCISCO–(Business Wire)–Room to Read announced today the appointment of three new members to its
board of directors: Mike Cannon-Brookes, CEO, Atlassian; Sabine
Chalmers, General Counsel, BT; and Stasia Obremskey, Strategy Director,
Rhia Ventures.

“As longtime supporters of Room to Read, Mike, Sabine and Stasia bring
extensive knowledge of our programs and invaluable business
perspective,” said Dr. Geetha Murali, CEO of Room to Read. “Their
appointments will strengthen our organization as we plan for our next
phase of growth.”

Cannon-Brookes is the co-founder and co-chief executive officer of
Atlassian, a leading provider of team collaboration and productivity
software. Based in Australia, Cannon-Brookes has received international
recognition, including being named Ernst & Young’s Australian
Entrepreneur of The Year in 2006 and Australian Business Person of the
Year by the Australian Financial Review in 2017. He has also been
honored by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader and was
named on the 2017 Forbes Global Game Changers list. Cannon-Brookes was a
founding member of Room to Read’s Australia Regional Development Board
in 2012 and has served as a key advisor in IT strategy and development.
The Atlassian Foundation has donated more than US$10 million towards
Room to Read’s programs.

“My wife and I have been involved in Room to Read for over a decade, and
I have seen first-hand from visiting their projects in multiple
countries how access to a quality education transforms the lives of so
many young people,” said Cannon-Brookes. “I’m proud to continue my
support of Room to Read in an expanded role, joining the board of
directors.”

Chalmers is general counsel of BT Group Plc. Prior to working for BT,
Chalmers was the chief legal & corporate affairs officer and secretary
to the board of directors of Anheuser-Busch InBev from 2005 to 2017. She
holds a law degree from the London School of Economics and is qualified
to practice in England and New York State. She is on the board of
advisers at Harvard Law School’s Center for the Legal Profession, where
she also received its Legal Profession Award for Excellence in 2016.
Chalmers is a member of Room to Read’s New York and UK regional
development boards.

Obremskey is the strategy director for Contraceptive Technology
Development at Rhia Ventures, a social impact investing firm focused on
women’s health. Stasia has over 25 years of experience providing
financial and strategic planning consulting to organizations in the U.S.
and Asia. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with
a concentration in finance, from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA
from the Harvard School of Business. Her introduction to Room to Read
began in Hong Kong in 2008 and has continued to grow since her
relocation to San Francisco.

Jerry del Missier will join Room to Read’s Emeritus Board after ten
years on the board of directors. A full listing of Room to Read’s board
of directors can be found here.

About Room to Read

Founded in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated
Children®, Room to Read’s innovative model focuses on deep, systemic
transformation within schools in low-income communities during two time
periods that are most critical in a child’s schooling: early primary
school for literacy acquisition and secondary school for girls’
education. We work in collaboration with local communities, partner
organizations and governments to develop literacy skills and a habit of
reading among primary school children and ensure girls can complete
secondary school with the skills necessary to negotiate key life
decisions. Room to Read has benefited 16.8 million children across more
than 30,000 communities in 16 countries. Learn more at www.roomtoread.org.