Wendy Cross

San Francisco, California, United States

I've been passionate about creative and useful applications for technology since I was little. In school, I was drawn to filmmaking with a 9th grade history class video project that I directed about South Africa’s freedom struggle. I worked in my high school's afterschool media arts program teaching primary school children and helped run summer workshops for teachers to gain multimedia skills. My love for filmmaking persisted and I went to study film in university and interned at the Cannes International Film Festival while studying abroad in France. After university, my first job was working for a TV commercial production company.

A transformative life experience led me to shift my career path to international development and non-profit management. Working with NextAid, I spent two years living in Limpopo and Johannesburg to oversee the construction of an eco-village children’s home and community center in Dennilton and a community-based project for street youth in Kenya.

I worked at The Global Fund for Children in Washington, DC as a Grant Writer before relocating to San Francisco and joining Teach With Africa in March 2011. As Director of Programs and Operations, I managed TWA’s Teacher Fellowship and SA-USA Educator Exchange Programs as part of the Global Teacher Institute’s teacher development portfolio. I am currently volunteering as the co-producer of EdTech Summit Africa 2015.

  • Work
    • Teach With Africa
  • Education
    • Bachelor Degree in Film & TV Production, Chapman University
    • Master Degree in Sustainable Development, SIT Graduate Institute