MEET OUR TRUSTEES
TRUSTEES
Veera Johnson
Veera Johnson has over 20 years management consulting experience, spanning a number of markets and sectors, including the delivery of major IT transformation projects from requirements specification through to systems implementation and business change. Veera is passionate about economic and urban development. Throughout her public sector and consulting careers she has been involved in a number of regional and local economic development programmes in the UK and internationally including the development of strategies and plans for major land reclamation schemes. In May 2009 Veera was named Business Woman of the Year at the Asian Women of Achievement Awards. In October 2021, Veera was announced in the top 10 Women Entrepreneurs by the Energy Transition Economist and won UK Women in Sustainable Technology for her work at Circulor in 2022.
Veera serves as the Programme Manager supporting the implementation of the Transforming Education in Niger State (TENS II) Programme, a flagship initiative in Niger State, Nigeria, aimed at strengthening and modernising the state’s education system. As part of her work, she leads the design and development of the Education Personnel Management Information System (EPMIS), a digital platform that supports the comprehensive management of education personnel across Niger State. The system is designed to establish a centralised database for both academic and non-academic staff, enable evidence-based decision-making, and address critical gaps in teaching provision and workforce planning for the Niger State Government. Veera brings a strong background in public sector consulting and data systems, along with a deep commitment to education reform. Her work closely aligns with The MRL® Foundation’s vision of building a sustainable and accessible future for the next generation.
Michanne Haynes-Prempeh
Michanne Haynes-Prempeh, an economist with over 20 years’ experience, specialises in looking at whether established institutions and rules are equipped to deliver on their objectives with various sectors, such as education. She has worked with the Canadian Government on financing solutions to fund health sector reforms; with the Inter-American Development Bank on economic diversification strategies to reduce the food import bill in Trinidad and Tobago; with the Commonwealth Secretariat on identifying and removing non-tariff barriers to exports from developing country members. As part of a large team of researchers based at the University of Sussex, she looked at the impact of the EU’s changing relationships with the ACP countries, on poverty levels within a selected group of ACP countries; she followed this with work on a smaller team based at the University of Birmingham, looking at the effectiveness of the UK government’s programme to use satellite tracking to monitor high risk offenders.
Using this extensive research experience, Michanne managed the team of professionals that oversaw the implementation of all research projects in the Schools of Arts and Humanities and Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Cambridge. With the implementation of Brexit and the re-establishment of a UK government department for Trade, Michanne left the University to assume the position of Senior Investigator within the department. Michanne’s interdisciplinary expertise in policy analysis, institutional reform, and international development aligns strongly with The MRL® Foundation’s commitment to driving evidence-based, systemic change across education, health, and inclusive economic growth in underserved communities.