ABOUT CEF

THE CEF TEAM

The CEF Team

Linda Burn
Founding Director and In-Country Manager - Vietnam

CEF spontaneously arose out of a need I saw in Vietnam to help girls receive an education and have the opportunity of tertiary education or vocational training. I wanted to see them have a life with choices, not the limited one I saw of poverty and the resultant grinding daily struggle with no obvious way out.
Poverty sometimes leads to parents taking desperate measures, consciously and sometimes not. Daughters are sold off for a tidy sum, into arranged marriages where they are abused.  Girls are tempted by well-paid job in China, and although promised a bright future, end up being a prostitute in a brothel or enslaved in a factory. A girl in school has less chance of this happening to her.
This desire to help females from impoverished or marginalized communities still exists for me today 13 years later, and maybe even more strongly than in the past, as I now have seen the difference an education makes here. We have the joy of seeing many complete school, and now we have 12 who have graduated from college or university. There is no turning back.

Stephen Jackel
CEO USA, In-Country Manager - USA

My involvement with Children's Education Foundation - Vietnam started in 2005 when I met Linda Burn, CEF's founder. Learning about her work to help poor children stay in school, and seeing the passion - and tears - in her eyes as she spoke to friends at a fund raiser inspired me to join the then-fledgling charity. Soon I realized if we expected people to continue donating we needed to incorporate as a New York State not-for-profit corporation and then obtain IRS 501(c)(3) tax exemption, which we did. 
I have been visiting Vietnam annually, joining in on home visits to the sponsored children, an experience  that is both depressing and uplifting: such poverty and heartbreaking stories, but also meeting lovely children and their caregivers, who now have hope for improvement to their lives.  
It's exciting to see some of the children graduating from college and starting their adult lives.  And it will be even more exciting to see what they and the children following behind them accomplish in the future.

Our CEF staff
​in Vietnam  
Thuy, Kim Chi, Vy and Ngoc

CEF is lucky to have compassionate, caring and intelligent staff.  
Ngoc has been with CEF for over four years and came straight out of university into NGO work. She has learned rapidly and already has taken on a lot of responsibility. She is also lovely with the children and has a ready smile and laugh. 
Kim Chi has been with CEF for close to four years and also came straight from university. She is passionate about helping children from poor families having an opportunity to be educated. She is very caring and has a creative mind that readily finds solutions for challenges we face.
Thuy has been with our term for three years.  She came with NGO experience and we are grateful for her knowledge and confidence that has come from it.  She is wonderful with the children, caring gentle and sweet. 
​Vy, the newest of our staff has been with us for two years.  She is both a soft and firm mother for the children and they have become fond of her in short time .  
They all work well together, have a good laugh often and care greatly about the children and their families.

Board of Directors

Linda Burn
Previous: Lifestyle Consultant, Vegetarian Cooking Teacher, ran Culinary Tours in Vietnam, Culinary Consultant & Vietnam Tour Consultant.
Present: In-Country Manager - Children's Education Foundation - Vietnam, in Vietnam.

Stephen Jackel
Previous: Administrative Law Judge for the City of New York, journalist, attorney in private practice.
Current: Attorney in private practice helping disabled people obtain government benefits to which they're entitled.

Michele Spirn
Previous: Director of Communications for a women's nonprofit organization for 11 years and responsible for conveying the organization's positions on women's, children's and family issues
Current: Author of over 45 children's books and Assistant Professor in Literary Studies at the New School University in New York City

​Jennifer Powell
Information to be added shortly

Marsha Pearson
Information to be added shortly

Robert Heinzman
​Information to be added shortly