Andrea D. Ferrari

Andrea D. Ferrari

CEO and founder of WholeSchools Institute International

Mexico

Her mission is to drive wellbeing, equity and happiness at the heart of every educational institution; this is the secret of lifelong learning!
Andrea Ferrari is a graduate from Tufts University in Boston where she majored in Child Studies and Art History. She has a Masters of Arts in Education from Columbia University, Teachers College, New York where she taught in the Dalton School before she came to Mexico City.

She has been a teacher for over 20 years and has served as a trusted mission driven leader guiding schools through several accreditation processes and accrediting schools in the US and Mexico. Specializing in both international and local accreditations, pedagogical frameworks and teaching practices that are at the vanguard of educational approaches including the Finnish System, Reggio Emilia, the International Baccalaureate and Harvard Project Zero.

She is an agent of change in the critical movement of wellness in education: “there is no learning without wellbeing”. Her powerful global alliances with School Day Finland, Great Place to Study India, and Los Mejores Colegios in Colombia, drive wellbeing and competitiveness at the heart of every educational institution: “do not let success determine your happiness when you can let happiness determine your success!” She drives institutional growth through strategic planning and mobilizing resources towards sustainable change, guiding and inspiring educational institutions to improve the quality of their programs and school policies.

She is an expert in the role of the arts in education introducing others to creative educational innovations. Creativity’s day has come, education, arts and industry need each other and work best in tandem for innovation, productivity and globalization.

At the onset of the covid-19 pandemic she activated the International School Leaders Forum creating a global platform for heads of school and educational thought leaders to face the challenges of education together generating a community of support. Now more than ever we need to take care of ourselves and our colleagues, strengthen our partnerships, pool resources, develop common goals and develop opportunities to work together and support all members of our community; above all, sustain our work over time.

Andrea has participated in two editions of the Women Economic Forum, Mexico 2019 and Mexico 2020 as an educational thought leader on diversity, inclusion and equity in education. She has been a panel specialist and moderator orchestrating meaningful discussions in virtue of the advancement of women in education.

Andrea was born in Brazil. She grew up in six different countries and speaks 4 languages. Being brought up in a true melting pot of cultures, religions and languages she treasures special moments in school where children experience the idea that all people can in fact live together in peace and harmony through cultivating understanding and authentic appreciation for diversity, equity and international mindedness.