AISL Board of Directors 2024-2025

Benjamin Grob-Fitzgibbon (Chair)

Ben is the Political Unit Chief at the U.S. Embassy, and previously served in Beijing, Bangkok, and Shanghai. As an immigrant from northern England, he received his BA from Ithaca College and his MA/PhD from Duke University.  Before joining the State Department, he spent more than a decade working in higher education, teaching and advising thousands of students about curriculum choices and academic pathways as a history professor and the International Relations Program Director at a major research university.

Aki Georgiou (Vice Chair)

Aki Georgiou has served as a local elected member of the AISL Board of Directors since August 2018. He currently is an active member of the Building committee (since 2014), and a member of the Legal/Ownership committee (2019). He was the chair of the Ad-hoc (Temporary) Marketing Committee in 2019. Aki has 2 children attending AISL, his daughter in grade 3 and his son in Grade 7. Both kids have blossomed under the guidance of AISL. Aki is a Permanent Resident of Zambia. He has spent his working life in the digital printing and advertising industry. He was the Co-Founder and owner of Grandad Digital Printing and is currently the CEO of Six Light Media. Nothing is more important than family to Aki. Keeping his children close, in a school that has high international standards, teaches them independence and at the same time makes it fun is why Aki and his kids and love AISL.

David Burrows

David Burrows’ two children joined the Early Learning Center soon after he arrived in Zambia in 2009. He joined the Board in September 2020 as.  His kids are now in 9th and 11th grades, both looking forward to completing their education at AISL. David appreciates that AISL exposes his children to diverse perspectives, challenges them academically and fosters a welcoming community. He is excited to contribute to AISL achieving its mission and vision. David began his international career as a Volunteer in Peace Corps/Malawi’s Health Program and now works for Jhipego, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University, managing public health projects in partnership with Zambia’s Ministry of Health. He enjoys adventures exploring Zambia, introducing the kids to classic movies from his childhood, and watching his son stay up all night to experience the joy of his favorite team winning the Super Bowl.

Rhett Harrison

Rhett Harrison is a tropical ecologist working for CIFOR-ICRAF in Zambia. His research focuses on the nexus between development, biodiversity conservation and climate change. He has lived in Zambia for approximately eight years and prior to that was based in Asia. He has two daughters in the school (G7 and G11) and his partner, Warin Harrison, is a Thai business-women.

Dr. David Howlett

David was elected to the AISL board in 2022 and is a member of the governance and building and maintenance committees. David works in the Economic Growth and Environment office at USAID/Zambia, managing programs that improve the economic wellbeing of Zambians through agriculture, nutrition, trade, and water and sanitation projects. David is the proud dad of a second and fourth grader in the primary school. David seeks to improve transparency of the school board and maintain AISL on strong economic footing.

Amanda van den Dool

Amanda joined the Board this year. Amanda J. Van den Dool is the Deputy Director, Office of Economic Development and Environment (EDEV) at USAID/Zambia, located in U.S. Embassy Lusaka. Before joining USAID/Zambia, Amanda worked overseas in Thailand, South Africa and Japan. She started her career as a community organizer in Chicago, and then worked in USAID headquarters, as well as the US Department of Labor in Washington, DC. An Illinois native, Amanda holds a bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She lives in Zambia with her husband Peter, and children Luke (10) and Helena (5).

Shane Spellman

Shane Spellman is the Management Officer at U.S. Embassy Lusaka, where he has worked since August 2023. Prior to coming to Zambia, he served in Beijing, China; Yerevan, Armenia; and Frankfurt, Germany.

Shane is married and has four children. Two in University in the United States and two teenagers attending AISL. Before joining the State Department, he worked in the U.S. Army and U.S. Army National Guard for twenty-two years. He holds a Bachelor’s in business administration from Columbia College and a Master’s in business administration from Lindenwood University.