Our Speaker
Shahzad Bhatti and Dr. J. Aisha Simon founded Axiom Learning in 2009 (right in the middle of the last financial crisis and with three young kids of their own) with the mission to leave the world better than they found it. As they looked into the different ways to improve the world, they kept seeing the same dynamics: if we are going to be able to solve the world’s biggest problems of tomorrow, we need to rethink how we approach education today. For their bold leadership, dedication, and innovative approach, Shahzad and Aisha won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2018.
Before founding Axiom, Aisha received her Master’s in Public Health from Harvard University with a strong focus on humanitarian relief. As a physician, Aisha co-founded Doctors Worldwide, a medical relief organization which still has operations in over 13 countries. Aisha also has a long and diverse career in education: having taught chemistry at the base of Mount Kenya, health education in the middle schools of Washington DC, health care reconstruction in Sarajevo, entrepreneurship in Cambridge, algebra in Kuala Lumpur, and salsa dancing in Richmond.