Head of Business DevelopmentCommunity and Individual Development Association City Campus
Annie Blecher is based in Johannesburg, South Africa and is focused on creating relevant education and career opportunities for financially marginalized youth. She heads up the business development department for Community & Individual Development Association and the Maharishi Institute, a nonprofit with a 35-year track record of success pioneering the 'virtually free' education movement in South Africa. She has been instrumental in marketing and raising funds for the organization.
She was previously based in Beijing and San Francisco working with non-profit organizations: Center for Wellness & Achievement in Education, Stress-Free Schools, and the David Lynch Foundation.
Annie has been invited to speak in the North America, China, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, on topics related to poverty alleviation through free access education, sustainable business, and developing human potential through whole student learning. She has a passion for Social Entrepreneurship and Consciousness-Based Education, and has promoted CBE methodologies around the world. She is a certified Teacher of the Transcendental Meditation technique.