Zhanna O’Clery

Zhanna O’Clery

Head of Advancement
Ireland

I have been involved in the development of UWC Dilijan since 2013, before it opened, and became its acting head of advancement in late 2020. I have over 20 years’ experience in fundraising, most recently as a consultant on global issues with the Atlantic Philanthropies. From 2006 to 2019 I was associate director at Trinity Development & Alumni at Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), responsible for fundraising for biomedical research and health-related priorities. Prior to this, I worked in New York as the first head of development of the Swiss-based International Baccalaureate, in China as director of development and admissions at the Western Academy of Beijing, and in Washington DC as consultant at the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group). Born a Russian-Armenian in what was then the Soviet Union, I completed my PhD in Moscow Pedagogical University. I taught lexicology of the English language at Krasnoyarsk Pedagogical University, my alma mater. I also taught at the Anglo-American School in Moscow. Currently I serve on the boards of Life2Good Foundation and Research Motor Neurone. I reside in Dublin, Ireland, with my husband Conor, with whom I share a passion for politics, reading, travel and producing fruit and vegetables in our garden to create real Caucasian cuisine. My ambition now is to help UWC Dilijan to prosper and survive the many crises afflicting the world.