School Leaders
Ed Pearce
School Director
As the Director of Fairgreen International School, Ed Pearce is an experienced and knowledgeable leader with a lifelong passion for sustainability. He has more than 20 years experience leading high performing international schools from all corners of the globe. He has previously served as a leader at prestigious schools in the United States, China, Malaysia, Dubai and the United Kingdom.
Ed works to actively build teams committed to delivering outstanding learning experiences for students. He also strongly believes in the powerful and productive relationship between schools and the families they serve. He has a strong track record in fostering community among families in the schools he has led.
Considering the opportunity to serve as Fairgreen’s director a dream, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Ed is thrilled to be able to combine two of his passions: sustainability and education. His passion for environmental sustainability was developed from a young age and has been a guiding principle as an international educator. In 2019, Ed received a prestigious Cannes Award for his school’s “Floating Gardens” conservation project, aimed at rehabilitating river banks and local wildlife, in consultation with Chicago-based Urban Rivers. This passion for promoting sustainability for both the environment, as well as personal sustainability and wellbeing, complements his promotion of international mindedness and character building in the communities he has led across the world.
Starting off his career as a teacher in Australia and the United Kingdom, Ed first moved to Dubai in August 2008 where he served as the Deputy Head of Repton Preparatory School for three years. He then joined The Alice Smith School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as Assistant Principal for four years, during which he led a whole-school improvement planning initiative including curriculum review, facility upgrades and technology upgrades. Moving to China, Ed then led The British School, Guangzhou, part of Nord Anglia Education for two years. Prior to joining Fairgreen International School, he served for four years as Head of School at Nord Anglia’s The British International School Chicago, Lincoln Park in the United States.
Ed is originally from Australia and is currently completing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with the University of Cumbria (UK), in conjunction with Robert Kennedy College, Switzerland. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Education and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Environmental Management from University of Western Sydney. He is also a fully accredited school inspector under the British Schools Overseas inspection framework.
Ed is happy to be back in Dubai with his wife, Sarah, who herself is an experienced and passionate educator who is currently completing her Doctorate in International Education. Their two children, Oscar and Lachlan are looking forward to attending Fairgreen International School from August 2021. As a family they enjoy spending time in the great outdoors (never far from the water) and exploring different cultures across the globe. In his spare time Ed is a keen sportsman and is particularly fond of golf and cricket.
Timothy Rogers
Secondary Principal
Mr. Rogers is originally from the UK where he completed his teacher training and taught for several years before moving to Abu Dhabi over eight years ago. His previous experience includes tenure in a senior leadership role at The American International School in Abu Dhabi (AISA), which is also part of the Esol Education family, therefore Tim's educational approach is well aligned with the leadership, mission and philosophy of the organisation. During his time at AISA, Mr. Rogers played a vital role in driving school improvement along with raising student achievement, and will bring his proven abilities as a school leader to the Fairgreen community.
Mr. Rogers is most excited about meeting and connecting with Fairgreen’s students, a part of the job that he truly loves, and helping them to prepare for a lifetime of sustainable living. We invite you to join us in welcoming him as our new Secondary Principal when he joins us in Dubai in August.
Holli Pekhazis
Secondary Vice Principal
Holli moved to the UAE in 2010 and has worked in international schools in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai delivering both the IB and British curricula. She has worked with students in Grade 6 through to Grade 12 and is just as passionate teaching the rules of punctuation as she is debating with students whether Macbeth is truly a tragic hero. She has extensive experience leading secondary English departments and has a keen interest in teaching and learning. One career highlight was her involvement with the KHDA Abundance Project, collaborating and sharing best practice with small, private schools in Dubai. From a pastoral perspective, Holli has worked as Head of Year and Home Room teacher; supporting the academic and emotional wellbeing of students & ensuring that every day gets off to a great start! She joined Fairgreen International School as Head of Secondary English in September 2021.
Matt Greenwood
Primary Principal
Matt’s academic interests include; pedagogical approaches to the teaching of maths, use of data to support school improvement, Mindfulness, and theories of teacher motivation- which was the subject of his Master’s Degree Dissertation. He gained his Master’s in School Leadership from Leicester University in 2005 and he also holds an undergraduate degree in Humanities. He recently completed further leadership training at University College London. He is a qualified visiting Team Member for the Council of International Schools, and a trained Mindfulness teacher with the Mindfulness In Schools Project. He believes that children’s wellbeing is essential for their academic success.
David Gerber
Primary Vice Principal & PYP Programme Coordinator
David has been an influential member of the International Baccalaureate community in the Middle East for the past eight years. Currently he serves as the lead PYP coordinator for all IB schools in the United Arab Emirates and has been a contributing member of the Middle East IB Association since moving to Dubai.
David has worked around the world including New Zealand, Alaska, Thailand, Seattle, and Germany. He has learned a great deal about the curriculum needs and areas of focus for national curriculums and he is passionate about helping community members understand the benefits of an IB education while transitioning to and from their home countries.
David’s 13 years of teaching experience spans from kindergarten to Grade 4 and the facilitation of the PYP Exhibition in Grade 5. He enjoys developing students inquiry through play in the early years as well as facilitating focused guided inquiry in the older grades. David‘s commitment to the development of passionate lifelong learners was evident in his six years of leading the PYP curriculum with another IB school in Dubai.
David’s other passion lies in his love for the environment. As an avid outdoorsman, he has been advocating for environmental action in the region for years. David has been a leading member of the Eco Schools student environmental organization and helped his previous school to earn the prestigious Green Flag Award for the past three years. Mixing his passions for the environment and education is what makes Fairgreen International School a perfect fit for David.
Nassiba Zouinati
Business Manager
Nassiba Zouinati joined Fairgreen International School as Business Manager in March 2021, after spending 20 years in various roles in the hospitality industry. Nassiba spent most of her hospitality career in operational roles where she led large teams in North America, the Middle East and India. Having opened hotels in Vancouver, Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Jaipur and Makkah, Nassiba joined with a wealth of experience in strategic planning, customer service excellence and employee relations. Hailing from Morocco, Nassiba is fluent in English, Spanish, French and Arabic and has worked with very diverse teams of different backgrounds.
As Business Manager at Fairgreen, Nassiba is overseeing all the non-instructional aspects of the school, which include departments such as Human Resources, Accounts, Health & Safety and Procurement, to name a few. Nassiba is also overseeing all school projects and will be the main liaison between Fairgreen, ESOL and exterior partners. Nassiba also plays a key role in all parent school relations and works closely with the Director to ensure that all administrative disciplines work in unison with the instructional side of the school. Nassiba also works closely with the Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation, Dubai Civil Defense, Dubai Health Authority and the KHDA to ensure that Fairgreen is compliant with all local authorities’ requirements.
Nassiba holds a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management from the Vancouver Premier College of Hotel Management and an Associate’s Degree in Business Communication from Saint Louis University, Madrid, Spain. Nassiba is also one of Fairgreen’s founding parents and her two children Nadine and Youssef have been students here since day one.