OUR TEAM

Dr. Jandris (Tom) is an educator and business person with a wide range of experience. Tom serves as the Chairman and CEO of Pan Asia Education Consultancy, LLC (PAEC).   Prior to establishing PAEC, Tom helped to lead Concordia University Chicago for fifteen years as institutional Senior Vice President for Innovation, Chief Innovation Officer and founding Dean of several large and rapidly growing colleges.  In this capacity, he led several graduate programs that were among the largest in the country and serving tens of thousands of undergraduate and graduate students in over sixty-four programs.

Tom has advised Presidents, Governors, State Education Leaders, International Government Agencies, Global Education Investors, and Entrepreneurs.  As a serial entrepreneur himself, who has started, invested in or purchased nearly 20 education companies, Tom understands both the education and business challenges from 50 years of experience. 

Tom is a popular speaker, author and columnist much in demand for his research and experiential insights into innovation, leadership, and entrepreneurship.

Heather Roberts is an educational consultant and the COO of PAEC who helps both education professionals and startups  prepare for accreditation and internationalization.

Before  joining PAEC, Heather spent 4 years as the Assistant Vice President of  International  Student Services at a private U.S. university.  She has also worked at  Director level for several language school chains in the UK.  

After a  successful career as an educator and school director, Heather now helps  schools assess and select curricula, set up  CPD, implement programs and recruit teachers. 

Heather’s main interests are traveling, current affairs, and the visual arts. She is knowledgeable  regarding UK Visas & Immigration as well as U.S. SEVIS regulations.

Matthew Smith is the CEO (Asia-Pacific Region) of PAEC and a leading expert on school creation, education systems and a specialist in China, Asian and Sub-Saharan African education.
 

Over the past 15 years his advisory work has focused on school: creation, improvement, standards and performance; system-wide reform; access, success and funding in higher education; and access and quality in schools in developing countries.
 

Before joining PAEC, Matthew previously served as Chief Executive for a leading school group in West Africa; leading transformation and sustainability in education as well as a United Nations delegate for education reform and a thought-leader for inclusion in the poorest sectors of the world. His advisory work been recognized by the United Nations Forum for Climate Change. He has also worked at Principal and Director level for several international schools in Asia.  
 

Matthew is now focused on advising school boards and investors towards high-efficacy and optimization in the education sector. 

 Aleksas (Al) Kirkus is an educator with over 20 years of experience in school business and technology.  Al is the Senior Information Technology and Operations Consultant for PAEC, specializing in the areas of educational and operations technology, and business services.  Al is also an active administrator for an Illinois School District. 

Prior to his time in education, Al was a network architect, technology consultant and principal at several firms, systematizing processes and improving outcomes for organizations in a diverse range of industries ranging from manufacturing to health services.

Al’s approach is to maintain a systems perspective at all times, and use technology to enable, empower, or accelerate an organization’s core purpose. 

  Kim Coon serves as Director of Strategic University Partnerships at PAEC

He is a graduate of Lock Haven University, and a former teacher, banker, and Bedford County Commissioner. 

He is also the founder and President/CEO of several education businesses and initiatives, which have given him a strong network in the US, and in the international higher-education market. His global business development experience, has enabled him to assist global education service providers, expand their client base in the US and abroad. 

Previously Kim served as the Senior Vice-President for Business Development for several US and international companies, where he led all business development activities, and implemented corporate strategies, and guided the sales presentation and proposal processes. As a member of the senior management team, he worked closely with the founders to successfully implement acquisition strategies.

Earlier in his career, he served as a president in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), the Commonwealth’s fourteen public university system. During his tenure, he led the initiative to successfully launch the Keystone University Network, PASSHE’s collaborative online university. He has also served on the board of the PA Rural Leadership Program, at the Pennsylvania State University. 

Mr. Coon has also held several significant positions within Pennsylvania state government. He first served as Policy Director for the former Department of Community Affairs (DCA), and then became Executive Director of the newly created Governor’s Center for Local Government Excellence. Governor Tom Ridge appointed him Deputy Secretary for Community Affairs and Development in DCED in July 2000 where he served until March 2001.