World Education Services (WES)

WES’s Mariam Assefa Fund has committed itself to the Meet the Moment coalition, a group of funding organizations issuing grants to nonprofit organizations impacted by the second Trump administration’s rollback of federal grants and contracts to left-of-center nongovernmental organizations. ²

Activities

World Education Services offers credential evaluations to international and immigrant students in the United States and Canada. It also provides resources to employers and corporations to translate credentials and degrees for the purpose of hiring immigrants and international students and workers. ³

WES programs events across the United States and Canada promoting more immigrant involvement in local communities and job markets, and advocates for state and federal policies that expand immigration and social welfare services to immigrants to help them obtain education and employment. ^{4 5} WES also directly provides grants to nonprofits, claiming to prioritize “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Justice (DEIBJ) principles.” ^{6  7}

WES maintains the Mariam Assefa Fund, a grantmaking fund that supports left-of-center nonprofit organizations, namely those that promote immigration, feminism, and race-based diversity politics. ⁸ The Mariam Assefa Fund is a member of the Meet the Moment coalition, a group of grantmaking funds that have agreed to fund several nonprofits during the second Trump administration’s cuts to federal grant programs. ²

Leadership

Esther Benjamin is the CEO and executive director of World Education Services. Before joining WES, Benjamin worked with Laureate Education, Inc., a leading international higher-education organization. Esther has also previously served as the associate director for global operations of the U.S. Peace Corps and held senior management roles with the International Youth Foundation and the International Partnership for Microbicides. ⁹

Shamira Madhany is the deputy executive director of WES and managing director of WES operations in Canada. She joined WES in 2018 after more than two decades of government service in Ontario. She previously worked as an Assistant Deputy Minister for Health, Education, and Social Policy, in the Cabinet Office. She also served as Chief Diversity and Accessibility Officer. Madhany is a guest lecturer at Queen’s University and the University of Toronto Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. She also sits on the boards of Windmill Microlending, the Touchstone Institute, Herzing College Toronto, and the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC). ¹⁰

Sidney R. Hargro is the board chair of World Education Services. He is the executive director of the Leaders Trust and the former executive director of the Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia and the Community Foundation of South Jersey. He has also served as the senior officer of strategy and organizational learning at the Columbus Foundation. Hargro is the author of “Lessons Learned,” a chapter in the Foundation Center’s fundraising guide, After the Grant: A Nonprofit’s Guide to Good Stewardship. He also sat on the board of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, as well as the boards of regional and national organizations, including the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation and CDC, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, and the advisory committee of the New Jersey Nature Conservancy. Hardgro is a graduate of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Ohio State University, and the United Theological Seminary. ¹¹

Finances and Funding

According to its 2024 tax filings, the World Education Services (WES) reported $139,593,000 in revenue, $98,706,735 in expenses, and $225,106,044. ¹² That same year, WES also donated $100,000 to the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO). ¹³

In 2023, WES reported $99,938,416 in total revenues, $91,492,697 in total expenses, and $233,089,458 in total assets. ¹⁴