Melissa Gomes, the co-founder and CEO of social enterprise Edvolution Enterprise, harnesses her passion for education to bring about real transformation in the public education system. Recognising that communities on the ground needed action rather than ideas, Edvolution was established to “build transformative leaders, competent educators, and effective community leaders in schools”.

With support from ECM Libra Foundation and PwC Malaysia, Edvolution has been instrumental in teacher-building capacity in high-need schools—143 so far, involving a total of 800 teachers—in particular through its flagship Teacher Empowerment for School Transformation (TEST) programme. Educators who underwent the three-year programme have contributed to vastly improved teachers’ morale and students’ performance in their respective schools.

TEST is recognised by Malaysia’s Ministry of Education as a model to address education imbalances in the public education system and is also named one of the top 150 educational innovations by HundrED Global, a non-profit that identifies and amplifies education innovations around the world.

As an education innovator, Gomes’ achievements have also led her to participate in policy-making [Edvolution has served as a sub-committee to Jawatankuasa Dasar Kajian Pendidikan Negara]; sit on the council at Teach For All, a global network that builds leadership in classrooms around the world; and consult for an EdTech company on a literacy app in Bahasa Malaysia.