Meet our Board

Born and raised in Algeria, Wahiba brings over a decade of experience supporting children’s education and working alongside local communities.

 

She founded Dar Kiared to create a space for Algerian writers and illustrators to tell their stories, for children to discover books that reflect their lives and open up new possibilities, and to bring Algerian stories to a wider audience.

​

She holds an Executive MBA and has completed the Public Leadership Credential from Harvard Kennedy School.

Gillian brings a career in cyber security and a longstanding interest in social history to her role as a Non-Executive Director of Dar Kiared.

​

Wahiba and Gillian have known each other for 15 years. Their friendship has grown through a shared interest in deepening their understanding of struggles for racial equality, from exploring civil rights trails in the USA to learning about places connected to apartheid in South Africa. Their ongoing conversations about books, people and places reflect a shared belief that stories shape how we understand ourselves and one another.

​

In her professional work, Gillian helps organisations understand and reduce cyber risk. She brings this experience and a practical, strategic perspective to the board as Dar Kiared develops its online platform to support creative collaborations, share book reviews, and provide activities and reading resources for children, families, schools and communities.