For more than two decades, Lumos CEO, Georgette Mulheir has worked in 28 countries around the world, leading large-scale programmes to transform (and at times save) the lives of tens of thousands of disadvantaged children. She pioneered a model of ‘de-institutionalisation’ now followed by many governments, preventing the separation of children from families, returning children from institutions and so-called ‘orphanages’ to families, and shifting finances from harmful institutions to community services that support children in families. She provides advice to colleagues at the European Commission on using EU funds for reforming children’s services, and has published four books on children’s and women’s rights.

Georgette sits on the Leaders' Council of the Global Alliance for Children, an international grouping of governmental agencies and private and philanthropic funding bodies, dedicated to helping children in adversity. In 2014, she was named in the US as ‘one of the world’s 30 most influential social workers’ by socialworkdegreeguide.com. In 2015, also in the US, she was honoured in the prestigious 6th Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards for her work.