MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: REBECCA AND ERFAAN MOJGANI

Could you tell us who you are and what it is that you do?

We are a husband and wife couple with roots in Virginia (Rebecca from Charlottesville, Erfaan from NoVa) who first met at UVA. After living around the US (and world!), we relocated back to the area in 2021. We both work remotely while raising our 2 daughters and family dog. We alternate our workspace days: one of us works from home while the other one brings our kids to school and works from Studio IX. The Studio IX option to split a single fixed desk meets our needs perfectly, as does the JBird coffee. We both benefit from having opportunities to mix up our work space outside of one home office and appreciate the overall vibe of the space and opportunities for fresh air walks around inspiring art and casual small talk. 

Rebecca is the Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer for ECD Measure, an organization that supports governments, non-profit organizations, and researchers to measure the quality of early childhood education settings in low resource settings around the world. Her work centers around building capacity to collect and use data to improve young children's early learning experiences in low- and middle-income countries. 

Erfaan currently works in Product Development at Amazon, where he has primarily been focused on building technology solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses selling on Amazon’s 3rd-party marketplace. 

What do you love most about your work?

RM: I love working with people from all around the world who are committed to improving conditions for young children to thrive. The early years in life are essential for brain development and laying the foundation for lifelong learning. ​Children in low-income countries often face a range of challenges that can hinder their development, such as malnutrition, limited access to healthcare, exposure to stress, etc.​ Quality early childhood education ​can help mitigate these challenges and provide children with the stimulation and support they need to reach their full potential. The work that I do with my partners in Africa, Latin America, and Asia is focused on improving early childhood education quality. Quality early childhood education is a powerful tool for breaking the cycle of poverty by providing children with the skills, knowledge, and support they need to succeed in school and in life. 

EM: I love applying a mix of technology (software) solutions and physical operations to solve real-world problems for our business customers and help simplify their life so they can run and grow their businesses more effectively. I get to work with smart, collaborative peers across various functions and backgrounds who hold a high bar for each other and push ourselves to drive the best possible outcomes. 

How did you arrive at this point in your career? What’s your backstory?

RM: I started my career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Peru, where I support​ed community-based health and education programming and worked mainly with mothers of young children​. This experience sparked my passion for early childhood development.​ After the Peace Corps, I ​got my Master's in International Education Policy. I then worked for the World Bank in DC where I supported governments in Tanzania, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, and Seychelles to improve their investments in early childhood development policies in health, nutrition, education, and child protection sectors. I spent a few years in Tanzania with the World Bank where ​I​ worked closely with the government of Tanzania to improve education policies and also saw firsthand the many challenges of making data-driven decisions for children. In 2018, I co-founded ECD Measure​ because I saw a gap in the sector for innovative ways to collect and use impactful early childhood data. 

EM: I have always found myself drawn to the intersection of multiple disciplines, and have been fortunate to get exposure to a wide diversity of professional settings and problem spaces that continuously allow me to learn new things (read: “I’m still figuring out what I want to be when I grow up, but have accepted it as my general status quo”). After focusing my grad school studies on business and international development (social enterprises, development finance, renewable energy), I got my start in the technology sector nearly a decade ago with international startups focused on expanding e-commerce and mobile money across Africa, but after moving back from Tanzania to the US with Rebecca (to get married in C’ville!), I found an opportunity at Amazon that seemed like a good next step to hone some more of my functional skills and apply/refine my problem-solving frameworks in an established technology company. That was 7 years ago…

Has there been a light switch moment, a turning point, professionally &/or personally along the way?

RM: Becoming a parent and experiencing the reality of the early childhood years has definitely changed my perspective on early childhood research and policy. I spent nearly a decade of my career advising on early childhood programming and policy in low- and middle-income countries before I had kids. But even equipped with knowledge of the latest research and best practices, having a baby is humbling :). Now, more than ever, I try to soak in time with our two daughters and see the world through their eyes.

EM: While I’ve had many along the way (hard to say if that’s a good or bad thing), most recently this past year, I’ve realized I need to feel more connected to what I do and the people I work with. So that has helped me set my mind to finding my way to a smaller organization/company whose mission really inspires me, offers me new learning opportunities, and ideally a more local presence than Seattle (I don’t thrive 100% remote!). 

What are you currently working on, excited about, looking forward to?

RM: I’m supporting projects in about 15 countries, from Kyrgyzstan to Kenya to Colombia. One of my favorite projects is with a large international foundation supporting government schools in ten countries. The program employs principles of human-centered design to engage preschool teachers to create new ideas for improving quality learning. I appreciate the opportunity to meet with preschool teachers all around the world and co-design products and solutions that will help them support optimal learning and development. 

EM: I’m currently launching and scaling a new capability for Amazon to support B2B distribution, a next critical milestone for the internal startup team I joined in January 2021. It’s been a roller-coaster ride that has challenged me in good ways and bad, but I’m grateful for the opportunity and proud of all the team has done to get us here. As we (personally) settle into a rhythm post-pandemic and post-newborn phase, I’m most excited about spending more quality time with my family, discovering new interests and hobbies (and re-discovering old ones that have fallen by the wayside, like basketball or live entertainment), while figuring out the next step professionally. 

What are you currently reading?

RM: I'm reading Commonwealth, an enjoyable read by Ann Patchett.  

EM: I’m reading The Creative Act (by Rick Rubin), after having just recently finished World War Z for a book club. 

Anything we missed that you might care to share (closing thoughts)?

RM/EM: Thanks for the opportunity to share! After residing in so many places around the world, we’re happy to be putting down roots with our family in Charlottesville while also continuing to grow our careers. We’re grateful to have found Studio IX as it helps us strike good balance for our professional and personal lives.