Elizabeth Walker Sobhani | Lead for Strategic Outcomes and Social Innovation

Elizabeth Walker Sobhani is the Co-founder and Director of the Qi Social Innovation Center in Beijing, a pioneering non-profit dedicated to empowering the next generation of youth social innovators globally. With over 20 years of experience in social impact consulting, Elizabeth specializes in strategy and change management, offering guidance and consulting support to leading NGOs, educational institutions, and social enterprises globally. Her clients include organizations such as UN Women, Splash International, the China Youth Development Foundation, the School of the Nations, Somersfield Academy, and Daystar Academy.

In the past decade, Elizabeth has deepened her focus on education especially in China where she resided for 13 years and raised her two sons who are both bilingual. She served as the Director of Social Innovation for the Ivy Education Group, leading the development of the social innovation competency framework and K-12 social innovation program at Daystar Academy and Ivy Schools across China. Additionally, she was the Managing Director at The Family Learning House Education Group, where she expanded their bilingual, virtues-based kindergartens and teacher training programs to multiple cities throughout China.

Elizabeth is from Bermuda and completed her university studies in Canada at McGill University (BComm) and Queen’s University (MSc in Management) before beginning her career as a consultant at Bain & Co. in both Canada and Australia. She later became the VP of Global Strategy for a multinational insurance company, where she played a key role in strategy and organizational design and helping shape the company’s philanthropic and educational initiatives before moving to China in 2010.

A certified Emotional Intelligence Educator, Shared Value Consultant, and Virtues Trainer, Elizabeth has been a guest speaker at conferences in Asia, Europe and North America, contributing to the discourse on education, social impact, and the intersection of both. Elizabeth’s belief in the potential of children and youth combined with her skills and insights to transform old world educational models into future oriented learning organizations has made her a sought after consultant and trainer.