June 1, 2021

Remembering Mike Laflin

EDC mourns the passing of an advocate, colleague, and friend.

We at EDC mourn the loss of Mike Laflin—friend and colleague—who died on May 19 after a short illness. During his 20 years at EDC, Mike was one of our giants in creating and building EDC’s portfolio of international development work. He was also admired by colleagues across development organizations and donors for his insights and vision.

Mike’s legacy is evident in the work that EDC does with its partners around the world, reaching marginalized populations with educational, life skills, and health support programs. In particular, Mike was a passionate advocate of interactive radio/audio instruction as a cost-effective means to reach large numbers of teachers and students in the classroom. Under Mike’s guidance, EDC expanded the use of interactive audio instruction to train teachers in active, student-centered instruction, as well as to improve classroom environments; to motivate students and make learning fun; and to teach students basic skills, including reading, math, health, social and emotional learning, and life skills. Mike’s legacy also lives on in the many colleagues, current and former, whom he hired and mentored over the years.

We pay tribute to Mike’s lasting contributions to EDC and to the communities and people we serve.

Learn more about Mike’s legacy through the voices of teachers and colleagues around the world.