Dinu Raheja: The Power of Peer Learning

June 3, 2026

Dinu Reheja

Peer learning has shaped Dinu Raheja’s career from the very beginning. Her experience with The Global Education & Leadership Foundation (tGELF/JA India) began in the classroom as a teacher at one of the organization’s pilot schools 20 years ago. “I would help them with not just the teacher training, but also help them with content development, with curriculum, telling them what's going to work for kids and what's not going to work.” Her invaluable boots-on-the-ground insight led to a full-time position with tGELF. So when Dinu was invited to apply for the JA Leader Exchange and Development (LEAD) program from JA Worldwide, she welcomed the opportunity. “There is no better learning than from your own peers.”

The LEAD initiative brings together high-potential leaders from across the JA network to strengthen their leadership capabilities, expand cross-regional collaboration, and prepare the next generation of leaders within JA. The cohort-based learning and mentorship experience cultivates global connections, allows participants to develop new perspectives, and helps them develop practical strategies to advance impact for young people in their JA locations. Dinu believes the relationships built through LEAD will continue long after the program ends.

Dinu envisioned connecting with peers from across the global JA network and expanding her career development. Throughout the experience, the numerous conversations she’s had with peers have been enlightening, because they understand the realities of leading JA organizations, no matter where they are in the world. “They are facing the same situations,” she reflected. “They know exactly how to deal with it.”

Jack Kosakowski, former CEO of Junior Achievement USA, who helped develop LEAD for JA Worldwide, learned a thing or two about that over his 50-year career with the organization. “There is something uniquely powerful about learning from someone who is walking a similar path, rather than listening to some expert in a training session who has never led a JA operation. JA leaders understand the opportunities, pressures, and complexities of leading mission-driven organizations. When participants sit across the table from another JA executive in a completely different part of the world, they often realize that while their environments may differ, many of their leadership challenges are remarkably similar.”

Hearing stories from colleagues operating in difficult environments has been particularly impactful for Dinu. She specifically pointed to conversations with JA leaders in the Middle East whose resilience left a lasting impression on her. “How is it that they can still keep their courage, their optimism in the face of what is happening and carry on with the work that we are doing?”

The LEAD experience has influenced Dinu’s own leadership method. She said LEAD has encouraged her to step back more often and empower her team with greater independence. “My team knows I need to focus on other things. And I know they can manage without me being on top of them.”

Each member of the cohort is paired with another executive from one of the five other JA regions. The pairs meet monthly to share insights, discuss challenges, and exchange best practices and ideas. “Peer learning creates authenticity, trust, vulnerability, and practical insight in ways that traditional training programs often cannot replicate,” Jack said. “Participants don’t just exchange ideas, they exchange perspectives.”

Dinu partnered with Marta Slovakova, CEO of JA Slovakia. Part of the LEAD experience includes a job shadow for each LEAD pair. During Dinu’s visit to Slovakia, Marta introduced her to corporate partners, embassy representatives, and JA leaders across Central Europe.

Thoughtful, immersive, and deeply collaborative, the exchange, Dinu said, “was a series of professional learning experiences.” The two toured schools, met with sponsors and partners, attended student competitions, and took in cultural experiences, giving Dinu a greater understanding of how JA programs operate across Europe. She praised Marta’s efforts to help create impactful connections that could support JA India’s future partnerships.

For Dinu, the LEAD experience has reinforced the idea that when leaders learn from one another across cultures, industries, and regions, the impact reaches far beyond the participants themselves. Through LEAD, those relationships are helping strengthen a global community of educators and changemakers working toward the same goal: inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy.