Our founder, Axana Soltan, J.D., LL.M., MPP, is an International Human Rights Lawyer whose work has focused on advancing human rights, education, gender equality, and access to justice.

Her commitment to children and families is deeply personal. Having experienced displacement as a child, Axana saw firsthand how conflict, instability, and inequality can disrupt a child’s education and shape the course of their future. Those experiences instilled in her a lasting belief that education is more than what happens in a classroom—it can be a pathway to opportunity, dignity, stability, and hope.

That belief led her to establish the Enhancing Children’s Lives Foundation, with a vision of expanding educational opportunity and access to essential resources for children and families facing barriers to opportunity.

Today, ECL carries that vision forward through community-based programs, partnerships, and volunteers working to help children, women, girls, and families build stronger futures.

At the heart of ECL is a simple belief: every child deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential.