An Initiative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Faculty

Dave Adkisson

Former President and CEO
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce

Dave's Bio

Dave Adkisson recently retired after 14 years as president and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber.   A veteran chamber of commerce executive, he had the unique career experience of leading a small city chamber in his hometown, a metropolitan chamber in Birmingham, AL and then a  state chamber.  Active on the state and national levels, Adkisson was the 2010 board chair of ACCE (American Chamber of Commerce Executives), the 2013 board chair of the national Council of State Chambers (COSC) and for six years, on the board of the U.S. Chamber.  He is a founder of the State Chamber Policy Center in Washington.

During a 12-year break in his chamber career, Adkisson was in politics, first as a field representative for U.S. Senator Wendell Ford of Kentucky and then elected at age 34 as mayor of Owensboro, KY, before being re-elected without opposition four years later.

During his career, he championed projects as varied as the creation of a performing arts center, the creation of a 13-mile linear park that was later named in his honor, the creation of a state chamber workforce center, establishing a Leadership Institute for School Principals in Kentucky and passing numerous pieces of legislation that helped advance Kentucky’s business community. In 2017, the Kentucky Chamber was named the state chamber of the year.

Adkisson is a native of Owensboro, KY and is married with two adult children and three grandchildren.  He is a graduate of Georgetown College, where he now chairs the board of trustees, and he earned a masters degree in ethics from Harvard University.  He lives in Lexington, KY.

Dave's Bio

Lexi Anderson

Senior Project Manager
Education Commission of the States

Lexi's Bio

In her role, Lexi oversees project management for Education Commission of the States' policy work. Lexi has more than 10 years of experience working as a higher education administrator and policy analyst, with the past five years focused on postsecondary transition policies. When Lexi is not immersed in the education policy world, she can be found running, skiing or exploring with her toddler in the mountains.

Lexi's Bio

Tom Arnett

Senior Research Fellow
Clayton Christensen Institute

Tom's Bio

Thomas Arnett is a senior research fellow in education for the Clayton Christensen Institute. His work focuses on studying innovations that amplify educator capacity, documenting barriers to K-12 innovation, and identifying disruptive innovations in education. Thomas previously served as a trustee and board president for the Morgan Hill Unified School District in Morgan Hill, California, worked as an Education Pioneers fellow with the Achievement First Public Charter Schools, and taught middle school math as a Teach For America teacher in Kansas City Public Schools. Thomas received a BS in Economics from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.

Tom's Bio

John Bailey

Visiting Fellow
American Enterprise Institute

John's Bio

John serves as a Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Fellow working on strategies related to economic mobility, criminal justice reform, and education. He is a visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute researching Opportunity Zones and issues relating to the future of work. He also serves as an advisor to the Walton Family Foundation.

He served as a domestic policy advisor in the White House coordinating the policy process with agencies and White House including ESEA, the Higher Education Act, job training, and the Trade Adjustment Assistance reauthorization.  John also coordinated the Administration’s effort to stabilize the Federal Family Education Loan Program during the credit crisis through the launch of three emergency programs to address nearly $200 billion of loans which saved the taxpayers over $10 billion and ensured that every student that wanted a student loan to go to college was able to obtain one.

He served as the Deputy Policy Director to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and Director of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education. He co-founded the strategic advisory firm Whiteboard Advisors, served as a senior program officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and most recently was the VP of Policy for Governor Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education.

John is a Pahara-Aspen Institute Fellow, a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, and an alumnus of the American Council on Germany Young Leaders Program. He also serves on advisory boards for the Aspen Institute’s Future of Work, the Bush Institute, Center for Democracy and Technology, Data Quality Campaign, and National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. He co-chaired the Aspen Institute’s Task Force on Connected Learning and was a member of the U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Commission.

John's Bio

Michelle Blakely

Program & Planning DIrector
First 5 San Mateo

Michelle's Bio

Michelle Blakely, Planning and Program Director, provides executive leadership in all aspects of F5SMC’s work, including strategic planning, program development, evaluation design, budget planning, and Commission/Board engagement. She works closely with the Executive Director to implement the vision and mission and serves on various steering committees and advisory groups.

Michelle currently serves as an early education consultant for a variety of projects including the Fatherhood Collaborative of San Mateo County and the Golden Gate Region Center. She is currently working with F5SMC to lead a collaborative process with over 15 organizations, government agencies and philanthropies for over $3 million in funding for special projects.

Michelle's Bio

Kerri Briggs

Principal
Cicero Social Impact, Ed Direction

Kerri's Bio

Kerri has significant leadership experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Most recently at ExxonMobil, Kerri managed the company’s K12 education partnerships and served as an advisor on critical policy issues. She was the founding director of Education Reform at the George W. Bush Institute, led the state education agency for Washington DC, and served as an Assistant Secretary in the USDE, where she managed large-scale policy initiatives to improve student achievement and ensure equal access for all students. Kerri has also directed programmatic and evaluation initiatives at various nonprofit organizations in Texas.

Kerri's Bio

Travis Burton

Manager of Public Affairs
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce

Billy Canary

Former President & CEO
Business Council of Alabama

Billy's Bio

With over 40 years of experience in leadership and public service at the national level, William Canary provides the strategic insight needed to help organizations succeed. As a consultant he leverages his vast knowledge of public policy, leadership coaching, crisis management and government to provide solutions that allow organizations to meet their strategic objectives.

Canary began his professional career in New York, where he made an early name for himself in the political arena, winning several elected positions in the Long Island area. Recognized for his integrity, ability to solve complex problems, and collaborative leadership style, he soon gained the attention of top political leaders in Washington, which led to key appointments as a Special Assistant to President George H. W. Bush and Chief of Staff for the Republic National Committee.

Over his career, he has been an advocate for businesses and champion of economic growth, holding roles as CEO of the Business Council of Alabama and President and CEO of the American Trucking Association. Currently, he is as a Senior Fellow for the United States Chamber of Commerce, where he serves as a thought leader on matters related to business, the Federation and the economy.

Canary founded Canary & Company Consulting to lend his expertise to organizations in need of specialized support. His strong knowledge of business, economics, and politics make him an asset to executives and organizational leaders seeking professional and trustworthy advisory to solve complex challenges.

He was a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Committee of 100 and served on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Manufacturer’s State Associations Group. Canary also served on the Alabama School Readiness Alliance’s Pre-K Task Force and continues to serve on the Advisory Board of ReadyNation.

He is also a contributor and co-author of The Next New Start (2015), Unfinished Business (2016), Time And Again (2017) and the author of Leadership (2020 publication date).

Canary is a graduate of State University New York at Oneonta and holds a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center at Touro College in New York.

Billy's Bio

Karen Cator

President & CEO
Digital Promise

Karen's Bio

Karen Cator is President and CEO of Digital Promise and a leading voice for transforming American education through technology, innovation and research. From 2009-2013, Karen was Director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education, where she led the development of the 2010 National Education Technology Plan and focused the Office’s efforts on teacher and leader support. Prior to joining the department, Cator directed Apple’s leadership and advocacy efforts in education. In this role, she focused on the intersection of education policy and research, emerging technologies, and the reality faced by teachers, students and administrators.

She began her education career in Alaska as a teacher, ultimately leading technology planning and implementation. She also served as Special Assistant for Telecommunications for the Governor of Alaska. Cator holds a master’s in school administration from the University of Oregon and recently received the 2014 College of Education Distinguished Alumni award. The American Association of Publishers has awarded Cator with the 2014 Visionary Award. She received her bachelor’s in early childhood education from Springfield College, and she is a member of the Aspen Pahara Fellows. She is a past chair for the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, has served on boards including the Software & Information Industry Association-Education, and currently serves on the boards for ACT and Enlearn.

Karen's Bio

Ann Cattalini Sinclair

State & Local Partnerships
XQ Institute

Ann's Bio

Ann’s work at XQ combines her personal experience as a mom of three school-aged children in Oakland, CA with her professional background of developing national public interest campaigns. She has built advocacy campaigns for national not-for-profits and Fortune 500 companies, and was the Development Director of The Women’s Conference, the nation’s premier forum for women. She started her career in The White House Office of Legislative Affairs and is a proud alumni of the University of California, Los Angeles.

Ann's Bio

Jimmy Clarke

Senior Director & State Policy
HCM Strategists

Jimmy's Bio

Jimmy Clarke has gained experiences which have shaped his passion for postsecondary education policy and improving the lives of others. Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and influenced by the cultural revolution of the 1960s, Jimmy received his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California at Santa Barbara and later earned his master’s degree and a Ph.D. in education administration from Louisiana State University’s College of Education.

Jimmy spent twenty years at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he served in a variety of capacities including dean of student personnel and dean of enrollment management. From this perch, Jimmy had an intimate view of the challenges students face in reaching their educational goals. He also served on the staff of the Louisiana Board of Regents for eight years, a portion of which he served in a dual capacity as acting chancellor of the statewide, 42-campus Louisiana Technical College. In these roles, Jimmy developed a deep understanding for policy issues affecting every stakeholder in higher education – an invaluable perspective that he brings to his work at HCM.

Jimmy believes that education policies crafted to benefit the student ultimately benefit the community and the nation; therefore, he strives to ensure that decision-makers sift through the complexity of public policy and consider all of the consequences on students and their families. At HCM, he serves as the director of Lumina Foundation’s Strategy Labs. Strategy Labs provide state leaders with technical assistance for policies that can increase higher education attainment. A people person at heart, Jimmy views his role as a builder of relationships and trust in an effort to foster collaboration among state policymakers with mutual student success goals.

Known for his problem-solving abilities and can-do spirit, Jimmy was tapped to be chief of staff to Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco directly following Hurricane Katrina. He remained in this post throughout the rest of the Governor’s term, answering the call to duty during a time of crisis and rebuilding. A sports enthusiast, Jimmy has a long history of involvement with intramural and recreational sports. During football season, he enjoys cheering for the New Orleans Saints and remains loyal to the San Francisco Giants during baseball season. Jimmy lives with his wife in Lafayette, Louisiana, and has two children and four grandchildren.

Jimmy's Bio

Alex Cortez

Managing Partner, Education Portfolio
New Profit

Alex's Bio

Alex is a Managing Partner at New Profit, a Boston-based national venture philanthropy, and is one of the leads on New Profit’s Education Portfolio.  His work is focused on funding and scaling parent empowerment initiatives, innovative whole school models, and how those models create platforms to widely share their best content and practices. 

Alex serves on the Massachusetts State Board of Higher Education and the nonprofit boards of Innovate Public Schools, Match Education and Valor Collegiate Academies. He is the author of www.parentpowerined.org, a resource for funders and practitioners on parent empowerment and also measurement.  

Alex joined New Profit after multiple roles with the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP). He served as Chief of Staff, Strategy and Execution on the leadership team of KIPP Houston Public Schools. In this role, he led the region in creating a new long-term growth plan to double the number of schools in Houston. Alex also led the region in developing its systems and practices in annual priority-setting and data-driven management, oversaw the region’s “to and through college” programming, worked with the board to evolve their practices, and led various internal initiatives to build scalable systems to support continued growth. Prior to KIPP Houston, Alex served at the KIPP Foundation as a Regional Director of Network Growth and Sustainability, working with leadership teams across the country in both large and small regions to help them respond to their biggest challenges to and opportunities for growth, performance, and sustainability.

Prior to his work with KIPP, Alex was a Manager at The Bridgespan Group where he led a variety of client engagements in education, youth development, and philanthropy. While at Bridgespan, Alex also authored several nonprofit case studies and research into mergers and collaborations in the nonprofit space. Alex started his career in for-profit management consulting working for clients in financial services, telecommunications, private equity, and state government.

He graduated with a B.A. in political science from Columbia University. He received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and an M.P.A. from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Originally from New Orleans, Alex currently resides in Brookline, MA.

Alex's Bio

Christopher Cross

Chairman
FourPoint Education Partners

Christopher's Bio

Christopher T. Cross is chairman of FourPoint Education Partners, where he contributes his considerable strategic planning, policy analysis, and policy development skills. Cross also currently serves as a distinguished senior fellow with the Education Commission of the States and a consultant to the Broad Foundation. Cross has served as a senior fellow with the Center for Education Policy, the president and chief executive officer of the Council for Basic Education, and the president of the Maryland State Board of Education and has written extensively on education policy throughout his career.

Christopher's Bio

David Dunn

President
D2 Srategies

David's Bio

In a career spanning over three decades, David has worked to drive effective public policy at all levels; state, federal and local. His enduring passion is working to improve educational outcomes for our nation’s students. David was the principal investigator for a project to design an accountability system for the public schools of Texas. This project, commissioned by the state legislature and including researchers from University of Texas, Texas A&M and the University of Houston developed the blueprint for the Texas Public Education Accountability system that helped to significantly improve student achievement and reduce the achievement gaps for low-income and minority students.

When President George W Bush made this system the template for school accountability systems under the No Child Left Behind Act, he called David to Washington to help with implementation. David served in the White House as the education advisor to the President and Domestic Policy Council and later served as Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of Education under Secretary Margaret Spellings.

Recognizing the power in pairing strong accountability with educational choice for parents, David founded the Texas Charter School Association upon returning to Texas in 2008. While serving as Executive Director, David increased membership in the organization to include schools that serve 90% of the students in charter schools in the state, created training for administrators and board members, secured passage of major legislation allowing for the increase in the number and quality of charter schools. During David’s tenure with the TCSA, the charter movement in Texas experienced exponential growth in student enrollment and significant improvement in student outcomes, outpacing the gains achieved by their peers in the traditional school system.

David launched his company, D2 Strategies, to continue to help improve education experience and options, especially for low- income students. David graduated from Baylor University with a degree in Political Science and earned a Masters in Government from The University of Texas at Austin. He currently lives is Austin, TX with his wife, Terrell Halaska.

David's Bio

Michelle Exstrom

Group Director, Education Program
National Conference of State Legislatures

Michelle's Bio

Michelle Exstrom is education program director at the National Conference of State Legislatures, where she oversees the program’s work on educator effectiveness, standards and assessments, resource reallocation, student data privacy and school choice and staffs NCSL’s Education Standing Committee. During the past 15 years at NCSL, she has provided research and testimony to state legislatures, published annual reports on education legislation in all 50 states and numerous reports, books and magazine articles on education policy.

Exstrom is often quoted on these topics by the media, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Politico and Education Week. Prior to NCSL, Exstrom served as a senior legislative assistant in the Colorado General Assembly’s Office of Legislative Legal Services.  In this capacity, she assisted in drafting finance, taxation, and state and local government legislation and with legal research for the General Assembly. Exstrom holds a bachelor’s degree in political science, graduate-level paralegal certification, and is completing her master’s degree in political science with an emphasis in politics and public policy. 

Michelle's Bio

Jaime Fall

Director
UpSkill America

Jaime's Bio

Jaime S. Fall is Director of UpSkill America at the Aspen Institute, an employer-led movement to expand opportunity for America’s workers and to help our economy and communities thrive by promoting training and advancement practices to help workers progress in their careers and move into better-paying jobs. The initiative, which was announced by the President following his 2015 State of the Union Address, is led by a coalition of nine business, education, workforce training, and human resource organizations.

Jaime also serves as Vice President for Workforce and Talent Sustainability for the HR Policy Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to getting America educated, qualified and hired through the development of research, services and resources to better inform students, jobseekers, workers, educators and policy makers about the skills needed by large employers in today’s rapidly changing workplaces. Jaime served as Deputy Secretary, Employment and Workforce Development, for the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. As a Senate-confirmed leader in the Schwarzenegger Administration, Jaime provided policy and guidance to California’s $11 billion workforce system and the nearly 9,000 employees that made up the entities within the agency.

Previously, Jaime spent more than a decade in Washington, DC working at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration; the National Association of State Workforce Agencies; Fall Communications, a workforce development-focused marketing and website development company founded by him and his wife; and on Capitol Hill. Jaime also served as district director for Senator Pat Roberts who was in the U.S. House of Representatives at the time. Jaime is a member of the Pearson Employability Advisory Board and a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

Jaime was born and raised in rural Kansas and now resides outside of Sacramento, CA. He worked his way through college as a broadcaster before earning his degree in Journalism from the University of Kansas.

Jaime's Bio

Andy Goodman

Co-Founder and Director
The Goodman Center

Andy's Bio

Andy Goodman is co-founder and director of The Goodman Center, which teaches communications and marketing professionals how to reach more people with more impact. Along with Storytelling as Best Practice, he is author of Why Bad Ads Happen to Good Causes and Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes. He also publishes a monthly journal, free-range thinking, to share best practices in the field of public interest communications.

Andy is internationally known for his speeches and workshops on storytelling and has led over 500 trainings for clients including CARE, The Nature Conservancy, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, NOAA, the San Diego Zoo, MIT, Princeton, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, GE, Bank of America, and many others.

He has designed communications curriculum for the College for Social Innovation in Boston as well as for the African Leadership University in Mauritius. When not teaching, traveling, or recovering from teaching and traveling, Andy serves on the advisory board of the Institute for Human Caring. For more information about his work, please visit www.thegoodmancenter.com.

Andy's Bio

Aimee Guidera

Former President & CEO
Data Quality Campaign

Aimee's Bio

Aimee Rogstad Guidera was the Founder, President, and CEO of the Data Quality Campaign (DQC), a national, nonprofit organization leading the effort to empower educators, students, parents, and policymakers with the information they need to make the best decisions to improve student outcomes. Aimee believes that information has the power to transform education to ensure every child in this country is prepared for success in college and careers.

A respected thought leader in education, Aimee was named one of TIME's 12 Education Activists of 2012. She has also been cited as an expert on education policy and the value of education data by publications such as Business Week, NPR, and Education Week. Aimee is a Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow and an alumna of the Institute for Educational Leadership’s Education Policy Fellowship Program. She serves on the board of directors of the Institute for Educational Leadership, the Policy Innovators in Education Network, Minnesota Comeback, and the Friends of the Hennepin County (Minnesota) Library.

Before founding DQC, Aimee served as the director of the Washington, DC, office of the National Center for Educational Achievement. She previously served as vice president and chief of staff for the National Alliance of Business (NAB), worked in the education division of the National Governors Association’s Center for Best Practices, and taught for the Japanese Ministry of Education.

Aimee received her bachelor's degree from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and earned a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Aimee and her husband, Bill, are the parents of two school-age daughters. She is an active supporter of her daughters’ public school and has served as a classroom volunteer, parent-teacher organization leader, and advisory committee member.

Aimee's Bio

Katie Hagan

Research Associate
Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University

Katie's Bio

Prior to joining the Edunomics team, Katie Hagan worked as a Policy Fellow at Business for Educational Success and Transformation in North Carolina, where she researched and advocated for high-quality state assessment and accountability systems. Katie has also been a classroom teacher in both traditional public and public charter schools, and was a 2011 Teach For America corps member in Las Vegas, NV.

She holds a Master of Public Policy degree from Duke University, a M.Ed. from the University of Nevada, and a B.A. from Virginia Tech.

Katie's Bio

Isabelle Hau

Investment Planner
Omidyar Network

Isabelle's Bio

Isabelle is an investment partner at Omidyar Network, where she leads the firm’s US education strategy.  She joined Omidyar Network in 2012 in investment management. 

Previously, she was an executive director at Morgan Stanley, where she worked in venture capital investing in technology companies, and in investment banking.  She also worked at ImpactAssets, a non-profit organization focused on increasing capital flows in impact investing.

She has held board seats or observer/advisory committee roles with EdSurge, Ellevation, GeniusPlaza, Holberton School, Khan Academy/Duck Duck Moose, Reach Capital, and Tinkergarten in US education, as well as d.light and dr.consulta outside of education.

Isabelle earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and graduated from ESSEC and Sciences Po Paris. Isabelle was honored as 100 Harvard Business School Women in the Bay Area.

Isabelle's Bio

Kati Haycock

Former CEO and Founder
The Education Trust

Kati's Bio

Kati Haycock is one of the nation’s leading advocates in the field of education.

She currently serves as CEO of The Education Trust. Established in 1996, Ed Trust works for the high academic achievement of all students at all levels, pre-kindergarten through college. The organization’s goal is to close the gaps in opportunity and achievement that consign too many low-income students and students of color to lives on the margins of the American mainstream.

Known for years as a powerful force on education policy, Ed Trust is often described as “the most important truth teller” in American public education. But the organization also works hand in hand with educators and civic leaders in their efforts to transform schools and colleges into institutions that serve all students well.

Before coming to The Education Trust, Haycock served as executive vice president of the Children’s Defense Fund, the nation’s largest child advocacy organization.

A native Californian, Haycock founded and served as president of The Achievement Council, a statewide organization that provided assistance to teachers and principals in predominantly minority schools in improving student achievement. She also served as director of outreach and student affirmative action programs for the nine-campus University of California system.

Kati Haycock speaks about educational improvement before thousands of educators, community and business leaders, and policymakers each year. She has received numerous awards for her service on behalf of our nation’s youth, and serves as a director on several education-related boards, including the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, The New Teacher Project, and the Hunt Institute.

Kati's Bio

David Keeling

Founding Partner
EdNavigator

David's Bio

David Keeling has more than 15 years of experience in strategic communications and public education. Over the last decade and a half, his words have appeared in teacher recruitment ads in the New York City subway, in news outlets from Education Week to The New York Times, and in the remarks and messages of some of the nation’s most prominent education leaders.

Before EdNavigator, he served for six years as Vice President of Communications for TNTP, leading the organization’s communications, marketing and publications strategy and advising TNTP staff, state education agencies and urban school systems nationwide on communicating with teachers, parents, school leaders, and other stakeholders.

He holds a BA in English from Middlebury College and lives with his wife and two children in Chicago.

David's Bio

John B. King, Jr.

Former U.S. Secretary of Education, President and CEO
The Education Trust

John's Bio

John B. King Jr. is the president and CEO of The Education Trust, a national nonprofit organization that seeks to identify and close opportunity and achievement gaps, from preschool through college. King served in President Barack Obama’s cabinet as the 10th U.S. Secretary of Education. In tapping him to lead the U.S. Department of Education, President Obama called King “an exceptionally talented educator,” citing his commitment to “preparing every child for success” and his lifelong dedication to education as a teacher, principal, and leader of schools and school systems.

Before becoming education secretary, King carried out the duties of the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education, overseeing all policies and programs related to P-12 education, English learners, special education, and innovation. In this role, King also oversaw the agency’s operations. King joined the department following his tenure as the first African American and Puerto Rican to serve as New York State Education Commissioner.

King began his career in education as a high school social studies teacher in Puerto Rico and Boston, Mass., and as a middle school principal.

King’s life story is an extraordinary testament to the transformative power of education. Both of King’s parents were career New York City public school educators, whose example serves as an enduring inspiration. Both of King’s parents passed away from illness by the time he was 12 years old. He credits New York City public school teachers — particularly educators at P.S. 276 in Canarsie and Mark Twain Junior High School in Coney Island — for saving his life by providing him with rich and engaging educational experiences and by giving him hope for the future.

King holds a Bachelor of Arts in government from Harvard University, a J.D. from Yale Law School, as well as a Master of Arts in the teaching of social studies and a doctorate in education from Teachers College at Columbia University. King serves as a visiting professor at the University of Maryland’s College of Education and is a member of several boards, including those for The Century Foundation, The Robin Hood Foundation, Teach Plus, and the American Museum of Natural History. He also serves on several advisory boards, including Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative, the Rework America Task Force, the GOOD+ Foundation’s Fatherhood Leadership Council, the National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement at the University of California, and the National Center for Learning Disabilities.

King lives in Silver Spring, Md., with his wife (a former kindergarten and first-grade teacher) and his two daughters, who attend local public schools.

John's Bio

Lazaro Lopez

Associate Superintendent for Teaching and Learning
D214

Lazaro's Bio

Dr. Lazaro Lopez is Associate Superintendent for Teaching and Learning at High School District 214 in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The nationally recognized district is the state's second-largest high school district, serving more than 12,000 students from eight suburban Chicago communities. In his previous role as Principal of Wheeling High School, Dr. Lopez led the effort to integrate STEM and 21st century skills and career pathways within a comprehensive Title I high school, forging innovative community partnerships and optimizing grant funding to create an onsite medical lab and advanced manufacturing facility for students.

The effort, which included the fall 2013 launch of the nation's first-of-its-kind nanotechnology lab in a public high school, earned him the title of 2013 Illinois Principal of the Year. Wheeling High School has received state and national recognition as a model STEM school. Moreover, Dr. Lopez's vision to create a relevant education that inspires all students to reach their potential resulted in an 80 percent growth in Advanced Placement participation at Wheeling even as the number of students identifying as low-income grew to more than 40 percent.

He now is helping lead innovation District-wide. Dr. Lopez has spoken nationally on STEM education, advocating for a high school education that delivers a "diploma-plus": the opportunity to earn college credits and career certifications while engaged in internship experiences in a wide range of career fields.

He is a member of the Illinois Educator Leader Cadre, the Midwest Principal's Association Governing Board, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Education Foundation Board and past chair of the Illinois ACT State Organization and 10th Congressional District Education Advisory Board. He holds a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Aurora University and a master's degree in educational administration from Roosevelt University.

Lazaro's Bio

Mike Magee

CEO
Chiefs for Change

Mike's Bio

Michael Magee, Ph.D., is the CEO of Chiefs for Change. Prior to working at Chiefs for Change, he co-founded and was CEO of the Rhode Island Mayoral Academies (RIMA). Before starting RIMA, for a dozen years, Mike taught American literature and philosophy at Haverford College, Wheaton College, and the Rhode Island School of Design.

In 2004, his book, Emancipating Pragmatism, won the Elizabeth Agee Prize in American Studies. In 2007, Mike went on hiatus from academia to help found and direct Mayor Daniel McKee’s Office of Children Youth and Learning in Cumberland, RI. In 2008, he and Mayor McKee founded RIMA. He is a 2013 Pahara Aspen Education Fellow and Walton Family Foundation “Education Reformer to Watch.”

Mike holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and English from the College of the Holy Cross.

Mike's Bio

Carmel Martin

Managing Director for State and Local Partnerships
Emerson Collective

Carmel's Bio

Carmel Martin was previously a distinguished senior fellow at American Progress, focusing on economic policy and education and workforce issues. Martin was formerly the executive vice president for policy at American Progress, managing the organization’s policy teams, shaping organizational strategy, and serving as a key member of American Progress’ Executive team. She also served as the treasurer to the Center for American Progress board. In 2004, Martin was a founding member of the American Progress staff as the associate director for Domestic Policy. Before joining American Progress as executive vice president, Martin served as the assistant secretary for policy and budget at the U.S. Department of Education.

Prior to her appointment by former President Barack Obama to her position at the Department of Education, Martin served as general counsel and deputy staff director for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) as chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. She also served as chief counsel and senior policy adviser to former Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and special counsel to former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD). Through her years in Congress, she worked on legislation related to education, workforce, budget, welfare, health care, and other issues of national importance.

Early in Martin’s career, she worked as a trial attorney for the Civil Rights Division of the Educational Opportunities Section at the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as in the private sector as a member of Hogan and Hartson’s (now Hogan Lovells) education practice. There she counseled and represented school districts and institutions of higher education across the country. She graduated with a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law and a master’s degree in public affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. After graduate school, Martin was a law clerk to Thomas M. Reavley, judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.

Martin has appeared on PBS, NBC, CNN, and Fox. She has been published in and cited in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post. She was named one of the five women who shape education policy by the National Journal in 2014 and has testified as an expert witness in front of legislative committees, including the House Budget Committee.

Carmel's Bio

Kathleen Mathers

Director
Education Strategy Group

Kathleen's Bio

Kathleen Mathers has worked with ESG since 2012, leading projects on state implementation capacity, educator effectiveness systems, and college and career readiness. She served as ESG’s project manager for the 2014 CCSSO Career Readiness Task Force and is now leading ESG’s work with CCSSO to support state implementation of those recommendations.

Prior to joining ESG, Mathers served as Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement in Georgia, a P-16 research, policy, and accountability agency. In that role, she led the development of Georgia’s Race to the Top proposal as project manager, annually prepared and published the state education report card for preschools through postsecondary institutions, collaborated on new legislation and policy initiatives to improve student achievement and school completion, and directed research efforts to determine the effectiveness of K-12 practices.

Kathleen has held a range of other positions in K-12 education. She worked for the Georgia Department of Education as the state director of the Math Science Partnership Program and as a professional learning specialist to prepare district administrators and school leaders across Georgia for the transition to rigorous performance standards. She led programming and professional development efforts at a nonprofit children’s science center, and she taught at the elementary level for eight years in Atlanta.

Kathleen earned a Master’s Degree from Georgia State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Education and Math from St Mary’s College.

Kathleen's Bio

Laurie Mays

Talent Pipeline Project Manager
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce

Michael McShane

Director of National Research
EdChoice

Michael's Bio

Mike is the editor of New and Better Schools, the author of Education and Opportunity, and coeditor of Educational Entrepreneurship Today, Teacher Quality 2.0 and Common Core Meets Education Reform. His analyses and commentary have been published widely in the media, including in the Huffington Post, National Affairs, USA Today, and The Washington Post. He has also been featured in education-specific outlets such as Teachers College Commentary, Education Week, Phi Delta Kappan, and Education Next.

In addition to authoring numerous white papers, McShane has had academic work published in Education Finance and Policy and the Journal of School Choice. A former high school teacher, he earned a Ph.D. in education policy from the University of Arkansas, an M.Ed. from the University of Notre Dame, and a B.A. in English from St. Louis University.

Michael's Bio

Geoffrey A. Nagle

President & CEO
Erikson Institute

Geoffrey's Bio

Geoffrey A. Nagle, PhD, MSW, MPH, is president and chief executive officer of Erikson Institute, a leading force in improving the lives of young children and their families through knowledge, research, service, and advocacy, and the nation’s premier graduate school in child development.

Dr. Nagle, an internationally recognized leader in the early childhood field, joined Erikson in January of 2014 after serving as the founding director of the Tulane University Institute of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Tulane University School of Medicine. There, he worked closely with Louisiana government leaders to strengthen the state’s early childhood system and expand high-quality early care and education. His advocacy resulted in Quality Start, Louisiana’s child care quality rating and improvement system, and the School Readiness Tax Credits program, which, since implementation in 2008, has benefited Louisiana residents with tax credits in excess of $100 million in support of quality child care. In 2016, the tax credit program was replicated in Nebraska, where Dr. Nagle testified in front of the state legislature in support of the program.

At Erikson, Dr. Nagle has championed new strategies that draw from Erikson’s core strengths to broaden the institute’s impact in the complex and ever-changing early childhood arena. He has driven the development and implementation of a new strategic plan that addresses how Erikson will work to transform the early childhood workforce, inform the use of technology in early childhood, improve support for families and communities, and influence leadership and policy to benefit young children, families, and communities.

Under his leadership, Erikson launched a master of social work degree program, the first in the nation to integrate a child development perspective into a social work curriculum. Working with faculty, he established a groundbreaking global partnership with China’s largest private preschool provider that brings Erikson’s unique perspective on early childhood to the education of thousands of early learning professionals. He has also deepened Erikson’s advocacy efforts and relationships at the community level and created a new Early Childhood Leadership Academy to provide advocates and lawmakers with an informed understanding of how policy shapes programs and practices in early childhood.

Dr. Nagle has presented nationally and internationally on the pivotal topics that impact a child’s early years. In 2016, he received the World Association for Infant Mental Health Sonya Bemporad Award, a global honor recognizing his significant contribution to the advancement of social and public policies that contribute to the mental health and overall benefit of infants, toddlers, and their families. He is a past recipient of the Commissioner’s Award for Child Abuse Prevention from the U.S. Department of Health and Health Services and the Charles M. Vanchiere Child Advocacy Award from the Louisiana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, among others.

Born in New York City and raised in Westport, Conn., Dr. Nagle earned his bachelor of arts degree in political science from Duke University and both a master of social work and master of public health from Tulane University. His doctorate, also from Tulane, is in mental health policy research, an interdisciplinary degree that combined his interests in social work and public health. He serves on numerous committees and advisory groups, including the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences Board of Governors, the National Advisory Board for the Policy Institute for Children, and the Illinois Early Childhood Leadership Council.

Geoffrey's Bio

Dipesh Navsaria

Pediatrician

Dipesh's Bio

Dipesh Navsaria, MPH, MSLIS, MD is a pediatrician working in the public interest. He blends the roles of physician, occasional children's librarian, educator, public health professional, and child health advocate. With graduate degrees in public health, children’s librarianship, physician assistant studies, and medicine, he brings a unique combination of interests and experience together.

Dr. Navsaria is an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and is director of the MD–MPH program there as well as the medical director of the physician assistant program. Clinically, he practices primary care pediatrics, with special interest in underserved populations. He is the founding medical director of Reach Out and Read Wisconsin. Dr. Navsaria is heavily involved in both training and in the practice of child health advocacy — writing and speaking publicly locally, regionally and nationally on early brain and child development, early literacy, and advocacy to a broad variety of audiences. He also has extensive involvement with the American Academy of Pediatrics at the state and national levels.

Committed to understanding how basic science can translate into busy primary-care settings via population health concepts and policy initiatives, Dr. Navsaria aims to educate the next generation of those who work with children and families in realizing how their professional roles include being involved in larger concepts of social policy and how they may affect the cognitive and socioemotional development of children for their future benefit.

Dipesh's Bio

Gavin Payne

GPC Advisors

Gavin's Bio

With broad expertise in education program and policy issues, Gavin Payne’s consultancy serves major national foundations, policy institutes, non-profit companies, and collaboratives. His work embraces state agency and school district improvement, high standards with quality assessments and strong accountability, transformational systems reform, data systems, and government/community engagement.

He served for three years as the Director of U.S. Policy, Advocacy, & Communications for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he managed a team and a portfolio of grants driving to significantly improve state and national education delivery systems over the entire spectrum of preschool-through-college success.

He previously served as California’s Chief Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction for seven years and as Chief of Staff to the California Senate Majority Caucus Chair for over a decade.

Mr. Payne currently serves on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and has served on the Boards of the California Teachers Retirement System, the Newt Elder Education Foundation, WestEd, and Heath House.

At home, he devotes his time to his wife, Susan Strachan, while his adult daughters, Zoë and Fiona, pursue their passions in the workforce and at university. In his leisure time, Gavin drives toward expertise in fast cars and golf.

Gavin's Bio

Elliot Regenstein

Partner
Foresight Law + Policy

Elliot's Bio

Elliot Regenstein is a Chicago-based partner at Foresight Law + Policy.  He is a frequent author and speaker on topics including accountability, governance, state data systems, and the connections between early learning and K-12.  Elliot has extensive experience in state-level policy and advocacy, with a particular focus on early learning; he has also consulted with more than two dozen states on a wide range of education policy topics.  His experience includes working with multiple states on successful applications for federal grants.

Elliot was one of the chief architects of Illinois' 2006 Preschool for All program and co-chaired the Illinois Early Learning Council from 2004 until April 2009.  In 2015 he was appointed co-chair of the Illinois Longitudinal Data System Governing Board and has served as chair of the Illinois Early Learning Council’s Data, Research, and Evaluation Sub-Committee since its creation in 2009.  In 2017 he chaired an Illinois State Board of Education workgroup that developed a recommendation for a P-2 indicator to be included in the state’s education accountability plan under the Every Student Succeeds Act.

Prior to joining Foresight Elliot was the senior vice president for advocacy and policy at a major national early learning non-profit; before that he worked for six years in education at two national law firms, after serving as Director of Education Reform for the State of Illinois.  Elliot holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from Columbia University and a law degree from the University of Michigan, where he was the Executive Notes Editor on the Michigan Law Review.  After law school he clerked for the Hon. Kenneth F. Ripple on the United State Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.  He is an active member of the Illinois bar and an inactive member of the New Mexico bar.

Elliot's Bio

Roberto Rodriguez

President & CEO
Teach Plus

Roberto''s Bio

Roberto J. Rodríguez is President and CEO of Teach Plus. He spearheads the organization’s work to grow and strengthen the teacher leadership movement by developing and advancing teachers as leaders in education policy and practice, and by supporting their contribution to educational innovation and change in classrooms and schools.

Roberto has dedicated his career to advancing equity, access, and excellence in education. He is nationally recognized for his expertise in education policy and governance, and for his leadership in building multi-sector partnerships with schools, families, and communities to improve educational opportunities for all children. He is devoted to the principle that all students deserve a complete and competitive education that prepares them for college, careers, and lifelong success.

Roberto served in senior roles in the United States Senate and in the White House. From 2009 to 2017, he developed and led President Obama’s education initiatives to build systemic change and improve opportunity and outcomes across the educational continuum. His efforts as Deputy Assistant to the President for Education led to an increase of tens of thousands of additional children enrolled in early education; new partnerships to better personalize and re-design the high school experience to meet individual needs of students; creation of a new, national focus on excellence in STEM education; and an expansion of the Pell Grant to boost participation in higher education. Under his leadership, support for higher academic standards, enhanced teacher development and advancement, and deeper investment in America’s schools ultimately led to the enactment by Congress of the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015. 

Prior to his service in the White House, Roberto spent eight years as principal education advisor to the late U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy. In the United States Senate, Roberto led successful bipartisan efforts that resulted in the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, and the Head Start Act of 2007. Roberto began his professional career in Washington, D.C. at the National Council of La Raza, where he directed research and policy analysis of federal and state education issues.

Roberto holds a Presidential appointment to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. His numerous distinguished awards include the National Champion for Children Award from First Focus, and the Head Start Windows of Opportunity Award from the National Head Start Association. Roberto holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He resides with his wife and two children in the Washington, D.C. area.

Roberto''s Bio

Deb Sanchez

Assistant Professor & Director of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Debra's Bio

Debra Sanchez is Senior Vice President for Education and Children's Content Operations for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. She develops and oversees children's content investments and educational initiatives at the national level and works closely with stations to enhance their development and execution of local educational services.

Prior to joining CPB, she was Vice President of Government Relations for the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS). In this role, she was the primary education policy professional for the public television community and provided strategic counsel on pursuing Pre-K to postsecondary federal initiatives. Working with Members of Congress on Capitol Hill, Sanchez built bipartisan support for the Ready to Learn and Ready to Teach initiatives and worked aggressively to have these successfully included in the No Child Left Behind Act. Sanchez also worked to secure annual federal appropriations for both programs.

Prior to her work in public broadcasting, she was a special education teacher in Arlington, Virginia and Highland, Indiana. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education from Indiana University.

Debra's Bio

Melissa Schlinger

Vice President of Practice and Programs
Collaborative For Academic, Social, And Emotional Learning

Melissa's Bio

Melissa Schlinger leads CASEL’s efforts to advance systemic implementation of evidence-based social and emotional learning in school districts across the nation. She oversees CASEL’s Collaborating Districts Initiative (CDI), which has grown under her leadership from eight to eighteen large urban districts implementing systemic SEL.  She also oversees the development of school and district resources based on CDI learnings, as well as CASEL support services. As a key member of CASEL’s leadership team, Melissa collaborates with foundations, program providers, state and federal departments of education, school districts, community-based organizations, and university partners to advance CASEL’s mission of helping to make SEL an integral part of PreK-12 education for all students in the nation.

Before joining CASEL Melissa served as vice president of education services for ScholarCentric, where she worked closely with school district officials, university researchers, educational organizations, and state departments of education to increase awareness of social and emotional learning, SEL research findings, and practical applications for the classroom. She brings extensive experience collaborating with districts to identify needs and to develop sound implementation plans to integrate SEL assessment, curriculum, and instructional strategies into the school environment.

In her career at ScholarCentric and also at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, where she served as vice president of strategic initiatives, Melissa provided guidance on funding initiatives and grants, interpretation and analysis of complex data, and development and execution of consulting and professional development sessions for district leaders, principals, teachers, and parents. She has provided consultation on the importance of social and emotional learning and strategies for effective SEL implementation, and she regularly presents on complex research and education topics to diverse audiences at international conferences and symposiums.

Melissa is a former educator in the Fairfax County, Va., public schools and an active Big Sister through Big Brothers Big Sisters in Chicago, where she resides with her husband and school-age twins.

Melissa's Bio

James Shuls

Assistant Professor & Director of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
University of Missouri - St. Louis

James' Bio

James V. Shuls is an assistant professor and the graduate program director of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Missouri – St. Louis. He earned his Ph.D. in education policy from the University of Arkansas. He also holds a bachelor’s degree from Missouri Southern State University and a master’s degree from Missouri State University, both in elementary education. Prior to joining UMSL, he served as the director of education policy for the Show-Me Institute, where he is currently a distinguished fellow of education policy. Previously, he taught first grade and fifth grade in the Republic, MO R-III School District.

Dr. Shuls’ research focuses primarily on teacher labor markets, school finance, and school choice. He has served as an expert witness in the school finance case Martinez/Yazzie v. New Mexico. His research has been published in various scholarly journals, such as: Social Science Quarterly, The Rural Educator, Educational Policy, the Journal of Education Finance, and the Journal of School Choice: International Research and Reform, where he serves on the editorial board. Additionally, he has been featured in numerous popular print publications and has made many appearances on talk radio programs and television news.

James' Bio

Quentin Suffren

National Director, Policy
ExcelinEd

Quentin's Bio

As Innovation Policy Managing Director, Quentin oversees Personalized Learning, College and Career Pathways and Course Access policies at ExcelinEd. Previously, Quentin served as executive director of the college, career, and military preparation at the Texas Education Agency. He also held leadership positions with Amplify Education, an education consulting and technology firm, TNTP, and The Learning Institute. Quentin began his career as a high school English teacher. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Memphis.

Quentin's Bio

Aly Tamboura

Manager, Justice and Opportunity Initiative
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Aly's Bio

Aly Tamboura is a Manager in the Criminal Justice Reform program at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. He joined the organization in 2017, after working as a software engineer. Having spent over a decade of his life incarcerated, Tamboura brings both his firsthand experience with the criminal justice system and his strong technical skills to CZI to help advance critical reforms in the space.

Much of Aly’s work focuses on partnering with a rapidly growing national coalition of formerly incarcerated leaders that are expanding and accelerating the reform movement. Tamboura supports their efforts to build national and state-based coalitions that are challenging the harsh laws that contribute to mass incarceration, passing critical legislation, and giving those who are closest to the problems a voice in reimagining a justice system that does a better job at helping people and keeping communities safe.

Tamboura has spoken extensively--including to leaders at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce--about his story, the systemic barriers that keep so many people from achieving their full potential, and the urgent need to expand opportunities to formerly incarcerated people.

Prior to his role at CZI, Tamboura spent twenty years working in the underground utility industry, including 12 years as the founder and CEO of a Bay Area geotechnical company, where he managed and completed large and complex underground utility analytics for government and private entities.

Aly's Bio

Sara Tracy

Talent Pipeline Project Manager
Kentucky Chamber Workforce Center

Mike Wang

Partner
Impact for Education

Mike's Bio

Mike Wang is a Partner at Impact for Education. Prior to joining, Mike founded Leveraged Impact, a mission-driven consulting practice working with philanthropists to deepen their impact. Mike has worked in leading nonprofits and public policy for twenty years, most recently as executive director of a Philadelphia-based advocacy organization and managing director of a $100 million effort to expand high-performing schools in the city.

Mike was senior vice president at Teach For America and executive director of the organization’s Mid-Atlantic region. After graduating from Tufts, Mike taught high school in Louisiana where he also served as education policy adviser to the governor and policy director to the Lt. Governor. Mike volunteers on two nonprofit boards and lives in Philadelphia with his wife and three children.

Mike's Bio

Joe Walters

Co-Founder and CEO
Capita

Joe's Bio

Joe Waters is the co-founder and CEO of Capita. A nonprofit startup ideas lab, Capita works at the intersection of research, policy, social innovation, design, and the arts to explore how the great cultural and social transformations of our day affect young children, and to foster a future in which children and their families flourish. Joe also serves as a Senior Advisor to Openfields, a social innovation and impact consultancy.

Prior to starting Capita, Joe was the Executive Vice President of the Institute for Child Success. His commentary on issues facing young children has been published by Investor’s Business Daily, Stanford Social Innovation Review, The State, and other outlets. He has given invited talks at the White House, the Aspen Forum on Children and Families, the Lego IDEA Conference, and Think Future. He is a member of the Board of Directors of AIR Serenbe, the acclaimed artist-in- residence program in Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia, and the Felician Center, which helps those who struggle to meet their basic needs in South Carolina’s rural Pee Dee region.

He graduated from Furman University (BA, history) and earned a master’s degree in divinity from Duke University. He and his wife Molly, a family physician, live in Greenville, South Carolina.

Joe's Bio

John White

Former State Superintendent of Education
State of Louisiana

John's Bio

The longest serving state education chief in the nation, John White was named Louisiana State Superintendent of Education in January of 2012. That year he launched Louisiana Believes, the state’s plan to ensure every child is on track to a college degree or a professional career. In the time since, White has worked to unify the state’s fragmented early childhood system PDF, to modernize curriculum PDF, to professionalize the preparation of educators PDF, to provide pathways to prosperity for all high school graduates PDF, and to provide families with expansive school options PDF irrespective of their financial means.

Louisiana Believes includes nationally recognized initiatives such as Early Childhood Networks, Louisiana Teacher Leaders, ELA Curriculum Guidebooks, Believe and Prepare teacher residencies, Jump Start career education, the state’s Innovative Assessment Pilot, and the Louisiana FAFSA initiative. Superintendent White and his team have also led the post-Katrina renovation and unification of schools in New Orleans and the creation of the Baton Rouge Achievement Zone.

Today Louisiana is a better educated state than at any point in the state’s history. Louisiana’s class of 2018 included 5,000 more graduates than did the class of 2012. Five thousand more students in that class earned the state’s TOPS scholarship, and 5,000 more enrolled in college after graduating high school. In that time, the number of Louisiana students earning Advanced Placement early college credits has increased by 167 percent, and the state leads the nation in the percentage of high school seniors completing an application for higher education financial aid.

Moreover, in 2019, Louisiana students ranked first in the nation for improvement in 8th grade mathematics on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). Over the decade spanning Superintendent White’s tenure, Louisiana’s academic growth has outpaced the nation, ranking in the top 10 among states for improvement on every NAEP test.

Prior to being named State Superintendent, White served as Superintendent of the Louisiana Recovery School District. He previously served under Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein as Deputy Chancellor for the New York City Department of Education and served as Executive Director of Teach For America – Chicago and Teach For America – New Jersey. He began his career as an English teacher at William L. Dickinson High School in Jersey City, New Jersey.

White’s writings on education have been published in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Education Next, the Daily Beast, The Hill, and the Brookings Institution’s Evidence Speaks. He has testified in Congress on the No Child Left Behind Act, the Every Student Succeeds Act, the Higher Education Act, and early childhood care and education.

White received a B.A. in English with distinction from the University of Virginia and a Master's in Public Administration from New York University. He is former chairman of the independent non-profit advocacy organization Chiefs for Change, co-founder and chairman of Propel America, and an Academic Visitor to the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University

John's Bio

Cindi Williams

Principal
HCM Strategists

Cindi's Bio

Cindi Williams has spent the last two decades focused on ensuring that all students, irrespective of race and income, have access to a high quality public education. As a senior official at the U.S. Department of Education, the White House and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, she has seen how communications, advocacy and policy can work together to improve student outcomes.

Cindi currently leads the K-12 education practice for HCM Strategists. She and her team have the privilege of partnering with innovative clients who share the team’s mission of helping those students who have historically been underserved by the public education system.

Prior to joining HCM Strategists in 2012, Cindi served as the communications director for the U.S. program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Before joining the Gates Foundation, Williams held several senior posts in the George W. Bush Administration including senior adviser to the U.S. Secretary of Education, deputy assistant secretary of education for communications and outreach, and a special assistant in the White House Office of Public Liaison where she led outreach strategies on behalf of education, women, small business, and a special 9-11 initiative to create a U.S. Afghan Women’s Council.

Cindi served as the board liaison at the American Red Cross and served as Elizabeth Dole’s chief of staff. She began her career on Capitol Hill and has returned on a couple of occasions to take on special projects.

Cindi lives in Bellevue, Washington with her husband, Tony, and her two sons, Joshua and Jacob. She is a passionate advocate for charter schools and is serving on the Washington State Charter Commission.

She has served on a number of volunteer leadership boards, including: the Bush Institute’s Education Advisory Council, the U.S. Afghan Women’s Council, Northwest Center Foundation Board, WA State Stand for Children Advisory Board and the Center for Reinventing Public Education.

Cindi's Bio

Matt Williams

Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer
KnowledgeWorks

Matt's Bio

As the Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Matt is responsible for strategic and annual planning, business strategy, staffing and management of the Board of Directors and the functioning of the executive leadership team. In collaboration with other leaders, Matt leads the development and implementation of the strategic vision for KnowledgeWorks and represents the organization with key stakeholders at a national and state level.

Prior to his current role, Matt served as Vice President of Policy and Advocacy, where he was responsible for directing both federal and state policy, advocacy and strategic foresight (future of education work) on behalf of the Foundation. He helped KnowledgeWorks in building and maintaining relationships with policymakers and partners to advance their initiatives, advancing policy priorities and directing thought leadership for the Foundation. Prior to that, Matt was the Senior Director of National Advocacy and Partnerships for KnowledgeWorks and prior to that, Director of Public Affairs. In both roles, he built the organization’s policy and advocacy presence at the federal and state levels. Matt also served as the Foundation Officer for KnowledgeWorks. In this role, he was responsible for assisting the President and CEO by leading and providing support for priority initiatives, communicating on the vision and strategies of the Foundation nationally and managing the relationship with the Board of Directors.

Matt joined KnowledgeWorks in 2006 as a Program Officer in college and career access, providing leadership for the national community college initiative Achieving the Dream, P-16 and other college and career access programming. He is the former Director for GEAR UP Waco, a comprehensive, collaborative grant project focused on increasing college access in Waco, Texas. Matt is a former instructor in the Civic Education Department at Baylor University, where he taught leadership and service learning courses.

Matt earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a Master of Science in Education from Baylor University.

Matt currently serves on the One-to-One Institute Board and National Advisory Council for the Global Scholars Diploma. He is a former board member of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills serving as both vice chair and treasurer. He has served on the Texas Governor’s Advisory Council for Mentoring (Governors Bush and Perry), as well as advisory councils on after-school programming for the National Mentoring Partnership and the National League of Cities.

Matt's Bio

Kathyrn Zekus

Senior Associate for Federal Policy
Advance CTE

Kathryn's Bio

In her role as Senior Associate for Federal Policy, Kathryn leads Advance CTE's government relations efforts, including advancing federal legislative priorities, engaging Advance CTE's members in advocacy efforts, and maintaining and growing meaningful partnerships with relevant stakeholders.

Prior to her role at Advance CTE, Kathryn supported state-level advocacy efforts at Achieve. During her time at Achieve, she learned about the power of effective partnerships, convenings, advocacy, and communication to advance college- and career-ready policies in states.

Kathryn holds a Master's degree in Public Policy from Vanderbilt's Peabody College of Education and Human Development and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis.

Kathryn's Bio
“I’ve already started to put my action plan into use. There is no doubt in my mind that The Main Line Chamber of Commerce will be more successful in 2020 because of my participation in Business Leads.”
Bernie DagenaisElite Cohort, The Main Line Chamber of Commerce
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