Speakers

Hon. Arne Duncan

Secretary of Education, United States Department of Education

Arne Duncan was appointed U.S. Secretary of Education by Persident Obama, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 20, 2009. Prior to his appointment, Duncan served as the chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools, a position to which he was appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley, from June 2001 through December 2008, becoming the longest-serving big-city education superintendent in the country. As CEO, Duncan's mandate was to raise education standards and performance, improve teacher and principal quality, and increase learning options. In seven and a half years, he united education reformers, teachers, principals and business stakeholders behind an aggressive education reform agenda that included opening over 100 new schools, expanding after-school and summer learning programs, closing down underperforming schools, increasing early childhood and college access, dramatically boosting the caliber of teachers, and building public-private partnerships around a variety of education initiatives. Prior to joining the Chicago Public Schools, Duncan ran the non-profit education foundation Ariel Education Initiative (1992-1998), which helped fund a college education for a class of inner-city children under the I Have A Dream program. He was part of a team that later started a new public elementary school built around a financial literacy curriculum, the Ariel Community Academy, which today ranks among the top elementary schools in Chicago. Duncan formerly served on the boards of the Ariel Education Initiative, Chicago Cares, the Children's Center, the Golden Apple Foundation, the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, Jobs for America's Graduates, Junior Achievement, the Dean's Advisory Board of the Kellogg School of Management, the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Foundation, Renaissance Schools Fund, Scholarship Chicago and the South Side YMCA. He also served on the Board of Overseers for Harvard College and the Visiting Committees for Harvard University's Graduate School of Education and the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration. From 1987 to 1991, Duncan played professional basketball in Australia, where he also worked with children who were wards of the state. Duncan graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1987, majoring in sociology.

Steven Paine

State Superintendent of Schools, West Virginia Department of Education

Dr. Steven L. Paine has served as West Virginia's state superintendent of schools since July 1, 2005. Led by Dr. Paine, West Virginia is deeply engaged in systemically transforming its public school system with the goal of providing all West Virginia children the skills that will enable them to excel in a fiercely competitive global world. West Virginia's Global21 program is focused on the development of internationally rigorous and relevant curriculum standards; a balanced assessment strategy; research-based instructional practices; a parallel accountability system; aligned teacher preparation programs; development of a 21st Century leadership continuum; emphasis on pre-K programs; and integration of technology tools and skills in every classroom. Paine joined the West Virginia Department of Education in 2003 as Deputy State Superintendent of Schools after serving as county superintendent in Morgan County, West Virginia. He has also served as principal, assistant principal, teacher and curriculum director in Upshur and Harrison County School Systems. Dr. Paine is active in national education policy discussions as a member of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) Board of Directors, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) Board of Directors, and as a member of the National Assessment Governing Board. Dr. Paine earned his undergraduate degree from Fairmont State College, in Fairmont, W.Va. He furthered his education by attending West Virginia University in Morgantown, W.Va., where he received his master’s in educational administration and his doctorate in educational leadership.

Roberto Rodriguez

Special Assistant to the President for Education, Domestic Policy Council, Executive Office of the President

Roberto J. Rodríguez serves in the White House Domestic Policy Council as Special Assistant to President Obama for Education. Previously, Roberto was Chief Education Counsel to United States Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. In this capacity, he managed the Democratic education agenda for the Committee and led policy development and strategy for legislation addressing early childhood education, elementary and secondary education, higher education, and adult education. Roberto began his tenure on Capitol Hill working for the Senate HELP Committee on the development of the No Child Left Behind Act. He has worked on various reauthorizations of federal legislation, including the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Head Start, Child Care, Higher Education, and the America COMPETES Act. Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Roberto worked as Senior Education Specialist at the National Council of La Raza, where he conducted research and analysis of federal and state education reform issues, as well as the development and evaluation of community-based education programs. He is a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and a graduate of the University of Michigan and of the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Hon. Jeanne Shaheen

Senator, United States Congress

Senator Jeanne Shaheen is the first woman in history to be elected a Governor and a United States Senator. A former public school teacher, Jeanne Shaheen has been committed to improving public K-12 and higher education for students throughout her career and has been recognized nationally for her work on education issues. As Governor, Senator Shaheen was a strong proponent of strengthening public schools. She successfully fought to expand public kindergarten in New Hampshire. She served as chair of the Education Commission of the States where she made early childhood education the priority of her Chair's Initiative. Recognizing that money alone does not improve the quality of schools, her administration began the testing of first-year teachers; toughened teacher recertification standards; created a program to put more computers into local schools; and developed a school report card so parents knew how their children's schools measure up. In the Senate, Senator Shaheen voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provided $650 million in funding to the Enhancing Education Through Technology Program to help better prepare students for the modern workplace. She also voted to provide families with a new $2,500 tax credit to help families send their children to college, and she fought to increase the maximum Pell Grant to $5,350 to help low-income students go to college.

Alice Cain

Education Director, Hope Street Group

Alice is Education Director for Hope Street Group, launched in 2003 by a group of young professionals deeply concerned about the future of the American Dream, our global competitiveness, and the direction and tone of our public policy debate. Hope Street Group represents Policy 2.0, a different way of thinking and acting in the policy arena. Before joining Hope Street Group, Alice was the chief advisor for K-12 education for Chairman George Miller of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor. Her expertise includes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and she led the team of House committee staffers working on the re-write of No Child Left Behind. Prior to joining the committee, she worked at the Children’s Defense Fund advocating on behalf of federal and state policies to help poor, minority and disabled children. She spent six years in the Clinton Administration where she directed the policy office at the National Institute for Literacy and was detailed for a year to assist Vice President Al Gore with workforce education and training policy. She spent 5 years on the Senate HELP Committee staff of Senator Paul Simon, where she assisted with the 1994 Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization. More recently, she spent a year in New Zealand researching education policy and practice on a fellowship administered by Fulbright New Zealand. Alice has served on the boards of several national and local literacy organizations, and spent many years teaching GED and ESOL classes for low-income and homeless adults and youth and volunteering in Washington DC’s public schools.

Kevin Carey

Policy Director, Education Sector

Carey is Education Sector's Policy Director. Carey came to the organization in September 2005. Carey regularly contributes to the "Quick and the Ed" blog, and has published Education Sector reports on topics including a blueprint for a new system of college rankings, how states inflate educational progress under NCLB, and improving minority college graduation rates. He has published magazine articles in publications including Phi Delta Kappan, Education Week, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, and Christian Science Monitor. He also writes a monthly column for The Chronicle of Higher Education. In 1995, Carey worked as an education finance analyst for the state of Indiana He subsequently served as a senior analyst for the Indiana Senate Finance Committee. and then as Indiana's Assistant State Budget Director for Education, where he advised the governor on finance and policy issues in K-12 and higher education. In 2001, Carey became an analyst for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Carey subsequently worked at The Education Trust, where he was director of policy research.

Justin Cohen

President, School Turnaround Group, Mass Insight Education & Research Institute

Justin Cohen is President of the School Turnaround Group, an initiative at the Mass Insight Education & Research Institute, a 501c3 non-profit organization based in Boston, MA. Justin leads the School Turnaround Group and the launch of the Partnership Zone Initiative. Prior to joining Mass Insight, he was Director of the Office of Portfolio Management and senior advisor to Chancellor Michelle Rhee at the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). Before that Justin was director of industry support and development for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Justin also spent time at Edison Schools, where he at various times served as director business development, acting director of school operations, and a new school application writer. Justin has a B.A. from Yale University

Margaret Horn

Director of State Leadership and Policy Development, Achieve

Margaret Horn joined Achieve as Director of State Leadership and Policy Development in February 2010. Prior to joining Achieve, Margaret served as the chief education policy advisor to Governor Phil Bredesen, of Tennessee, from 2008 to 2010. She led Tennessee's involvement in the American Diploma Project and the College & Career-Ready Policy Institute, and most recently coordinated Tennessee's Race to the Top proposal, which resulted in new laws in the Volunteer State. Margaret worked in a variety of roles for Governor Bredesen, beginning with his first election in 2002. Before joining state government, Margaret worked for Bredesen in the private sector as product content manager for Bredex Corp., an educational software company that was acquired by McGraw-Hill Education. She worked for several years in the national and community service movement as Tennessee's AmeriCorps program officer, and as executive director for a higher-education service learning program based at Duke University's Center for Documentary Studies. An Alabama native, Margaret holds a bachelor's degree in anthropology from Vanderbilt University and a master's in medical anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She lives in Washington, D.C.

Joseph Johnson

Executive Director, National Center for Urban School Transformation, San Diego State University

In August 2005, Dr. Joseph Johnson became the Executive Director of the National Center for Urban School Transformation and the QUALCOMM Professor of Urban Education at San Diego State University. Previously, he served as a classroom teacher in San Diego, as a school district administrator in New Mexico, as a state department official in both Texas and Ohio, as a researcher and technical assistance provider at the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas, and as the Director of Student Achievement and School Accountability at the U.S. Department of Education where he was responsible for directing the federal Title I Program and several related programs. Dr. Johnson earned a Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin's Cooperative Superintendency Program. He earned a Master of Arts in Education from San Diego State University and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh. In 1987 Dr. Johnson received the Special Educator of the Year Award from the New Mexico Council for Exceptional Children. In 1989 he was the founding president of the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. In 1993 and again in 2000, he received the Educator of the Year Award from the Texas Association of Compensatory Education. In 2003 he received the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award from San Diego State University's College of Education.

Jim Kohlmoos

President, Knowledge Alliance

Jim Kohlmoos started his career in education with the U.S. Teacher Corps in California in 1971 and subsequently served in the Peace Corps in Malaysia for two years. Prior to joining Knowledge Alliance in 2001, he was a vice president for The Implementation Group, a Washington, DC-based government relations firm. From 1993-99, Jim served at the U.S. Department of Education as both a deputy assistant secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education and as a senior adviser. Prior to joining the Department of Education, he was vice president of the Close Up Foundation. Jim is a graduate of Stanford University.

Mary Kusler

Assistant Director, Government Relations, American Association of School Administrators

Mary Kusler has been representing AASA on Capitol Hill since 2000. She is responsible for representing the interests of AASA members before Congress and federal agencies on issues as diverse as IDEA full funding, fighting against vouchers and promoting changes in No Child Left Behind. She also fights for AASA priorities within the budget and appropriations process to ensure the maximum amount of available funding flows to local districts. Additionally, she works on rural education issues for AASA membership, including editing AASA's Rural Update online newsletter and providing technical assistance to districts eligible under the Rural Education Achievement Program. She assists in the staffing of the Program and Products advisory committee of the AASA Executive Committee. Kusler frequently speaks on federal education policy to school leaders across the country.

Doug Lederman

Editor and Co-Founder, Inside Higher Ed

Doug Lederman is an editor and one of three founders of Inside Higher Ed (http://insidehighered.com), a new daily online publication about higher education. In that capacity, he helps to oversee the site's news content, opinion pieces, resources, and interactive features. Doug was managing editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education from 1999 to 2003. Before that, he had worked at The Chronicle since 1986 in a variety of roles, first as an athletics reporter and editor. His work at The Chronicle won two National Awards for Education Reporting from the Education Writers Association. Doug's work has appeared in The New York Times, USA Today, the Nieman Foundation Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, the Princeton Alumni Weekly, and the Association of Governing Boards's Priorities. He began his career as a news clerk at The New York Times. Doug grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and graduated in 1984 from Princeton University. He lives with his wife, Sandy, and their two children in Bethesda, Md.

Moira Lenehan-Razzuri

Legislative Assistant, Office of U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (OH)

Moira Lenehan-Razzuri, Legislative Assistant, Office or Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH). She previously was Legislative Assistant for Representative Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX). Moira has extensive public policy experience in the field of education as well as working with non-profit organizations including the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, the National Association for Migrant Education, and the Hispanic Education Coalition. She received her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University. Moira serves as the Senator's committee liaison on all education and workforce issues. In addition to education and labor issues, Moira also covers immigration, welfare reform, childcare, and civil rights.

Douglas Levin

Executive Director, State Educational Technology Directors Association

Doug Levin is the Executive Director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA). In this position, Doug works with state educational technology directors in all 50 states and DC and works with policy makers in other educational organizations, the U.S. Department of Education, and on Capitol Hill. SETDA provides national leadership on educational technology, ensures members have meaningful professional development opportunities, and engages in partnerships with the public and private sector to collaborate on how educational technology supports teaching and learning. Doug has nearly 20 years of Washington, DC-based education policy and research experience gained through a variety of prominent roles in the private and non-profit sectors. He formerly served as Deputy Executive Director of the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) and prior to that as Senior Director of Education Policy at Cable in the Classroom, the cable industry's national education foundation. Levin also served as a principal research analyst with the American Institutes for Research. While there, he directed education research studies, evaluations, and policy initiatives on a wide variety of topics, including on educational technology, teacher quality, student assessment, services for students with disabilities, and federal/foundation program planning and administration. Doug holds a Master of Arts degree in Sociology from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the College of William and Mary.

Christopher Lohse

Strategic Initiative Director of Information Systems and Research, Council of Chief State School Officers

Christopher Lohse is the Strategic Initiative Director of Information Systems and Research for the Council. Chris works at the Council to create and implement an innovative vision for the role and use of data in the education space. Part of that vision involves enabling well-architected, interconnected, vertically and horizontally-aligned data systems with elegantly designed user-interfaces to benchmark education results nationally and internationally. Moreover, Chris and the large team of competent information technologists, education specialists, and researchers he leads, works to help states create data systems that enable researchers to isolate the effects of particular policies and programs. Before joining CCSSO, Chris was the internal research director for Teach For America, an adviser to the Montana state school chief (Director of Policy Research and Federal Liaison), a research director for the Native Caucus of the National Conference of State Legislatures, and a research analyst focusing on science and education policy for the Montana Legislature’s Office of Research and Policy Analysis. He serves on a number of technical review and research panels, and presents often at major education conferences. He is also a mentor teacher in the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Teacher Education Program, working with master’s candidates in science and mathematics program. Chris is also a former classroom teacher, having taught for five years in South Central Los Angeles as an advanced placement chemistry teacher, initially under the Teach For America program. He holds Master’s degrees in Education and Policy from Harvard University, and a biochemistry degree from Willamette University.

Richard Long

Executive Director , National Association of State Title I Directors

Rich Long is Executive Director of tthe State Title I Directors Association and Director of Government Relations for the International Reading Association. Prior, Rich Long served on the staff of Congressman James W. Symington and worked as Coordinator of Multidisciplinary Interventions at the George Washington University (GWU) Reading Center. Long’s Doctorate is from the George Washington University and was a consultant for USA TODAY, the World Health Organization, and several U.S. government agencies and education groups. Currently he writes on education public policy, and speaks before groups on trends in education policy and how to adapt to an ever changing policy environment.

Jeff Mao

Learning Technology Policy Director, Maine Department of Education

Jeff Mao is the Learning Technology Policy Director for the State of Maine, Department of Education. He provides vision and oversight to Maine’s education technology programs, including the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI). Jeff has made presentations at numerous conferences throughout the United States as well as in Korea, China and Australia. He has testified in support of education technology to the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and has published articles in the One-to-One Institute Newsletter, T.H.E. Journal, and online for MacWorld.com. Jeff is Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for the State Educational Technology Directors’ Association. Jeff began his career in the classroom at the Brewster Academy where he helped develop its pioneering 1:1 program in 1993. Jeff spent 10 years in the classroom before transitioning to the role of a technology director. He held a position in one of Maine's larger school districts before joining the Maine Department of Education.

Kirstin McKenzie Smith

Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg (MT)

Kristin is the Deputy Chief of Staff for Congressman Denny Rehberg from Montana. In addition to overseeing the Congressman's work on the House Appropriations Committee, Kristin is responsible for staffing Rep. Rehberg on the Labor, Health and Human Service, Education Subcommittee. Prior to joining Rep. Rehberg's office, Kristin was Vice President at the Alpine Group. At Alpine, Kristin represented the firm's technology, media and telecommunications clients. Kristin began her government career in the United States Senate. She worked for Senator Conrad Burns from Montana from 2001 to 2005 and Senator Olympia J. Snowe from Maine from 2005 to 2007. Kristin earned her B.A. in biology and M.A. in Legislative Affairs from the George Washington University. She also holds a M.A. in Communication, Culture and Technology from Georgetown University.

Chris Minnich

Senior Membership Director, Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)

Chris Minnich serves as the Senior Membership Director at the Council of Chief State School Officers ("CCSSO"). In this role, he manages the communications, advocacy and membership functions of the Council. This includes advocating on behalf of the state chiefs and generating collective state action around key education reform areas. Prior to his current role at CCSSO, he led the standards and assessment work at CCSSO, where they are currently working on implementing common standards across states. Prior to CCSSO, Chris was with Pearson Assessment, working on online assessment programs and projects to support teachers through professional development in their use of data to improve instruction. Chris was the Director of the Assessment Academy project which provided information regarding assessment practices to different users across the world. Before Pearson, Chris worked at the Oregon Department of Education in the assessment office. He was responsible for implementing the online high-stakes assessment across the entire state.

Lan Neugent

Assistant Superintendent for Technology and Human Resources, Virginia Department of Education

Lan Neugent is currently assistant superintendent for technology and human resources at the Virginia Department of Education. He is an authority on educational technology issues and a professional educator with over thirty-five years of experience at the classroom, district, and state levels. An active member of the State Educational Technology Directors Association, he has served as the organization’s chairman of federal policy and on the board of directors. As assistant superintendent for technology, Mr. Neugent is responsible for establishing the direction of state educational technology policy and for carrying out initiatives from both the governor and the general assembly. Current major projects under his supervision include the Educational Technology Grant Program, Universal Services Grants, and the nationally recognized Educational Information Management System (EIMS), a method of collecting, reporting, and analyzing student data for which Virginia has received a $6.1 million grant from the United States Department of Education.

Elizabeth Partoyan

Strategic Initiative Director for Next Generation Learners, Council of Chief State Schools Officers

Elizabeth Partoyan is responsible for developing and implementing the Council’s vision to transform American public education. Partoyan also serves as a consultant to the DC Education Policy Fellowship Program of the Institute for Educational Leadership. She presents on a range of education and social policy issues, and serves on several advisory committees. Prior to the Council, Partoyan was Director of Research, Training, and Member Services at the National School Boards Association and program manager for the NSBA Extended-Day Learning Opportunities program. Partoyan has worked at the Academy for Educational Development, District of Columbia Public Schools, Chicago Public Schools, and Washington State Early Childhood Education Program. She has direct-service experience in special education, Montessori education, after-school programs, and outdoor education.

Mike Petrilli

Vice President for National Programs and Policy, Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Mike Petrilli is Vice President for National Programs and Policy at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, where he oversees the Institute's research projects and publications, including The Education Gadfly. He is also research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, Executive Editor of Education Next, and contributor to Fordham's Flypaper blog. Petrilli is author, with Frederick M. Hess, of No Child Left Behind: A Primer. He comes to the Institute from the U.S. Department of Education, where he served as Associate Assistant Deputy Secretary in the Office of Innovation and Improvement. In that role, he oversaw approximately two-dozen discretionary grant programs that support a variety of education reforms, including alternate routes to certification, charter schools, and more, and helped to implement the No Child Left Behind act. Before working at the Department of Education, he was Vice President of Community Partnerships at K12, an Internet education company. He started his career as a teacher at the Joy Outdoor Education Center in Clarksville, Ohio. Mr. Petrilli holds a Bachelor's degree in Honors Political Science from the University of Michigan and a teaching certificate in high school social studies. He lives with his wife Meghan and sons Nico and Leandro in Takoma Park, Maryland

Hal Plotkin

Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Under Secretary, United States Department of Education

Hal Plotkin is the Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of the Under Secretary of Education, United States Department of Education. The OUS has responsibility for all federal higher education policies and programs. Previously, Mr. Plotkin was a trustee and board president at the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, based in Silicon Valley California, where he oversaw two community colleges with a combined enrollment of approximately 45,000 students. Mr. Plotkin is a writer and editor by profession, who has published more than 600 articles on business, science, technology and education. His publishers include Inc. magazine, Forbes ASAP, Family Business magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFGate.com, and CNBC.com, where he served as Silicon Valley correspondent. He is also a founding editor of public radio’s Marketplace program.

Cathy Poplin

Deputy Associate Superintendent for Educational Technology, Arizona Department of Education

Cathy comes to the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) with more than 30 years of experience in educational technology. She has spent a total of 20+ years in three public school districts in Phoenix, AZ and 12 years in higher education prior to coming to the ADE. She has administered two federal grants – Technology Innovation Challenge Grant and Teaching American History. She has written and received nearly $2 million in state and federal technology grants. Cathy is active in Arizona’s ISTE affiliate – AzTEA (Arizona Technology in Education Alliance) since 1998 and served as President during 2003-04. She was recently elected Treasurer. In June 2008, Cathy was elected to the SETDA Board of Directors. Cathy received a BS in Human Resource and Development from Grand Canyon University and a M.Ed in Learning and Instructional Technology from Arizona State University.

Ricki Price-Baugh

Director of Academic Achievement, Council of the Great City Schools

Dr. Ricki Price-Baugh serves as the Director of Academic Achievement for the Council of the Great City Schools, the nation’s primary coalition of large urban public school systems. She directly assists urban districts in enhancing instructional systems to boost student achievement. Additionally, she participates in researching instructional materials and practices associated with improved student achievement. She has taken an active role in the Council’s efforts to call for and advance common standards for our nation’s schools. Price-Baugh retired as the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instructional Development in the Houston Independent School District, where she led the development and implementation of the Prekindergarten-12 curriculum, professional development for administrators and teachers, and the district’s alternative teacher certification program. Her prior experience included teaching at the secondary school level for 13 years and serving as the district’s K-12 software resource coordinator before joining the Curriculum Department as the director of educational programs. She has also taught curriculum theory and practice for aspiring principals at the University of Houston. Dr. Price-Baugh received her B.A. degree from Tulane University and her M.A. from the University of Maryland. She earned her Doctor of Education in Educational Administration from Baylor University.

Andrew Rotherham

Co-Founder and Partner, Bellwether Education Partners

Andrew J. Rotherham is a co-founder and partner at Bellwether Education Partners, a non-profit organization working to improve educational outcomes for low-income students. Rotherham leads Bellwether’s thought leadership, idea generation, and policy analysis work. He also writes a weekly column on education for TIME.com as well as the blog Eduwonk.com and is co-publisher of “Education Insider” a federal policy research tool produced by Whiteboard Advisors. Rotherham previously served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy during the Clinton administration and is a former member of the Virginia Board of Education. In addition to Bellwether, Rotherham has founded or co-founded two other influential education reform organizations including Education Sector and served on the boards of several other successful education start-ups. Rotherham is the author or co-author of more than 125 articles, book chapters, papers, and op-eds about education policy and politics and is the author or editor of four books on education policy. He is a senior fellow at the Center for Reinventing Public Education and also at the PostPartisan Foundation. He serves on advisory boards and committees for a variety of organizations including The Broad Foundation, Education Pioneers, and the National Governors Association. He is on the board of directors for the Indianapolis Mind Trust and the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia and serves on the Visiting Committee for the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Jim Shelton

Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Innovation & Improvement, U.S. Department of Education

Jim Shelton is the assistant deputy secretary for innovation and improvement, managing a portfolio that includes most of the Department's competitive teacher quality, school choice and learning technology programs, housed in the Office of Innovation and Improvement. Previously, he served as a program director for the education division of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, managing the foundation's national programs and work in the northeast region of the United States. Shelton has also been a partner and the East Coast lead for NewSchools Venture Fund and co-founded LearnNow, a school management company that later was acquired by Edison Schools. He spent over four years as a senior management consultant with McKinsey & Company in Atlanta, Ga., where he advised CEOs and other executives on issues related to corporate strategy, business development, organizational design, and operational effectiveness. Upon leaving McKinsey, he joined Knowledge Universe, Inc., where he launched, acquired and operated education-related businesses. Shelton holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from Atlanta's Morehouse College as well as master's degrees in business administration and education from Stanford University. Shelton currently resides in his hometown, Washington, D.C., with his wife, Sonia, and two sons, Justice and Jameson.

Celia Sims

Senior Policy Advisor, Office of U.S. Senator Richard Burr (NC)

Celia Sims currently serves as senior policy advisor for Senator Richard Burr on issues related to education (preschool through higher education), financial services, and housing. Ms. Sims came to Senator Burr’s office after serving four years in the Bush administration at the U.S. Department of Education (ED). At ED, Ms. Sims worked primarily on the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act with a focus on state standards, assessments, and accountability systems. Ms. Sims is a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and received her BA in classical languages and U.S. History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ms. Sims earned her MA in Latin from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and was working on a PhD in educational administration and policy prior to going to work for ED.