Speakers

Jay Box

Chancellor, Kentucky Community and Technical College System

As Chancellor of KCTCS since July 2009, Dr. Jay Box provides systemwide leadership for academic and student affairs as well as workforce training. He also leads information technology for KCTCS. Since he became Chancellor, Dr. Box has chaired the statewide committee that developed the Kentucky Transfer Action Plan. Working in conjunction with House Bill 160, passed by Kentucky’s General Assembly in 2010, the Kentucky Transfer Action Plan eliminates barriers for community college students transferring to the state’s eight public universities by using student learning outcomes to align curriculum. Most recently, Dr. Box has led an initiative to evaluate and revise the System’s dual credit program. The initiative has culminated in a statewide dual credit agreement between KCTCS, the Kentucky Department of Education, and the Office of Career and Technical Education. From January 2007 through June 2009, Dr. Box served as KCTCS Vice President with his primary area of responsibility being Technology Solutions, a unit that includes network services, administrative computing, distance learning technologies, and visualized learning and innovation. Dr. Box established provided oversight in the development and implementation of the KCTCS Decision Support System that provides KCTCS leadership with access to critical decision-making data. Furthermore, Dr. Box continues to lead the development of KCTCS Online—Learn on Demand, a truly revolutionary way of delivering higher education online in a 24/7, modular, competency-based format that has received two national awards. Prior to his promotion to KCTCS Vice President, Dr. Box served for 4 ½ years as President/CEO of Hazard Community and Technical College (HCTC). Before coming to Kentucky, Dr. Box served as Vice President of Instruction at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas.

Kaya Henderson

Chancellor, Washington DC Public Schools

On June 21, 2011, the Washington, DC City Council confirmed Kaya Henderson as Chancellor of DC Public Schools. Her education career began as a middle school Spanish teacher in the South Bronx, and she spent her summers overseeing the professional development of new teachers at summer institutes with Teach for America. She also served Teach for America as a recruiter and the national director of admissions. In 1997, she became the executive director of Teach For America-DC, where she was responsible for 170 teachers in more than 50 DC public schools. In 2000, Henderson began her work with The New Teacher Project, where she eventually became the Vice President for Strategic Partnerships, overseeing the organization’s work on improving teacher hiring for school districts from a process, policy and capacity-building perspective. She also launched alternative certification programs—including the DC Teaching Fellows Program—in a number of districts. In 2001, she worked closely with DCPS leadership and the Washington Teachers’ Union to make significant policy changes to improve teacher hiring in the district. She came to DCPS as Deputy Chancellor in 2007. She led the district’s human capital efforts, and served as chief negotiator for the groundbreaking 2010 contract between DCPS and the Washington Teachers’ Union. Henderson’s team also led the development of IMPACT, a new and innovative teacher assessment system designed to ensure that an effective teacher is leading every classroom in DCPS. Henderson’s work in developing human capital at DCPS has served as a model for other school districts throughout the country.

Jorea Marple

State Superintendent of Schools, West Virginia Department of Education

Jorea M. Marple took over as West Virginia's 27th state superintendent of schools on March 1, 2011. Marple has more than 35 years of experience as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, university instructor, principal, assistant county superintendent, county superintendent, assistant state superintendent and deputy state superintendent. She has helped guide the state's journey to create a responsive and accountable 21st century school system. Her responsibilities have included working to create the state's 21st century learning program, "Global 21: Students deserve it. The world demands it." The plan, which has garnered West Virginia national and international attention, includes increased rigor and relevance and incorporates real-world learning and performance skills, such as problem solving and creative thinking, into state standards. Nationally, she has worked with the U.S. Department of Education, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Council of Chief State School Officers, other state departments of education, the State Educational Technology Directors Association, the National Association of Test Directors, the National Association of Special Education Teachers and the National Staff Development Council. She also has been honored as a YWCA Woman of Achievement.

Emily Barton

Assistant Commissioner of Curriculum and Instruction, Tennessee Department of Education

As Assistant Commissioner at the Tennessee Department of Education, Emily Barton is responsible for the dramatic improvement of student achievement through many strategies including the implementation and success of Tennessee’s evaluation system and the adoption of Common Core State Standards. Emily supports school districts in the implementation of the state-wide comprehensive multiple measure educator evaluation systemt. Over the next several years, Tennessee will adopt the Common Core State Standards, and Emily will support the state’s educators through leveraging the Department’s resources, comprehensive communication, and extensive training. Immediately prior to this position, Emily was Chief of Staff for the Tennessee Department of Education. In her role, Emily managed cross-functional priorities for Commissioner Kevin Huffman, worked with organizations and agencies in Tennessee and across the country to incorporate promising practices to increase student achievement and support department effectiveness. Previously, Emily managed Teach For America’s D.C. Region and launched the organization’s work in Connecticut. In both regions, Emily more than doubled the size of the teaching corps, staff and funding base and pioneered new initiatives in teacher professional development, community and state engagement and alumni innovation. She started her career in education in a rural community in Louisiana, teaching seventh grade math.

Michael Casserly

Executive Director, Council of Great City Schools

Michael Casserly has served as Executive Director of the Council of the Great City Schools, the nation’s primary coalition of large urban public school systems, since January 1992. Before assuming this position, Casserly served as the organization's Director of Legislation and Research for 15 years. As head of the Council, Casserly unified urban schools nationwide around a vision of reform and improvement; launched an aggressive research program on trends in urban education; convened the first Education Summit of Big City Mayors and Urban School Superintendents; led the nation's largest urban school districts to volunteer for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP); led the first national study of common practices among the nation’s fastest improving urban school districts, and launched national task forces on achievement gaps, leadership and governance, finance, professional development, and bilingual education. He is currently spearheading efforts to boost academic performance in the nation’s big city schools; strengthening management and operations; challenging inequitable state financing systems; and improving the public’s image of urban education. Since 1989, he has garnered over $25.0 billion in extra federal money for urban schools. Casserly has also written numerous studies, reports and op-ed pieces on urban schools, including "Beating the Odds"—the nation’s first look at urban school performance on state tests. He serves on numerous national boards and advisory groups, and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. His legislative work has been the subject of a college textbook on how Capitol Hill really works. He is considered by many to be one of Washington's best education advocates and lobbyists, and an expert on urban education, governance, finance, and federal legislation and policy. Washington Almanac listed Casserly as one of Washington D.C.'s 400 most powerful individuals, and USA Today calls Casserly a "crusader" for city schoolchildren. Dr. Casserly is a U.S. Army veteran.

Myk Garn

Director, Educational Technology, Southern Regional Education Board

Myk Garn is the Director of Educational Technology for the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). The SREB was founded in 1948 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with leaders and policymakers in 16 member states to improve pre-K through postsecondary education. Myk directs the SREB Educational Technology Cooperative which provides information and analysis on the potential impact of educational technology to guide schools, colleges, state education agencies, and legislative policy makers as they create and expand effective uses of technology. Prior to joining SREB in May 2008, Dr. Garn was Associate Vice President for eLearning at the Kentucky Council for Postsecondary Education (CPE) where he served as Executive Director of the Kentucky Virtual Campus managing the strategic initiatives and day-to-day operations of the Virtual Campus and leading statewide distance education policy and technology efforts. During his nine-year tenure in Kentucky Myk also served as the founding Chief Academic Officer for the Kentucky Virtual University and as Senior Advisor for Academic Affairs for the Academic Affairs unit of CPE. Prior to Kentucky he served as Director of Distance Education for the University System of Georgia, Executive Director of the Instructional Technology Development Center at Lamar University in Texas, as producer of the award winning “Techniques of the Masters” satellite television series for Eastman Kodak Company, as manger of the Ocean Photo Centre in Grand Cayman, B.W.I., as a photography instructor at Lansing Community College and as a commercial photographer in Lansing, Michigan.

Tiffany Hall

Coordinator, Common Core Language Arts, Utah State Office of Education

Tiffany Hamilton Hall is the K-12 Literacy Coordinator for the Utah State Office of Education. In her position, Tiffany coordinates the implementation of the Common Core State Standards, including a state-wide Core Academy that will provide professional learning opportunities for more than 5,000 teachers during the summer of 2012; online courses and district-level professional learning to support CCSS integration; and coordination of the state's Open Source Textbook program. She has assisted with the development of new Early Childhood Standards, standards for administrator evaluation, and Utah’s new Effective Teaching Standards. Prior to her work at the state office, Tiffany was the Associate Director of the Center for the Improvement of Teacher Education and Schooling (CITES) at Brigham Young University, where she was involved with teacher, teacher-leader, and principal development. While at CITES, Tiffany collaborated on the writing and management of several federal grant programs, including an MSP grant that focused on the development of mathematics knowledge, skills, and pedagogy for elementary teachers, and privately funded grants to develop open source teacher resources. She managed several K-16 national-level conferences held in Utah (The Literacy Promise: Opening Doors for the Adolescent Learner and Instructional Leadership in the 21st Century). Tiffany has been an administrator and teacher in public schools in Utah and California for 20 years; as a district administrator, she implemented BTSA and CFASST programs for new teachers and worked for the California Technology Assistance Project (CTAP) to implement the Digital High School program in California. She currently teaches Alternative Route to Licensure teacher courses, which have recently become online courses to assist with meeting the needs of teachers in rural areas; she also teaches university-level grant seeking courses.

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.

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.

Michele McNeil

Assistant Editor, Education Week

Michele McNeil is an assistant editor and federal policy reporter at Education Week, a national newspaper covering K-12 education issues based in Bethesda, Md. She covers the U.S. Department of Education, federal education policies, and school finance issues. She's also the creator of Politics K-12, a blog that tracks the intersection of education, policy, and politics. Before she joined Education Week in 2006, McNeil worked for 10 years at The Indianapolis Star as an education reporter and a Statehouse reporter. A graduate of Franklin College in Indiana, McNeil now has her master's in public policy from the University of Maryland.

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.

Karen Nelson

Director of Academic Foundation Initiatives, Institute for Public School Initiatives, University of Texas at Austin

Karen Nelson, M.S., CCC/SLP joined the Institute for Public School Initiatives at the University of Texas in September 2007 as the Director of Academic Foundation Initiatives. She managed the implementation of support and professional development for the 700 Reading First schools in Texas. Currently she is a member of the State Leadership Team for the Texas Literacy Initiative which will support implementation of the new Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy federal grant program. In addition, Karen supports other statewide literacy initiatives for pre-K through 12th grade and the state online professional development portal, Project Share. Previously she was Vice President of Field Implementation Services at Voyager Expanded Learning. Prior to Voyager, Karen worked with the Texas Reading Initiative and as a speech-language pathologist in private practice and public schools, working primarily with struggling students in high poverty schools. She led the speech pathology cadre in Ector County ISD, serving as a member of the district assistive technology team. She earned bachelors degrees from Texas Tech University and the University of Texas of the Permian Basin and a Master’s degree in speech language pathology from Texas Woman’s University. Karen is experienced in building consensus, working with state and national leaders, planning and developing curriculum coaching infrastructure, developing and delivering professional development in face-to-face and online environments, and working with superintendents and district administrators across the state and the country in planning effective systems for reading instruction and intervention.

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

Kathy Platt

Associate Superintendent of Instructional Technology, Georgia Department of Education

In her 20 years in education, Kathy has served as a middle school History teacher, elementary school teacher, technology integration specialist, adjunct professor, and instructional technology director for a large metro Atlanta school district. She is currently serving as the Associate Superintendent for Instructional Technology at the Georgia Department of Education. In addition to statewide K-12 instructional technology strategy and implementation, Kathy’s responsibilities include GA’s Title IID, Race To the Top Instructional Improvement System, and teacher adoption of the Statewide Longitudinal Data System. She has developed a specialty of integrating systems and streamlining processes to deliver information and digital educational resources.

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.

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.

Michael Sawyers

Deputy Superintendent, Ohio Department of Education

Michael Sawyers brings a wealth of academic and real­world experience to his position as Interim Deputy Superintendent. In his 20 plus years in the education arena, he has served in nearly every role in a school building and school district, from classroom teacher to district superintendent. His responsibilities at ODE include overseeing and facilitating the work associated with the State Board of Education, budget and legislative issues and Ohio’s comprehensive strategy detailed in its Race to the Top (RttT) application. Sawyers joined ODE in 2010 as Assistant Superintendent, when the state was named as a recipient of RttT funding. Before that, he served as superintendent of the Perry Local School District in Lake County for five years. He also served as director of human resources in the Cleveland Heights­University Heights City Schools, director of curriculum and instruction, principal, deputy principal and assistant principal in Parma City Schools. He began his career as a Spanish teacher. Sawyers has extensive experience and training in educational leadership. Since 2009, he has served on the board of directors of the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest at Learning Point Associates. His responsibilities include identifying and targeting areas of research and reform specific to education in Ohio. From 2002 to 2005, he was a coach, facilitator and instructor for First­Ring Leadership Academy at Cleveland State University. There, he facilitated a cohort of aspiring or practicing principals on the importance of educational leadership. In 2008, Sawyers became a graduate of the Ohio School Leadership Academy. He also has been an instructor with the Ohio Principal’s Leadership Academy and done post­graduate coursework in Educational Administration and Leadership. Michael Sawyers plays a vital role in Race to the Top and in helping to carry out important and cutting­edge education reforms Ohio students deserve.

Diane Stark Rentner

Director of National Programs, Center on Education Policy

Ms. Rentner has been with the Center on Education Policy since its founding in January 1995. From 1988 to 1994, she served as a legislative associate for the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Education and Labor, where she worked on the reauthorization of several major education programs including the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Higher Education Act, the National School Lunch Act, the Child Nutrition Act, and the authorization of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. Ms. Rentner also worked for the National PTA and the Council of Chief State School Officers in their government relations offices.

Amber Winkler

Vice President for Research, Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Amber Winkler is vice president for research at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, where she helps develop new research initiatives and manages Fordham's research studies. She has over 15 years of experience in educational evaluation, education policy, and secondary education. She has published in the areas of educational accountability, standardized testing, teacher quality, and educational technology, among others. Prior to joining Fordham, she served as Senior Study Director at Westat. In that role, she provided evaluation services for various federal, state, and local education agencies, as well as oversaw multiple research studies involving reading instruction, math and science educational partnerships, performance-based pay, drug prevention curricula, and more. Dr. Winkler holds a Ph.D. in education policy and evaluation from the University of Virginia and serves as an adjunct faculty member at UVA's Northern Virginia campus. She started her career as a high school classroom teacher.

Todd Wirt

Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Mooresville (NC) Graded School District

Todd Wirt’s background includes: Exceptional Children’s Teacher, Middle School Mathematics and Science Teacher, Assistant Principal, and Principal at both the middle and high school level, member of the State Superintendent’s Principal Advisory Council, and a state level presenter on 1:1 laptop initiatives and instruction. Mr. Wirt led a full digital conversion at Mooresville High School in a one-to-one 24/7 mobile computing environment focused on digital content and project-based learning for the past four years. Under Mr. Wirt’s leadership Mooresville High School has increased its performance composite on state end-of-course exams twenty percentage points from 69% to 89%. Mooresville High School has risen to the top ten in North Carolina on graduation rate and dropout rate, as well as being recognized nationally as an Apple Distinguished school for its amazing use of 1:1 technologies. Mr. Wirt is nationally recognized as North Carolina’s 2010 High School Principal of the Year. He was also named the 2010 Wachovia Regional Principal of the Year for Region 7. Mr. Wirt has recently been elected by his peers to serve on the North Carolina Principal and Assistant Principal Association (NCPAPA) board of directors as President-Elect for Region 7.

Josh Wyner

Executive Director, College Excellence Program, The Aspen Institute

Josh Wyner leads the College Excellence Program, which administers the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. The Aspen Prize is designed to help change the way community colleges are understood, bolstering effective leaders and enabling institutions to learn more effectively from their peers. In its inaugural year, the Prize aims to reward and shine a spotlight on community colleges that deliver exceptional student results, to stimulate replication of successful campus practices and leadership, and to contribute to the development of high-quality measures and benchmarks for assessing community college student outcomes. The first Aspen Prize will be awarded in late 2011. Josh has spent 15 years as a nonprofit leader, initiating organizations aimed at improving education and urban policy. Starting in the mid-90’s, Josh served as founding Executive Director of the DC Appleseed Center, which analyzes and actively seeks to resolve problems affecting the daily lives of those who live and work in the Washington, DC area – including students in K-12 and higher education. More recently, he led the design and implementation of programs as Executive Vice President of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and was Senior Vice President of Complete College America. Josh began his career as an organizer and analyst with Citizen Action, a program evaluator at GAO, and an attorney with Beveridge & Diamond.

Rebecca Zumeta

Research Analyst, American Institutes for Research, National Center on Response to Intervention

Dr. Rebecca Zumeta has 10 years of experience working in general and special education across school, university, and government settings. She currently coordinates Technical Assistance and Product Development for both the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) and the National Center on Response to Intervention (RTI) at the American Institutes for Research (AIR). Prior to AIR, she worked for the Washington State Department of Special Education providing technical assistance to build state and local capacity to implement RTI, and helped redesign the state’s alternate assessment. She has co-authored several papers and a book chapter on RTI, mathematics intervention, and curriculum-based measurement (CBM). She chairs the Professional Development Standards and Ethics Committee of the Council for Exceptional Children’s (CEC) Division for Learning Disabilities, and is a member of CEC’s Division for Research. Dr. Zumeta also taught special education in public and private lab schools in the Seattle area.