Speaker and presenter biographies
- Debra J. Ackerman
- Ahmes Askia, Ph.D.
- Lenore Beaky
- Deborah Benson
- Donna Brazile
- Tricia Coulter
- Bill Crain
- James Crawford
- Ed Dague
- Peter Deraney
- Maria DeWald
- Johanna Duncan-Poitier
- Ronald Ferguson, Ph.D.
- Anne Friedman
- Norm Fruchter
- Susan Goodwin
- Kati Haycock
- Molly A. Hunter
- Richard C. Iannuzzi
- Fred Koelbel
- Hamilton Lankford
- David Lavin
- Richard P. Mills
- Pedro A. Noguera, Ph.D.
- Allan Odden
- Luis O. Reyes, Ph.D.
- Manuel J. Rivera, Ph.D.
- Gene Rodriguez
- Richard Rothstein
- David F. Shaffer
- Karen Scharff
- Reverend Dr. Edward B. Smart
- James R. Stone III, Ed.D.
- Paul D. Tonko
- Adam Urbanski, Ph.D.
- Randi Weingarten
DEBRA J. ACKERMAN is an assistant research professor at the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), where she conducts large-scale evaluations of publicly funded pre-school initiatives and writes about issues related to early education policy.
AHMES ASKIA, PH.D. began her educational career in 1976 with Prescription Learning Corporation (later became Jostens Learning) as an education consultant in Houston Independent School District. During her tenure with Prescription Learning/Jostens Learning she became an area director. In this role she was responsible for developing training for both consultants (education and technical) and teachers. Askia has worked with teachers and administrators in Houston Independent School District, Dallas Independent School District, San Antonio Independent School District, San Francisco Unified, Atlanta Public Schools, Birmingham Public Schools, Chicago Public Schools, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Schools, Memphis City Schools, Little Rock Public Schools and many others.
She is currently director of professional development and the project director for the Newark, N.J., secondary project for the National Urban Alliance. The National Urban Alliance for Effective Education (NUA)® was founded in 1989 with a vision of school reform based upon three beliefs: All children are capable of attaining high educational standards; intelligence is modifiable, not fixed; and all stakeholders in the community must be involved in addressing the social, cultural and intellectual needs of our youth to improve learning and teaching. The Newark Project includes the federally funded Striving Readers Grant.
- See report: Preparing teacher and leadership corps
LENORE BEAKY has taught English composition and literature courses at LaGuardia Community College since 1974. She has taught all the courses in LaGuardia's required writing sequence, including the course in remedial or basic writing, Basic Writing ENG 099. Currently she is participating in the Liberal Arts Academy, teaching English 099 in a learning community with American History, Oral Communication and Internet Research Strategies. She has researched, presented and published on issues of remedial or basic skills pedagogy and assessment. An article in Community Review in summer 2001 discussed "The Impact of the Schmidt Proposals on Community Colleges;" articles in the PSC Clarion discussed the CUNY ACT test (April 2001) and the attempted imposition of the Collegiate Learning Assessment at CUNY (December 2006); in 2001 she co-wrote with Anne Friedman and other CUNY colleagues a booklet on The Mismeasure of Students: The Case Against the CUNY/ACT.
Working with five other LaGuardia colleagues, Beaky researched the impact of writing assessment on composition pedagogy in a variety of colleges and universities in the United States. She has presented the results of this research at the 4 C's conference in spring 2007 and has presented on the CLA in the context of the Spellings Commission at the fall 2006 Conference of the CUNY University Faculty Senate. She is vice chair of the CUNY UFS and serves on the National Council of the AAUP.
- See report: Panel discusses remediation's role in higher ed
DEBORAH BENSON is acting executive director of the Council on Children and Families, an organization comprising the commissioners or executive directors of the 12 state education, health and human services agencies. The Council is located within the New York state Office of Children and Family Services. It acts as a neutral forum for bringing together its members to increase the effectiveness and responsiveness of the state's services systems by promoting changes in state policy and negotiating improvements in service planning and delivery. Affiliated with the Council for over 25 years, Benson has served in various positions prior to her current appointment including as director of Policy, Planning and Research, legislative associate and research associate. Benson has extensive experience working on interagency issues within state government as well as the Legislature.
Prior to her work at the Council, Benson was a social worker at a residential program for adolescent females and a rehabilitation counselor at an outpatient rehabilitation center for children and adolescents. She received her bachelor of arts degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Buffalo and her master's in the Studies of Behavioral Disabilities from the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
DONNA BRAZILE is one of the best known, most influential African-American women in modern American political life. She is chair of the Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute, an organization established in 2001 to help protect and promote the rights of all Americans to participate in the political process. Donna Brazile is the author of Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in American Politics, a memoir about her life in the political arena, and co-author of What We Do Now, which was published by Melville House in 2004.
Brazile, a well-versed Democratic political strategist, made history as the first African-American woman to lead a major presidential campaign when she served as campaign manager for Gore-Lieberman 2000.
Prior to joining the Gore campaign, Brazile was chief of staff and press secretary to U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia where she helped guide the District's budget and local legislation on Capitol Hill. A veteran of numerous national and statewide campaigns, Brazile worked on several presidential campaigns for Democratic candidates, including Carter-Mondale in 1976 and 1980, Rev. Jesse Jackson's first historic bid for the presidency in 1984, Mondale-Ferraro in 1984, U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt in 1988, Dukakis-Bentsen in 1988, Clinton-Gore in 1992 and 1996 and Gore-Lieberman in 2000. Donna Brazile is a weekly contributor and political commentator for CNN, a political consultant for ABC News, and a contributor to NPR's Political Corner. She is also a columnist for Roll Call Newspaper and Ms. magazine.
In addition to working at VRI, Donna Brazile serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She has served as a senior lecturer at the University of Maryland, resident fellow at Harvard University's Institute of Politics and as the Sen. Wyona Lipman Chair at Rutgers University Center for American Women in Politics.
Donna Brazile is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including Washingtonian Magazine's 100 Most Powerful Women in Washington, D.C., Essence Magazine's 50 Most Powerful Women in America and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Award for Political Achievement.
Brazile, a native of New Orleans, earned her undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge in 1981 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Louisiana State University in May 2005. Firmly grounded in her humble Louisiana roots, Donna Brazile is a fierce advocate for the poor and minorities. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, the guiding agency charged with addressing the state's recovery after Hurricane Katrina. She is the Founder and Managing Director of Brazile and Associates, a political consulting and grassroots advocacy firm based in the District of Columbia.
TRICIA COULTER is director of the Teaching Quality and Leadership Institute (TQLI) at the Education Commission of the States. In that role, she is responsible for coordinating research and policy work related to teaching and leadership quality within the Institute and in collaboration with the work of other ECS institutes. The TQLI conducts research and analysis on state level policy in teacher quality-related areas including preparation, certification and licensure, recruitment and retention, diversified compensation, and the equitable distribution of highly qualified teachers. Additionally, Coulter directs ECS' work as one of the partner organizations in the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality, one of the five content centers that are part of the Comprehensive Centers Program funded through the U.S. Department of Education. Prior to joining ECS, Coulter worked as a senior policy analyst at the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO), where she had primary responsibility for all teacher quality research and policy work and initiatives.
BILL CRAIN is professor of psychology at The City College of New York. He is author of the book Reclaiming Childhood: Letting Children Be Children in Our Achievement-Oriented Society and the textbook Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications, now in its fifth edition. He served nine years on the Teaneck, N.J., Board of Education and is editor of the journal Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice.
- See report: Panel discusses remediation's role in higher ed
JAMES CRAWFORD is president of the Institute for Language and Education Policy, a newly formed organization to promote research-based advocacy for English-language and heritage-language learners. Over the past 20 years, he has specialized in these issues as an independent writer, lecturer and consultant.
His latest book, Educating English Learners: Language Diversity in the Classroom, (Bilingual Educational Services, 2004), is widely used in teacher-training courses. His other major works include: At War with Diversity: U.S. Language Policy in an Age of Anxiety (Multilingual Matters, 2000); Best Evidence: Research Foundations of the Bilingual Education Act (National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education, 1997); and Hold Your Tongue: Bilingualism and the Politics of "English Only" (Addison-Wesley, 1992).
James Crawford maintains an extensive Language Policy Web Site, the Internet's most visited site on this subject, at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jwcrawford. He is also Web master of a new site for the Institute for Language and Education Policy at http://www.elladvocates.org.
He serves on the editorial boards of Language Policy; Linguistics and Language Compass; the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism; and the International Multilingual Research Journal. From 2004 to 2006, Crawford was executive director of the National Association for Bilingual Education.
ED DAGUE is a respected, retired television news anchorman living in Stillwater in Saratoga County. He has hosted State Education Department statewide PBS broadcasts for years, working closely with the past three education commissioners. Ed Dague has also hosted a series of issue discussions for Union College and is the chairman of the SUNY Albany Journalism advisory board and a member of the Union Graduate College advisory board.
- See report: Panel focuses on what does and doesn't work to close gaps
- See report: Panelists say it takes a community to close a gap
PETER DERANEY has taught mathematics at New York City College of Technology since 1971, and has administered the Developmental Mathematics program since 1984, both as a separate program and, since 1998, within a unified Mathematics Department. He has been extensively involved with curriculum development and assessment within the department, at the college and within CUNY. Prof. Deraney has been active since 1980 in college governance, as chair of NYCCT College Council committees and as a member of the CUNY University Faculty Senate.
- See report: Panel discusses remediation's role in higher ed
MARIA DEWALD is presently serving as the President of the New York State Congress of Parents and Teachers, Inc. This culminates more than 25 years of PTA involvement at all levels from elementary class mother to district shared decision-making teams to representing parents on statewide committees. The 110 year-old PTA has a membership of approximately 360,000 statewide and 5.5 million nationwide, making it the largest volunteer advocacy organization in the country. The PTA is dedicated to increasing parent and family engagement, quality public education, and to the health and welfare of all children. She also serves on the National PTA Diversity Committee, which is committed to identifying and removing barriers to involvement for all families. In addition, she is a certified National PTA "Building Successful Partnerships" trainer. She is the Arts in Education Coordinator for Dutchess County BOCES and serves as a board member for Family Services, Inc., where she has also served as president. She is a former 6-12 mathematics teacher and school librarian.
- See report: PTA leaders say parents have a role, too
- See report: Panelists say it takes a community to close a gap
JOHANNA DUNCAN-POITIER was appointed senior deputy commissioner of Education - P-16, in 2007. Recognizing the need for a systemic approach to education reform in New York state, the Board of Regents established a new P-16 structure within the State Education Department to raise achievement from pre-kindergarten through college. Duncan-Poitier provides leadership for the P-16 structure, which brings together the Department's Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary, and Continuing Education and the Office of Higher Education, and formally connects Pre-K - 12 schools and colleges and universities across New York state.
Duncan-Poitier has responsibility for ensuring quality and accountability in over 6,600 public and non-public schools, 271 colleges and universities and 400 proprietary schools. She directs the preparation and practice of more than 227,000 teachers and school leaders. Duncan-Poitier also has responsibility for managing state and federal local assistance funds in excess of $3 billion annually, plus an additional $19.5 billion in state aid to public schools.
Duncan-Poitier has provided over 20 years of leadership in the State Education Department. She has held previous positions at The City University of New York. Born in New York, she earned a baccalaureate degree at Queens College, a master's in public administration at Bernard M. Baruch College, and an advanced leadership certificate from Atlanta University. She has also been awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from St. Joseph's College.
RONALD FERGUSON, PH.D. has taught on the faculty of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government since 1983, after holding full-time appointments at Brandeis and Brown Universities. Since coming to Harvard he has held visiting appointments at MIT and the College Board. Ferguson's research publications cover issues in education policy, youth development programming, community development, economic consequences of skill disparities, and state and local economic development. For the past decade, Ferguson's research has focused on racial achievement gaps, appearing in publications of the National Research Council, the Brookings Institution, the U.S. Department of Education, and various books and scholarly journals. In addition to teaching and research, Ferguson participates in a variety of consulting and policy advisory activities. Among others, these have included the National Research Council Committee on Community-level Youth Programming, the National Research Council Board on Testing and Assessment, the National Urban League's Campaign for African-American Achievement, the Research Advisory Group on Closing the Achievement Gap of the Council of Great City Schools. He is also the creator and director of the Tripod Project for School Improvement, which aims to raise achievement for all children while narrowing achievement gaps. Additionally, Ferguson is the faculty co-chair and director of the Achievement Gap Initiative (AGI) at Harvard, a university-wide initiative to help close the nation's achievement gaps by supporting new research and connecting research to policy and practice.
Ferguson attended public schools in Cleveland, Ohio, later earning an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and a Ph. D. from MIT, both in economics.
ANNE FRIEDMAN is a professor at Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY, in the Department of Developmental Skills. She teaches courses in Academic and Critical Reading and Critical Thinking, specializing in working with nursing and allied health students. Her research has focused on theory and practice in the areas of reading/writing connections, academic reading and critical thinking across the disciplines and how adult students learn.
Friedman is vice president for Community Colleges of the Professional Staff Congress, serves on the Executive Committee of the CUNY University Faculty Senate and is a member of the AAUP Committee on Community Colleges.
- See report: Panel discusses remediation's role in higher ed
NORM FRUCHTER directs the Community Involvement Program of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Previously he directed New York University's Institute for Education and Social Policy (IESP). Fruchter founded IESP in 1995, in collaboration with the deans of NYU's Steinhardt School of Education and Wagner School of Public Service, to improve public education so that all students, particularly in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, could obtain a just and equitable education and participate effectively in a democratic society.
Fruchter has served as a senior consultant with the Academy for Educational Development and Advocates for Children of New York; director of the Institute for Citizen Involvement in Education in New Jersey; co-founder and co-director of Independence High School in Newark, an alternative high school for dropouts; and, for 10 years, was an elected school board member in Brooklyn's District 15. He holds a B.A. from Rutgers University and an M.Ed. from Teachers College, Columbia University. He has published extensively in the field of education policy and equity; his latest book, Urban Schools, Public Will, has just been published by Teachers College Press. He has also written two novels and directed several award-winning documentary films.
SUSAN GOODWIN is director of the Rochester Teacher Center in Rochester. The Rochester Teacher Center plays a pivotal role in teacher learning and professional development. In collaboration with the Rochester Teachers Association and the Rochester City School District, the RTC promotes the building of learner-centered schools, the development of a more genuine teaching profession, and the nurturing of a sense of community-wide shared accountability for students' success. As director, she designs and implements professional learning models embedded within the context of teachers' daily work with students. Supporting teachers in developing pedagogies that reflect understanding of the relationship between theory and practice is central to her work of changing the culture around teaching and learning. Goodwin has worked many years as a secondary social studies teacher and has permanent certification in this discipline. She is a teacher union leader who co-chairs the Multicultural Education and Parent/Teacher and Community Engagement Committees of the Rochester Teachers Association. Modeling and producing the kind of study opportunities and approaches that support teachers in developing the curricular and cultural knowledge that supports student learning and achievement is central to her work with teachers and parents. Her published work focuses on teaching and learning that improves the life chances of children of color, multiculturality, emancipatory teaching practices and teacher union reform.
KATI HAYCOCK is one of the nation's leading child advocates in the field of education.
She is president of The Education Trust. Established in 1990, the Trust speaks up for what's right for young people, especially those who are poor or members of minority groups. The Trust also provides hands-on assistance to urban school districts and universities that want to work
together to improve student achievement, kindergarten through college.
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 provides assistance to teachers and principals in predominantly minority schools in improving student achievement. Before that, she served as director of the Outreach and Student Affirmative Action programs for the nine-campus University of California system.
MOLLY A. HUNTER is director of the National Access Network. Since graduating from New York University's School of Law in 1995, Hunter has practiced education and employment law in New York City. A former editor of the NYU Review of Law and Social Change, Hunter has conducted and overseen research for major Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) initiatives, including CFE's monograph series, Studies in Judicial Remedies and Public Engagement, the litigation in CFE v. State, and CFE's public engagement programs. Hunter has published several articles, including "Public School Facilities: Providing Environments That Sustain Learning" and "All Eyes Forward: Public Engagement and Fiscal Equity in Kentucky," which appeared in the Journal of Law and Education. Also a CPA, Hunter audited and consulted at Ernst & Young and managed a variety of financial functions at other institutions prior to entering law school.
- See report: Don't forget facilities when addressing the gap
RICHARD C. IANNUZZI was elected president of the more than 585,000-member New York State United Teachers in April 2005. A long-time fourth-grade teacher and president of the Central Islip Teachers Association, Iannuzzi also served as a NYSUT vice president and on the NYSUT Board of Directors before ascending to the union's top leadership position. He succeeded NYSUT President Emeritus Thomas Y. Hobart Jr., who led the union since its inception in 1972.
Iannuzzi is a vice president of the American Federation of Teachers and vice president of the New York State AFL-CIO. He also serves as an AFT delegate to the national AFL-CIO and as co-chair of the New York State Labor-Religion Coalition. As NYSUT president, Iannuzzi heads the largest state federation in the AFT. NYSUT is also affiliated with NEA.
NYSUT programs are provided from 16 offices around the state staffed by nearly 500 full-time employees. NYSUT's more than 1,000 affiliates bargain collectively for benefits; working conditions; and professional, health care and educational improvements. NYSUT represents a diverse membership that includes in-service and retired members in New York's public schools, colleges, universities and health care facilities, as well as several private schools and colleges.
Iannuzzi has spoken frequently concerning the potential for diversity to increase the power of unity. "Whether we work in health care, on a campus or in a school - whether we are in-service or retired - we all bring different contributions and concerns to our shared union endeavors," he said. "After all, each of us today understands that our strength is not in focusing on our diverse professions, geography or the size of our locals, but in our common union culture. In essence, our strength is our solidarity."
Iannuzzi was raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. He is from Smithtown, Long Island, and maintains a residence in Albany. He taught elementary school in the Central Islip public schools for 34 years, including fourth grade for the last 20 years. Raised in a union household, Iannuzzi was active in his local union from the beginning of his career, joining his local on strike in November 1970, his first year on the job. Iannuzzi was elected building representative in 1971 and served on the grievance committee for five years. He was vice president of the Central Islip TA from 1976 to 1996 and president from 1996 to 2004.
In addition to his local union duties, Iannuzzi has served as a NYSUT and AFT delegate and a Long Island Federation of Labor delegate. He was elected to the NYSUT Board of Directors in 1998.
A graduate of CUNY's Brooklyn College, Iannuzzi earned a master's degree from Hofstra University and a labor studies certificate from Cornell University. He and his wife, Joanne, have three grown children, including daughter Deborah, a NYSUT member who currently teaches English at Central Islip High School. Dick and Joanne are the proud grandparents of three grandchildren.
- See report: Iannuzzi challenges participants: For kids' sake, leave your comfort zone
- See report: Iannuzzi sees hope, momentum at close of achievement gap symposium
FRED KOELBEL served as a project manager for a design/build developer of commercial properties. Koelbel entered the field of K-12 facilities management in 1997. He has served the West Islip UFSD as superintendent of buildings and grounds for the last 10 years. He is a former president and state director of the Suffolk County Chapter of the NYSSBGA and has just completed his term as president of the NYSSBGA. He continues to serve the state organization as its legislative director. He is one of two facility director representatives on the Green Seal GS-37 Stakeholders Committee, working on the revision of GS-37, the Green Seal standard for all-purpose cleaners. He has assisted the State Education Department in facilities planning at the Roosevelt School District. He has testified before numerous state and local committees advocating for adequate funding for school maintenance.
- See report: Don't forget facilities when addressing the gap
HAMILTON LANKFORD is a professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University at Albany, State University of New York, where he is involved in a variety of activities that link research to education policy. In New York, these have included his research and expert testimony in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit; research and consultancy for the New York State Special Commission on Educational Structure, Policies, and Practices (1993-94); and work as a member of two Board of Regents Technical Study Groups. His academic publications in both economic and education policy journals include research on the teaching workforce, the allocation of education resources, the determinants of school choice and the effects of enhanced school choice. In ongoing research, he is a principal investigator on Teaching Pathways Project, focusing on the linkages between teacher preparation, teacher labor markets and student outcomes.
DAVID LAVIN is professor of Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center. He has been studying open access policy in higher education for 30 years. Most recently, he has co-authored a book (with Paul Attewell) titled Passing the Torch: Does Higher Education for the Disadvantaged Pay Off Across the Generations?
- See report: Panel discusses remediation's role in higher ed
RICHARD P. MILLS was appointed by the Board of Regents as president of the University of the State of New York and commissioner of education in August 1995. Before being appointed commissioner in New York, Mills served as commissioner of education in Vermont for seven years. Prior to becoming Vermont education commissioner, Mills served as a special assistant to Gov. Thomas H. Kean of New Jersey for more than three years, and held a variety of other posts in the New Jersey Department of Education.
As commissioner of education, Mills serves as chief executive officer of the Board of Regents, which has jurisdiction over the most comprehensive state educational system in the nation. The system encompasses every education endeavor in the state, including public and non-public elementary and secondary education; public and independent colleges and universities; museums, libraries, historical societies and archives; the vocational rehabilitation system; and responsibility for the licensing, practice and oversight of 44 professions.
Under the Board of Regents and Commissioner Mills' leadership, New York has established an overall strategy for raising standards for all students. This strategy includes higher learning standards; new curriculum and assessments; new policies and standards for teacher preparation; and a new accountability system for schools, which includes annual school report cards for all districts and schools in the state. Closing the performance gap in student achievement and the recruitment and development of effective school leaders is a critical focus of the department and the commissioner. Increasing public access to cultural resources throughout the state; recruitment and preparation of teachers; and strengthening the University of the State of New York are priority areas for the department.
Commissioner Mills received a bachelor's degree in history from Middlebury College in 1966, a mas-ter's degree in American History from Columbia University in 1967, an MBA from Columbia University in 1975, and a doctorate of education from Columbia University in 1977. From 1967 to 1971 Mills taught history at the Dalton School in New York City. With four other teachers, he helped establish and run the Elizabeth Seeger School in New York City from 1971 to 1973.
PEDRO A. NOGUERA, PH.D. is a professor in the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University. An urban sociologist, Noguera focuses in his scholarship and research on the ways in which schools are influenced by social and economic conditions in the urban environment. Noguera has served as an adviser and engaged in collaborative research with several large urban school districts throughout the United States. He has also done research on issues related to education and economic and social development in the Caribbean, Latin America and several other regions throughout the world.
Prior to joining the faculty at NYU, Noguera served as professor at Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley.
Pedro Noguera has published on topics such as urban school reform, conditions that promote student achievement, youth violence, the potential impact of school choice and vouchers on urban public schools, and race and ethnic relations in American society. His most recent book, City Schools and the American Dream, was published by Teachers College Press in the fall of 2003.
Noguera has served as a member of the U.S. Public Health Service Centers for Disease Control Task Force on Youth Violence and on numerous advisory boards to local and national education and youth organizations. Noguera was a K-12 classroom teacher for several years and continues to teach part-time in high schools. From 1986-1988 he served as the executive assistant to the mayor of Berkeley, and from 1990-1994 he was an elected member and the president of the Berkeley School Board.
The son of Caribbean immigrants, Noguera was born in New York City. He has been married for 22 years and is the father of four children.
ALLAN ODDEN is professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is co-director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE), a national center studying how to improve state and local education policy. He formerly was professor of education policy and administration at the University of Southern California (1984-1993) and director of Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), and from 1975-1984 held various positions at the Education Commission of the States. He was president of the American Educational Finance Association in 1979-80 and received AEFA's distinguished Service Award in 1998. His newest books are School Finance: A Policy Perspective, 4th Edition (McGraw Hill, 2008) co-authored with Lawrence O. Picus, and How to Create World Class Teacher Compensation co-authored with Marc Wallace (Freeload Press, 2007) and is available for free downloading at www.freeloadpress.com.
He is also director of a multiple-year effort on school finance adequacy in Wisconsin. Its March 2007 report entitled Moving from Good to Great in Wisconsin: Funding Schools Adequately and Doubling Student Performance is available at http://www.wcer.wisc.edu.
LUIS O. REYES, PH.D. is a visiting fellow at the Bronx Institute at Lehman College, CUNY.
In his spare time, he volunteers as coordinator of the Coalition for Educational Excellence for English Language Learners (CEEELL), based in New York City. Previously he was assistant professor in the School of Education at Hunter College, Brooklyn College and Baruch College, CUNY; and at Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus. He has a Ph.D. in Social Sciences in Education from Stanford University and an M.A. in Spanish Literature from Middlebury College. He received his B.A. from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., graduating summa cum laude and admitted to the Phi Beta Kappa Society.
He has published in the Harvard Educational Review (October 2006), the Journal of Latinos and Education (2003) and the Bilingual Research Journal (2002).
Between 1990 and 1998, Reyes served as a member of the New York City Board of Education. He chaired the board's Latino Commission on Educational Reform, which produced three reports under his leadership. Between 1982 and 1990, he was deputy director for research and advocacy at ASPIRA of New York, a youth leadership organization serving Puerto Rican and Latino youth. Reyes serves on the Board of Directors of the Citizens Union, the Latino Commission on AIDS, and the Jewish Child Care Association.
MANUEL J. RIVERA, PH.D. was appointed deputy secretary for education in January 2007. In this newly created position, Rivera serves as the administration's senior education policy adviser, overseeing the implementation of Gov. Spitzer's education reform policy. The policy couples increased funding with necessary accountability and a more transparent school aid formula.
Rivera began his career as a school teacher in the Rochester City School District in 1975 and later served as a school and district administrator. In 1991, he was first named Rochester superintendent of schools, a position he held until 1994. After serving on the management team of Edison Schools, Inc., Rivera returned to Rochester in 2002 to serve as interim superintendent. He was again appointed to the position of superintendent in April of 2003. As superintendent he led an urban school system serving more than 34,000 students in pre-K through Grade 12 and 11,000 adult students.
Rivera earned both his doctorate and his master's in education from Harvard University. He also holds a bachelor of arts in urban studies from Brandeis University.
In February 2006, Rivera was named National Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators. In 2005, he was named New York School Superintendent of the Year by the New York State Council of School Superintendents.
GENE RODRIGUEZ is coordinator of the Capital District Worker Center (CDWC). He has been in the position since December 2006. Established in 2004 with funding from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the CDWC stands with all people treated unfairly at work or affected by poverty-level employment, racism and issues such as inadequate housing and healthcare. CDWC members support, advocate and empower each other to create a more just community. A current focus is the Building Skills program that prepares workers for apprenticeship opportunities in the construction trades with teaching and mentoring from people of faith and union members.
Rodriguez's background includes 19 years at NYU Downtown Hospital where he picketed for 1199 SEIU during the 47-day strike in the early '80s. It was the hospital where he was born and where his mom worked for almost four decades both as union and management. Eventually, Rodriguez served on the hospital's labor-management committee as a management representative and handled many employee relations issues. He also served as the hospital's United Way campaign manager for over five years.
Rodriguez also worked for LSG-Skychefs at Newark Airport as the human resources manager for two kitchens where over 150 HERE members worked.
Most recently, he worked as program coordinator of Proyecto Extenderse, a health awareness initiative focusing on Latino seniors in the Amsterdam, NY area with Hispanic Outreach Services. It was here that he was able to go into a community and start communications between the community and service providers in order to increase use of available programs.
RICHARD ROTHSTEIN is a research associate of the Economic Policy Institute and an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. From 1999 to 2002 he was the national education columnist of The New York Times. He is the author of Class and Schools: Using Social, Economic and Educational Reform to Close the Black-White Achievement Gap (Teachers College Press 2004). He is also the author of The Way We Were? Myths and Realities of America's Student Achievement (1998). Other recent books include The Charter School Dust-Up: Examining the Evidence on Enrollment and Achievement (co-authored in 2005); and All Else Equal. Are Public and Private Schools Different? (co-authored in 2003). Rothstein is a board member of the American Education Finance Association, and lectures widely about education policy issues. He can be contacted at riroth@epi.org.
- See report: Rothstein: NCLB is 'dead'
DAVID F. SHAFFER is president of the Public Policy Institute, the research affiliate of the Business Council of New York State, the state's largest and most influential business association. Shaffer specializes in research, writing and public information about the political economy of New York State. He joined The Business Council in 1980 as its director of public relations. He moved to the Public Policy Institute as its executive director in 1988, and in September of 1993 he was elected its president. He also serves a staff support role for The Business Council, responsible for communications with its Board of Directors, its members and the general public. The Institute has concentrated on studies of New York State tax and fiscal policy; on education reform and accountability; on the performance of New York's economy overall; on the special economic challenges facing Upstate New York; and on containment of health-care costs. Shaffer is the co-author of the Institute's 1994 book, The Comeback State, and is the author or editor of more than two dozen research reports by the Institute, and of numerous other articles and papers. The Council has loaned his services to government for a number of projects; for example, he served on Governor Pataki's budget transition task force, led a management review of the New York State Education Department, and served on the Governor's Commission on Education Reform (the Zarb Commission). Before joining The Business Council, Shaffer worked for six years as head of the Albany Capitol office of The Associated Press, responsible for The AP's coverage of New York State government and politics. A native of Richmond, Va., he holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Duke University and a master's degree from from the Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University at Albany, State University of New York.
KAREN SCHARFF has served as the executive director of Citizen Action of New York and of the Public Policy and Education Fund of New York since 1984. Citizen Action and PPEF are statewide grassroots organizations that empower New Yorkers to fight for social, economic and racial justice, with a focus on policy change at the state level. Citizen Action has seven offices across the state and mobilizes at the local level on local state and national issues and elections.
Scharff was one of the founders of the Alliance for Quality Education, and she co-chairs AQE's statewide board. Scharff is also on the Steering Committee of the Coalition for After-School Funding, and the statewide Executive Committee of the Working Families Party.
Scharff graduated from Harvard University in 1979, and then went on to do community organizing in South Carolina and Connecticut prior to joining the staff of Citizen Action of New York in 1983.
REVEREND DR. EDWARD B. SMART has been a pastor since 1979, under the banner of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, in the Philadelphia Conference, New York Conference, and New Jersey Conference. Rev. Smart is a graduate of Penn State University and Lutheran Theological Seminary, and earned joint Masters and Doctorate degrees from Reading University. He has been elected to serve as delegate to the last three Quadrennial Conferences of the AME Church. In 2004 he was appointed to the Western New York Conference to the oldest Black Church in upstate New York, "First" Israel A.M.E. Church in Albany.
Rev. Smart is committed to ensuring that the church "makes a difference" in the community through community service and youth, education, and senior service ministry. He served as President of the New Jersey Ministers of Newark, "Fighting Back," also Founder of Clergy "Fighting Back."; the recipient of the 100 Most Influential Individuals in New Jersey awards; founder of the Carrie L. Grady Day Care Center in Newark.
Currently, Rev. Smart is chair of the Albany African American Coalition for Empowerment and the Albany "Fighting Back" Committee, organizations committed to fighting for social justice, education, and economic empowerment in the community. Other church programs include an after-school program, summer enrichment camp for low-income and homeless children, and educational initiatives designed to improve students' literacy and academic skills.
He has published eight different articles on tithing and building youth and adult leadership capacity in the church and community.
JAMES R. STONE III, ED.D. is a native of Washington, D.C., and grew up in Virginia. He worked in retail for more than 10 years before leaving that career to teach secondary marketing education in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties. He earned his B.S. and Ed.D. degrees at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a master's in school administration at George Mason University. He is a professor in the Department of Work and Human Resource Education at the University of Minnesota.
Stone was part of the team that developed the successful bid for the National Centers in Career and Technical Education (1999). He served as the deputy director of the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education with responsibilities for developing new research initiatives. He has served as director since August 2002. He has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Vocational Education Research and as editor.
Stone has been responsible for more than $20 million in external grants focusing primarily on the role of schools in linking youth and adults to the workplace. He directed or co-directed eight studies in the National Center for Research in Vocational Education. He is the lead researcher on the Math-in-CTE study of contextualizing math in occupational curricula. He has authored or co-authored more than 70 reports of research, journal articles or books.
Beyond the traditional forms of disseminating research results, Stone has worked directly with schools to improve occupationally oriented education. For example, he worked for more than five years with Oakland, Calif., Public Schools to implement a community based, school-to-work plan that included career academy development and school-based enterprises. Most recently, he has begun work with school districts and states interested in implementing the Math-in-CTE approach to curriculum integration.
PAUL D. TONKO was appointed president and CEO of New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) on July 1, 2007 by the NYSERDA Board of Directors. Prior to his appointment, Tonko served in the New York State Assembly, representing the 105th Assembly District, including all of Montgomery and part of Schenectady County, from April 1983 to June 2007.
At age 26, he was the youngest person in the history of Montgomery County to be elected to the county's Board of Supervisors. He served as chairman of that body in 1981. Prior to his election to the Assembly in 1983, Tonko was an engineer in the New York State Department of Transportation and also served on the staff of the Department of Public Service.
Tonko has gained a national reputation as an expert on energy and utility issues. From 1992 to June 2007, he served as chairman of the New York Assembly Standing Committee on Energy. In April 2007, Tonko was called upon by the Congress of the United States to provide expert testimony before the Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, in relation to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. In 2007, he was awarded the Solar Leadership Award by the New York Solar Energy Industries Association.
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ADAM URBANSKI, PH.D. is president of Rochester Teachers Association and a vice president of the American Federation of Teachers. A native of Poland, he immigrated to the United States in 1960 at the age of 14. He earned his Ph.D. in American social history from the University of Rochester. A former high school teacher and college professor, Urbanski is an active proponent of change in education. In Rochester, he proposed and designed an internship program for new teachers; a peer review intervention plan; a career ladder; and a homework hotline service for students. Urbanski is director of the Teacher Union Reform Network (TURN) aimed at creating a new vision of teachers' unions that supports needed changes in education. He was a trustee of the National Center for Education and the Economy and a senior associate to the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. He served on AFT's Task Force on the Future of Education and now chairs AFT's Democracy and International Affairs Committee. He is a recipient of Phi Delta Kappa (Rochester Chapter, 1983) Leadership in Education Award. Urbanski also served on the Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, Executive Session on "Making the System Work for Children in Poverty;" Stanford University's Educational Leadership Institute's National Advisory Board; the Federal Department of Education Board of Directors of the Fund for Improvement and Reform of Schools and Teaching; the Advisory Board of Harvard University's National Center for Educational Leadership; the Board of Advisors of "Education for Democracy/International;" the Policy Working Group at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform; the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; and the National Assessment Governing Board.
RANDI WEINGARTEN is president of the United Federation of Teachers, representing more than 160,000 active and retired educators in the New York City public school system. She is also a vice president of the American Federation of Teachers and of the New York City Central Labor Council (AFLCIO) and heads the city's Municipal Labor Committee (MLC), an umbrella organization for 100-plus city unions. From 1986 to 1998 Weingarten served as counsel to UFT President Sandra Feldman, taking a lead role in contract negotiations and enforcement and in lawsuits in which the union fought for adequate school funding and building conditions. A teacher of history at Clara Barton High School in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, from 1991 to 1997, Weingarten helped her students win several state and national awards debating constitutional issues. Elected as the union's assistant secretary in 1995 and treasurer two years later, she assumed the UFT presidency in 1998 after Feldman became president of the AFT. Under Weingarten's leadership, the UFT has fought to make sure teachers are treated with respect and dignity, have a voice in the education of their students and are given the resources they need to succeed in the classroom. Weingarten has promoted the professional growth of teachers and other educators through more than 350 school-based UFT Teacher Center sites.
Weingarten sees her role as an advocate for students as well as for union members. Her passion as leader of America's largest union local is to make every school a place where parents want to send their children and educators want to work.