Gerard and Lilo Leeds founded the Alliance for Excellent Education in December 1999, and served as the first Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively, of its Board of Directors.

In 1971, Mr. and Ms. Leeds launched CMP Media, Inc., which became a leader in providing information and Internet services for high-tech industries. The company was well known for its socially responsible policies, especially for its pioneering on-site day care center. When, in 1988, they turned the management of the company over to their sons, Mr. and Ms. Leeds turned their attention to giving back to a society that had been very good to them, principally by working to improve the education of children at risk of failure.

In 1990, the couple launched the Institute for Student Achievement (ISA), which works in partnership with low-performing school districts to help at-risk middle- and high-school students. ISA provides high schools with expert professional development, coaching, and support so that the schools can sustain a structure and environment conducive to student success. Named for Lilo Leeds' mother and father, the Caroline and Sigmund Schott Foundation works, from its headquarters in Boston, on early childhood education and care, gender equity, and education financing issues. The Leeds Family recently launched the National Academy for Excellent Teaching at Columbia University's Teacher College, which will bring together prominent faculty, experts, researchers, and outstanding teachers to reinvent how the nation can upgrade the skills and knowledge of high school educators for higher student achievement.

Refugees from Hitler's Germany, Gerry and Lilo Leeds came to the United States in 1939. Mr. Leeds holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science and an honorary doctorate from Adelphi University and a Masters of Arts and honorary doctorate from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He has taught management at Long Island University and Hofstra University, and lectures annually to MBA students on socially responsible business management. Ms. Leeds holds a BS degree in mathematics from Queens College, and a MA degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She received an honorary doctorate from Stony Brook in May 1996, and an honorary doctorate from Queens College in 1998.

Gerry and Lilo Leeds are recipients of many civic awards, including Socially Responsible Entrepreneurs of the Year, the Long Island Association Humanitarian Award, and Outstanding Philanthropists of the year for the Long Island chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives. The couple also has been honored by the Urban League of Long Island, the New York State chapter of the NAACP, the New York State United Teachers union, and the American Jewish Committee. They were cited by Newsday in its report on "100 Who Shaped a Century," and were among the 10 honorees selected by WCBS-TV for recognition in its annual "Fulfilling the Dream" celebration of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.