Anthony Carnevale currently serves as director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Between 1996 and 2006, Dr. Carnevale served as vice president for public leadership at the Educational Testing Service (ETS). While at ETS, he was appointed by President George Bush to serve on the White House Commission on Technology and Adult Education.

Milton Chen is senior fellow and executive director, emeritus at the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF), a nonprofit operating foundation in the San Francisco Bay Area that utilizes its multimedia website, Edutopia.org, and documentary films to communicate a new vision for twenty-first-century schools. Dr. Chen has served as executive director of GLEF for twelve years. During his tenure, GLEF and Edutopia greatly expanded their editorial publishing efforts, including the award-winning Edutopia magazine. Edutopia.org is known as a destination website for educators and others interested in educational innovation and has won numerous honors, including the 2009 Webby People’s Voice Award for best education website.

Christopher T. Cross is chairman of Cross & Joftus, LLC, an education policy consulting firm. Mr. Cross also serves as a consultant to the Broad Foundation and the C.S. Mott Foundation. He has served as a senior fellow with the Center for Education Policy and as a distinguished senior fellow with the Education Commission of the States.

David P. Driscoll is former commissioner of education for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He has worked in public education and educational leadership for most of his adult life. A former secondary school mathematics teacher, Dr. Driscoll was named assistant superintendent of Melrose, Massachusetts's schools in 1972 and then superintendent in 1984. He served in that role until 1993 when he was appointed Massachusetts's deputy commissioner of education. Dr. Driscoll became interim commissioner of education on July 1, 1998, and was named commissioner on March 10, 1999.

As president of Editorial Projects in Education (EPE), Virginia “Ginny” Edwards oversees the ninety-person, $14.5 million-a-year nonprofit corporation that publishes Education Week and edweek.org. She has held the post since 1997.

John Jackson became the president and chief executive officer of the Schott Foundation for Public Education in July 2007 after seven years in leadership positions at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), during which he served as its chief policy officer and, prior to that, the national director of education. In his role at the Schott Foundation, Dr. Jackson leads its efforts to ensure a high-quality public education for all students regardless of race or gender.

Arthur E. Levine is the sixth president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Before his appointment at Woodrow Wilson, he was president and professor of education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Levine served previously as chair of the higher education program, chair of the Institute for Educational Management, and senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Mark Morial is chief executive officer of the National Urban League, the nation’s largest civil rights organization. In a distinguished professional career that has spanned twenty-five years, Mr. Morial has served as an entrepreneur, lawyer, professor, legislator, mayor, and president of U.S. Conference of Mayors, and is one of the most accomplished servant-leaders in the nation.

Thomas W. Payzant is currently a professor of practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Prior to that, he served as superintendent of the Boston Public Schools from October of 1995 until his retirement in June of 2006. Before coming to Boston, Dr. Payzant was appointed by President Clinton to serve as assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education at the U.S. Department of Education.

Terry K. Peterson is director of the Afterschool and Community Learning Network. He also serves as chairperson of the board of directors for the After School Alliance and is senior fellow for policy and partnerships at the College of Charleston. Dr. Peterson serves on the executive committee of the National Center for Summer Learning at John Hopkins University, the Council for Corporate and School Partnerships, and the Mayor of Charleston's School Reform Committee. He is involved in international education efforts, most recently in Argentina, Mongolia, Brazil, Northern Ireland, South Korea, and Denmark.

Raymond C. Pierce is a partner with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Raleigh. Previously, he was dean of the North Carolina Central University School of Law from 2005-2011.

Hugh B. Price is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, the nation’s oldest think tank. His activities include writing and editing books, preparing policy briefs, and convening roundtables on topics of longstanding interest, such as education, civil rights, equal opportunity, and criminal justice.

Richard W. Riley is currently a senior partner in the law firm of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, a distinguished professor and advisory board chair of the Richard W. Riley Institute of Government Politics and Public Leadership at Furman University, a distinguished professor at the University of South Carolina, and distinguished senior fellow at NAFSA Association of International Educators. He is also former U.S. Secretary of Education and former governor of South Carolina.

Jon Schnur is cofounder of America Achieves, a new national alliance working to improve education for all kids. Previously, Mr. Schnur cofounded and served as chief executive officer of New Leaders for New Schools, a national nonprofit organization focused on ensuring high academic achievement for every student by attracting and preparing outstanding leaders and supporting the performance of the urban public schools they lead at scale. As cofounder of New Leaders, Mr. Schnur led the development of the organization’s goals, metrics, and strategy, as well as the management team, board, core values, partnerships, and fundraising.

Susan Sclafani joined the Pearson Foundation in January 2011 as vice president of programs. Just prior to that, she served as director of state services at the National Center on Education and the Economy. Before that, she was with Chartwell Education Group, an international consulting group. She also served as assistant secretary of education for vocational and adult education from 2003 to 2005 in the U.S. Department of Education (ED).

Rosa A. Smith is the regional education director for New Leaders for New Schools (NLNS). In this role, she supports the mission to ensure high academic achievement for every student by attracting and preparing outstanding leaders and supporting the performance of the urban public schools they lead.

Valerie Woodruff has served as secretary of education for the state of Delaware since July 1999, when she was appointed in the acting capacity by former Governor Tom Carper. She was subsequently confirmed by the state Senate and then reappointed by Governor Ruth Ann Minner. Prior to being appointed secretary of education, Ms. Woodruff served as the associate secretary for curriculum and instructional improvement for the Delaware Department of Education. She has been a teacher, counselor, assistant principal, and principal in high schools in both Maryland and Delaware.