May 25, 2005
Speaker Biographies
James D. Donnelly, Jr. is the principal of James A. Green High School in Dolgeville, New York and the 2004 Met Life/National Association of Secondary School Principals National High School Principal of the Year. Mr. Donnelly began his career in education as a social studies teacher and has served in a number of leadership roles, including district-wide coordinator for gifted and talented students, department chairperson, assistant principal, dean of students, and regional summer school principal. He was named the School Administrators Association for New York State 2002 Secondary Principal of the Year and was one of three national finalists in 2003 for the National High School Principal of the Year. In 2004, he represented the United States in the Fulbright Administrative Exchange Program to Brazil.
Frederick M. Hess is the director of education policy studies at AEI and executive editor of Education Next. His books include Common Sense School Reform, Revolution at the Margins, Spinning Wheels, Bringing the Social Sciences Alive, Leaving No Child Behind, School Choice in the Real World, and A Qualified Teacher in Every Classroom. He currently serves, among other roles, on the review board for the Broad Prize in Urban Education and on the research advisory board for the National Center for Educational Accountability. Before joining AEI he was a public high school teacher, a professor of education and politics at the University of Virginia, and a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute.
Paul E. Peterson is a professor of government and the director of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University. He is also a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and the editor-in-chief of Education Next. Mr. Peterson formerly directed the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University and the governmental studies program at the Brookings Institution. He has authored or edited numerous articles and over twenty books, including No Child Left Behind?; The Future of School Choice; The Education Gap; Charters, Vouchers, and Public Education; City Limits; The Urban Underclass; The Price of Federalism; and Welfare Magnets. He chaired the Social Science Research Council's committee on the urban underclass and has served on many committees of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. He is also a member of an Education Department independent review panel to advise the agency in evaluating the No Child Left Behind law.
Sharon P. Robinson is the president and chief executive officer of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and the former president of the Educational Testing Service's (ETS) Educational Policy Leadership Institute. While at ETS, she served as senior vice president and chief operating officer, vice president for teaching and learning, and in the state and federal relations division. Before joining ETS, Ms. Robinson was assistant secretary with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Research and Improvement and also held a variety of leadership positions at the National Education Association. She serves on the board of trustees for the Alfred Harcourt Foundation, the supplemental education task force of Columbia University, and on the board of directors for Jobs for America’s Graduates.
In 2000, Jon Schnur co-founded New Leaders for New Schools, a national non-profit organization with the mission of recruiting, training, and supporting the next generation of leaders in urban public schools. He currently serves as chief executive officer. Before co-founding New Leaders, Mr. Schnur was special assistant to Secretary of Education Richard Riley, White House associate director for educational policy under President Clinton, and senior advisor on education to Vice President Gore.
Julie Underwood is chair of the National Policy Board for Educational Administration and general counsel and associate executive director of the National School Boards Association. She was formerly dean of the School of Education and Allied Professions at Miami University and professor, department chair, and associate dean at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has coauthored seven books and has written numerous articles appearing in both education and law journals. She has written widely on religion in public schools, special education law, and school finance. Ms. Underwood often speaks across the country on legal issues in education and is a frequent guest on National Public Radio.
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