Michael Feinberg is cofounder of the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) Foundation and superintendent of KIPP Houston, which includes two middle schools, an early childhood and elementary school, and a high school. As a Teach For America alumnus in Houston, he began KIPP in 1994 with David Levin and established KIPP Academy Houston one year later. Today, KIPP is a network of over forty-five high-performing schools around the nation, and has been featured in numerous media publications. In 2006, Mr. Feinberg and Mr. Levin were awarded the Thomas B. Fordham Prize for Excellence in Education and the National Jefferson Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen.
Frederick M. Hess is a resident scholar and director of education policy studies at AEI, and executive editor of Education Next. His most recent books include Educational Entrepreneurship (Harvard Education Press, 2006), Tough Love for Schools (AEI Press, 2006), With the Best of Intentions (Harvard Education Press, 2005), and Common Sense School Reform (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004). His work has also appeared in numerous academic and popular publications. Mr. Hess currently serves on the review board for the Broad Prize in Urban Education and as a research associate with the Harvard University Program on Education Policy and Governance. He is a former high school social studies teacher and professor of education and government at the University of Virginia.
Michelle Rhee is chief executive officer and president of The New Teacher Project (TNTP). In 1992, she joined Teach For America and began her teaching career at Harlem Park Community School in Baltimore. Her success in the classroom there earned her acclaim on Good Morning America and The Home Show, as well as in the Wall Street Journal and the Hartford (Conn.) Courant. Intent on having a greater impact on systemic education reform, she began TNTP in 1997. Since its creation, TNTP has become a national organization with ninety full-time staff members, and has recruited over 13,000 new teachers for hard-to-staff public schools nationwide.
Chris Whittle is founder and chief executive officer of Edison Schools, and author of Crash Course: A Radical Plan for Improving Public Education (Riverhead Books, 2005). Before founding Edison Schools in 1992, he was founder and chairman of Whittle Communications, one of America’s largest student publishers. In 1989, he launched Channel One, the first national electronic news system, which today serves 12,000 middle and high schools nationwide, providing eight million students with domestic and international news each morning. The company was sold to K-III Communications in 1994. From 1979 to 1986, Mr. Whittle was also chairman and publisher of Esquire magazine.
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