January 2010 Leadership Institute Bios
Presenter Biographies -- January 2010 Leadership Institute
Helen Blank
Helen Blank is Director of Leadership and Public Policy, working on child care and early education issues, at the National Women's Law Center.
Previously Ms. Blank served 24 years as the director of the Child Care and Development Division at the Children's Defense Fund. While at the Children's Defense Fund, Ms. Blank spearheaded a variety of efforts for improved early learning legislation. In an effort to pass the Act for Better Child Care, the first comprehensive federal child care legislation, she organized the Alliance for Better Child Care. Additionally she developed a guide for the implementation of the legislation that was enacted, the Child Care and Development Block Grant, that was widely used by state policymakers and child care leaders. In 1991, she led an effective campaign to convince the Bush administration to issue regulations for the Child Care and Development Block Grant that allowed states to use the new federal funds in the best interests of children. She was also a leader in efforts to expand and improve the child care provisions in welfare reform, subsequently developing a guide to assist states in implementing the provisions. In addition, she created the Child Care Now!? Campaign, an ongoing initiative, which attempts to focus attention on early care and education
She has authored and co-authored numerous major studies and reports on state child care policies including A Center Piece of the Child Care Puzzle; Providing Prekindergarten in Child Care Centers; Getting Organized: Unionizing Home-Based Child Care Providers; Close to Home: State Strategies to Strengthen and Support Family, Friend and Neighbor Care, In Their Own Voices: Parents and Providers Struggling with Child Care Cuts; Working Together for Children: Head Start and Child Care Partnerships; Seeds of Success: Pre-Kindergarten Initiatives; and A Fragile Foundation: State Child Care Assistance Policies, and numerous articles and papers on child care policies.
While at CDF, she created and led the Emerging Leaders Program for up and coming leaders in early care and education and at the National Women's Law Center co-directs PLAN, the Progressive Leadership and Advocacy Network for emerging leaders focusing on issues affecting low-income women and their families.
Prior to her work at the Children's Defense Fund, she spent two years at the Child Welfare League of America where she was instrumental in the development of child welfare reform legislation. Working with the National Child Nutrition Project, she directed a model food stamp outreach campaign in the Washington Metropolitan area that increased food stamp participation, and resulted in major improvements in the administration of the program in several local jurisdictions. In addition, she helped advocate for replication of this campaign in a number of states.
Ms. Blank is a member of Teach for America's Early Childhood Advisory Board, the T.E.A.C.H.?Early Childhood Advisory Committee, the Child Care Food Program Sponsors' Forum, and the Advisory Board for LISC, the Local Initiative Support Corporation.
Ms. Blank has a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Michigan and a Master's Degree in Urban Planning from Hunter College of the City University of New York.
Suzanne Burnette
Suzanne Burnette is the State Director of New Jersey Head Start Collaboration Project, and is located in the NJ Department of Education; Division of Early Childhood Education. As the State Director, Ms Burnette is responsible for facilitating and enhancing coordination and collaboration between Head Start agencies and other state and local entities that provide comprehensive services designed to benefit low-income children from birth to age five and their families, as well as pregnant women. In her role, Ms Burnette has established the NJ Pediatric Oral Health Committee and led the development of the Statewide Pediatric Oral Health Plan for children birth to age five. She worked with the New Jersey's Governor's Office in developing the Executive Order for the creation of the New Jersey Council for Young Children, signed on January 6, 2010.
She has also served on the New Jersey National Governor's Association Grant (NGA) core team; co-chaired the NJ NGA Finance Subcommittee, NJ BUILD committee, and Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems team (ECCS); and is certified as a Master Trainer for the Center on Social and Emotional Foundation for Early Learning.
She has a BS degree in Special and Elementary Education, and MA degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Early Childhood Education from Delaware State University.
Kevin Carnes
Kevin Carnes, President of the Educational Division at Lakeshore Learning Materials, has been with Lakeshore for over 30 years, beginning in Northern California when Lakeshore was strictly a small, California-based company.
Kevin has been actively involved in helping Lakeshore expand nationwide, and in promoting Lakeshore's unique brand to educators around the world. From what was once a small regional school supply company, Lakeshore now has over 50 stores, 45 sales reps, and 2000 employees. Lakeshore can boast that they are now the largest retail operation in the Educational Materials and School Supply Business.
After college and prior to joining Lakeshore, Kevin was a VISTA volunteer for over two years in the Omaha, Nebraska area, working with the Head Start and Parent Involvement community. Because of this experience, Kevin discovered and understood the value of a quality early childhood education.
Because of this understanding, Kevin has also been a workshop presenter at the National Association for the Education of Young Children for 15 years, as well as a keynote speaker for conferences all over the country.
In addition to his other many duties, Kevin serves or has served on numerous boards and committees including:
• Founding member, World Forum and Quality Early Education Foundation
• Founding board member, Association for Work Life Benefits
• Member, NAEYC National Membership Committee
• Founding Board Member, Californians for the Support of Early Education
Not only is Kevin concerned about the health and viability of quality early childhood programs, Kevin has been the catalyst for Lakeshore to provide better service to Educators at large. Kevin has been influential in enhancing Lakeshore's ability to intelligently market to the educational community, communicate market needs to the decision makers at Lakeshore, thus providing better service to Lakeshore's customers.
Kevin has also helped take Lakeshore to the International Market by participating in the Nuremberg International Toy Fair, the worlds largest Toy and Educational Materials show, for many years, forging relationships with international buyers; as well as furthering international relationships through organizations like the World Forum on Early Care and Education.
Recently, Kevin was also instrumental in helping to bring Lakeshore's onsite childcare for employee's children, Kids & Company, into the outdoor classroom movement. At this time, Lakeshore is very proud to announce that Kids and Company is now one of 25 officially certified Nature Explore classrooms in the United States.
Yvette Sanchez Fuentes
Yvette Sanchez Fuentes brings extensive experience in providing services to young children from low-income families at the local, regional, and national level to her appointment as the Director of the Office of Head Start. In her role as Director, Ms. Sanchez Fuentes will help lead ACF's critically important mission of enriching the quality of early childhood development for our nation's most vulnerable children.
Prior to her appointment, Ms. Sanchez Fuentes served as the Executive Director of the National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association (NMSHSA). She worked with early education services, policies and resources for migrant and seasonal farm worker children and their families.
Before joining NMSHSA, Yvette worked for the Education Development Center where she was the Early Childhood Specialist for the International Systems Division and provided technical assistance to projects in Honduras, El Salvador, and Egypt.
Ms. Sanchez Fuentes has served as a National Head Start Fellow where she provided consultation in literacy, parent education, child care collaborations, and program improvement to Migrant and Seasonal Head Start and other early childhood education programs nationwide.
Early in her career, Ms. Sanchez Fuentes managed services for a large migrant and seasonal program for staff development and family child care initiatives. She received her B.A. in Liberal Arts from California State Polytechnic University.
Myra Peabody Gossens
As an experienced business planning and communications advisor, Myra Peabody Gossens is a valued partner to the leadership of a diverse client base of corporations and businesses, nonprofit organizations and institutions. Her clients are in the fields of the arts and humanities, finance, real estate, education, healthcare, philanthropy, community revitalization, human services, business and technology.
Sampling of clients served: Sundance Institute, The Brookings Institution, National Head Start Association, J. Paul Getty Trust, Discovery Communications, Studley, a number of universities including Georgetown, Syracuse, George Washington, Miami and North Carolina, The Newseum, John Akridge Company, KnowledgePlex, Inc., United Way of the National Capital Region, Museum of Modern Art, Disney Hall/LA Philharmonic, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Stonebridge Associates, Pew Charitable Trust, Meyer Foundation, Council on Foundations.
In April 2002, Ms. Gossens founded MPG Advisors, a strategic consulting firm that uses communications to link vision with realistic and successful implementation. The company's process takes clients through aggressive business strategic planning, positioning and communications initiatives that result in new levels of connectivity with internal stakeholder and external customer and partner audiences. These relationships result in new customers, clients and stakeholders, increased philanthropic and corporate support, greater and more accurate visibility and positioning, stronger boards of directors and aligned and motivated leadership teams.
From 1991 until 2002, Ms. Gossens was Executive Director of Ruder Finn Washington, one of the largest independent public relations firms in the world. She founded Peabody Fitzpatrick Communications in 1980 in Washington and served for 11 years as managing principal of the firm through its growth and expansion to Raleigh, North Carolina. She and her partners merged the firm with Ruder Finn in 1991.
Ms. Gossens recently was named one of the Washington Business Journal's Top 50 "Women Who Mean Business," an honor bestowed for the first time in 2004 on the region's most powerful women executives. Washington Women in PR named her "PR Woman of the Year" in 1991, and she is a frequent speaker on leadership, business and communications.
She currently serves as chair of the board of Jubilee Housing, an organization that provides affordable housing and community life services to low income residents of the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington. Recently, Ms. Gossens co-chaired "The Campaign for the New Jubilee," a successful effort to raise $5 million to help renovate all eight of the buildings owned by Jubilee Housing. In May 2006, Ms. Gossens received the Jim and Patty Rouse Award from the Jubilee Support Alliance for her volunteer service to Jubilee Housing which spans over 26 years.
Ms. Gossens also serves on the boards of The Helen Hayes Awards and Cultural Tourism DC. She is past chair of the board of Jubilee Enterprise of Greater Washington and is past president of the Board of Leadership Washington and a graduate of the class of 1987. She has served on the Greater DC Cares Board, the Gallaudet University Board of Advisors, the Washington Business Journal Board of Advisors, and the boards and executive committees of the Greater Washington Board of Trade and the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives Foundation.
She is former National Director of Communications for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation and Director of Community Affairs for the City of Atlanta Department of Community and Human Development.
Ms. Gossens received a BA in Journalism from the University of Georgia.
Jacqueline Jones
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan named Jacqueline Jones as Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Early Learning. Dr. Jones is the former Assistant Commissioner for the Division of Early Childhood Education in the New Jersey State Department of Education, where oversaw standards, curriculum and assessment for preschool through 3rd grade programs statewide.
Prior to joining the NJ Department of Education, Dr. Jones worked for 15 years in the Research Division at Educational Testing Service in Princeton, NJ. As a Senior Research Scientist and the Director of Early Childhood Research and Development, her work focused on the study of assessment in early childhood, specifically the development of classroom-based strategies to document young children's science and literacy learning. Dr. Jones has written in the area of early childhood assessment and is particularly interested in the development of effective early childhood assessment systems for school districts and states. Her work also explores the role of documentation and assessment in the ongoing professional development of early childhood educators.
Dr. Jones has given presentations across the country and has served on a number of national advisory committees including the National Head Start Research Advisory Committee, the Pew National Early Childhood Accountability Task Force and the National Research Council's Committee on Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for Young Children. She received a BA from Hunter College and MA and Ph.D. from Northwestern University.
Gayle L. Kelly
Gayle L. Kelly is the executive director for the Minnesota Head Start Association, bringing more than 23 years of experience in leading and evaluating health and educational programs targeting low-income children and families.
Kelly, a graduate of College of St. Benedict (B.S., 1980), earned her masters degree from Cornell University in maternal/child nutrition and program evaluation in 1986. Prior to accepting the role of executive director for the Minnesota Head Start Association in 2001, she worked for Cornell University and later the Tufts University's Center on Hunger, Poverty and Nutrition Policy to strengthen federal child nutrition programs in low-income communities through the development of public/private partnerships.
As executive director for MHSA, Gayle Kelly has been actively engaged in statewide collaborative initiatives to reduce educational and health disparities for families with young children growing up in poverty in Minnesota. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Community Action Partnership and works in close partnership advocating jointly on behalf of low-income families. Ms. Kelly represents the Head Start community on statewide early childhood consortiums and planning committees in its special focus areas including Ready 4K, Oral Health Care Solutions Project, ABCD II/Great Start MN, Center on Excellence in Children's Mental Health and the Center for Early Education and Development Advisory Committee.
Joan Lombardi
Joan Lombardi, Ph.D. is the Deputy Assistant Secretary and Inter-Departmental Liaison for Early Childhood Development, Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In this role she provides overall policy coordination for the Head Start and Early Head Start Program and the Child Care and Development Fund, as well as serving as the liaison with the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agencies.
Dr. Lombardi has spent almost four decades dedicated to the needs of young children and their families. She has served as an advisor to a number of foundations, national and international organizations, helping to create innovative policies to improve the conditions for children and families. She served as the founding chair of the Birth to Five Policy, a group of national organizations dedicated to shifting the odds for at risk children ages 0-5. Joan served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and External Affairs in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the Clinton Administration and as the first Director of the Child Care Bureau.
She is the author of numerous publications including : Time to Care: Redesigning Child Care to Promote Education, Support Families and Build Communities (Temple University Press, 2003) and co-editor of A Beacon of Hope: The Promise of Early Head Start for America's Youngest Children (Zero To Three Press, 2004). In 2004, Joan launched the Global Leaders for Young Children program in partnership with The World Forum Foundation which has provided leadership support to early education leaders around the world.
Anne Walsh Mitchell
Anne Walsh Mitchell, MS is the president of Early Childhood Policy Research, an independent consulting firm in upstate New York specializing in evaluation, policy analysis and planning on early care and education. Previously she was Associate Dean of the Research Division at Bank Street College of Education in New York City, where she founded Bank Street's graduate program in Early Childhood Leadership and co-directed the first national study of public schools as providers of programs for children under six. Anne co-founded (with Louise Stoney) the Alliance for Early Childhood Finance, a learning community on finance reform and system-building for early care and education.
Anne has conducted nationwide studies of state and local prekindergarten policy and early care and education finance. She has written widely on child care and early education policy and practice including Early Childhood Programs and the Public Schools: Between Promise and Practice; and Explorations with Young Children: A Curriculum Guide from Bank Street College of Education. She co-authored the 1997 and 2001 editions of Financing Child Care in the United States: Catalog of Current Strategies. Recent reports and books include: The Status of Preschool Policy in the States 2001; Comparison of Current Publicly Funded State Initiatives for Compensation and Retention; Education for all Young Children: The Role of States and the Federal Government in Promoting Prekindergarten and Kindergarten, a Foundation for Child Development Working Paper; The Price of School Readiness: A Tool for Estimating the Cost of Universal Preschool in the States; Success Stories: State Investment in Early Care and Education in Illinois, North Carolina and Rhode Island; Stair Steps to Quality: A Guide for State and Communities Developing Quality Rating Systems for Early Care and Education; and Using Tax Credits to Promote High Quality Early Care and Education Services: An Idea Paper Submitted to the Partnership for America's Economic Success.
Anne began her early childhood career thirty-five years ago as the teacher-director of a child care center in a low-income housing development in Cambridge, MA. She received her B.S. degree (1972) in astronomy from Wellesley College, her M.S. degree (1988) in early childhood education leadership from Bank Street College of Education and an honorary certificate in Early Childhood Leadership Development (1995) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is married and the mother of a 25-year-old daughter who has experienced many forms of nurturing education throughout her life. Anne is serving her fifth 3-year term as an elected member of the Greenville (NY) Board of Education, has served as its president and is now vice president. She completed five years on the State Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching appointed by the New York State Board of Regents, and is the immediate Past-President of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. In 2003, Anne received the Champion for Children award from the New York State Association for the Education of Young Children. In 2005, Anne received the Bank Street College Alumni Association Recognition Award and the Early Childhood Achievement Award from Scholastic, Inc. In 2007, she received the Visionary Award from the National Louis University's McCormick Tribune Center for Early Childhood Leadership. In 2008, Anne received the Excellence in Leadership award from the New York State Child Care Coordinating Council.
Caitlin Morris
Caitlin Morris is a Director within the recently formed "Mobilize" Group of Sustainable Business and Innovation at Nike. In this role, Ms. Morris focuses on integrated strategies with a wide range of external stakeholders that promote social and economic development.
Between April 2005 and June 2009, Caitlin Morris served as Nike's Compliance Director of Integration and Collaboration. As a member of the Global Compliance leadership team, Ms. Morris had direct responsibility for managing multi-stakeholder platforms that seek to elevate working conditions across the global supply chain and led the Compliance strategy for overall stakeholder engagement.
Caitlin Morris joined Nike in August 2003 as Senior Manager, Global Issues Management. Prior to joining Nike, Ms. Morris worked at Mattel for seven years in a variety of roles within Corporate Communications, Government Affairs and Corporate Responsibility. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia, with a B.A. in history.
Loukisha Smart Pennix
Loukisha Smart-Pennix, Director of Children Services with the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, is responsible for the City's Head Start, Early Head Start and Child Care management systems. Ms. Pennix has worked in the field of Head Start for over 18 years and has been with the City since 2000. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Applied Behavioral Sciences/Psychology from National Louis University.
Orson C. Porter
Orson Porter currently serves as the U.S Director of Government and Public Affairs for Nike, Inc., the world's largest fitness company. In his capacity Mr. Porter helps manage Nike's legislative goals, policies and political outreach.
Prior to joining Nike, Mr. Porter was appointed by President William Jefferson Clinton as Special Assistant to The President serving as the White House Midwest Political Director. Mr. Porter advised the President, the Vice President and senior staff on national and local issues, with particular emphasis on the Midwest region of the United States. In this role, he prepared briefs for the President and senior staff focusing on the daily political activities in the Midwest region and how these activities impacted the Administration's major policies and initiatives. To successfully complete his duties, he interfaced regularly with members of Congress, Governors, state and local elected officials and other constituencies. Additionally, he coordinated political events and served as the chief political liaison when traveling with the President or Vice President. Also, Mr. Porter served as the President's personal aide for various events and travel.
Before his appointment to The White House, Mr. Porter worked for Milwaukee Mayor John O. Norquist, where he served as the city's principal federal liaison. In this capacity, he effectively lobbied members of Congress and the administration for millions in federal support for key community enhancements projects, block grants, law enforcement, transportation funding and public housing.
Call to Service
Mr. Porter remains committed to building bridges back to his hometown community in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is a champion for the world-renowned America's Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee where he served on the board for several years. The Museum strives to educate citizens, particularly youth, on preserving the history of lynching in the United States and the struggle for equality. Currently, Mr. Porter serves on the Rail~Volution Board of Directors. Its mission is to provide a forum that engages the public to build collaboratively build a diverse coalition dedicated to creating livable communities with transit, through education, advocacy and increasing overall funding for transit. He also serves on development boards for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. In 2004, he was honored by the Congressional Black Caucus Spouses for his service and dedication towards the foundation. In 2006, Mr. Porter was featured on The CLIO Exchange cable television show which showcases local leaders in the mid Atlantic region. The Exchange highlighted Mr. Porter's career in public service and highlighted his recent efforts to provide opportunity for kids the ability to play and live an active life.
Public Policy and Education
Mr. Porter has led numerous municipal, state and national victorious political campaigns. Mr. Porter has published several articles on community service and has given various lectures on political trends and government outreach. Currently, Mr. Porter serves on the Board of Director of the Young Democrats of America, which seeks to mobilize young people under the age of 36 to participate in the electoral process and develops the skills of the youth generation to serve as leaders at the local and national level.
In 1999, he was selected to participate in the highly competitive European Union Visitors Programme. This program elects national leaders from non-member countries to visit the European Union as guests of the European Parliament and the European Commission to discuss matters of mutual interest. During his Programme, he traveled to Brussels, Belgium and Rome, Italy.
A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he attended the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater where he majored in Journalism and Communications.
Anthony Raden
Anthony Raden is Deputy Commissioner for Policy for the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services. Previously, he was the Associate Director of the Columbia University Institute for Child and Family Policy. A developmental psychologist with an extensive background in research and policy analysis, Dr. Raden's professional activities have focused on the development, implementation and evaluation of programs and policies for children at-risk due to poverty, violence or maltreatment. He has authored several prominent publications and evaluations and has served as a consultant to many local and national organizations, including the Foundation for Child Development, the National Health Policy Forum, the Connecticut Commission on Children, and PBS's Fred Friendly Seminars. He currently serves on the board or executive steering committee of the Illinois Childhood Trauma Coalition (ICTC), the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago's Children (CLOCC), the Illinois Early Learning Council (ELC), Chicago Metro Association for the Education of Young Children (CMAEYC), and the Center for Human Potential and Public Policy at the University of Chicago. Dr. Raden also co-chairs the state of Illinois' Space Capacity Committee, which is charged with increasing space and facilities in Illinois communities to serve children in high quality preschool and Head Start classrooms. Dr. Raden is a graduate of the University of Michigan and received his Ph.D in Developmental Psychology from Yale University.
Colleen Rathgeb
Colleen Rathgeb is Director of the Policy at the Office of Head Start (OHS). Colleen brings broad experience in early childhood policy, research and programs to this role. She has been working as a Senior Analyst in OHS, involved in implementing the provisions of the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007, including the designation renewal of grantees and the CLASS (Classroom Assessment Scoring System). Colleen has also worked in early childhood policy and research with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning & Evaluation at HHS. She began her career with Builders for Family and Youth Head Start in Brooklyn, NY where she was an assistant director for collaboration and as assistant director for health, social services, and parent involvement. Colleen received her MPP in child and family policy from the University of Chicago.
Christina Satkowski
Christina Satkowski is a former program associate with the Early Education Initiative at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C. She focused on policies to improve access, quality, and alignment in prekindergarten through third grade.
Prior to joining New America, Ms. Satkowski was a researcher at "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" on PBS, where she also wrote for NewsHour Extra, an online news site for teachers and students. She also spent three summers teaching in the Italian language immersion program of Concordia Language Villages in Minnesota. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wellesley College, Ms. Satkowski holds a B.A. degree in International Relations. She also studied political economy at the London School of Economics and is currently a graduate student at Georgetown University.
Lillian Sugarman
Lillian Sugarman is Project Director of the Early Head Start National Resource Center (EHS NRC) @ ZERO TO THREE. Her work at EHS NRC includes the management planning and implementation of all aspects of the EHS NRC. She is extremely proud of the work of the EHS NRC which includes the annual Birth To Three Institute, many written technical assistant products, audio conferences, webinars, webcasts, on-line lessons and Orientation conferences for new EHS programs. She works closely with the Office of Head Start staff and other members of the Head Start birth-to-five community to help promote and support the national agenda for very young children and their families. Preceding her directorship, she served as Assistant Director of the EHS NRC for a period of four years.
Before joining the staff at ZERO TO THREE, Ms. Sugarman served as Director of the Child Care Bureau's Technical Assistance Division where she had responsibility for managing several national technical assistance contracts funded by the Child Care Bureau.
Ms. Sugarman has over 40 years of experience in various aspects of early care and education settings as well as a personal and professional place in the disability services community. Her involvement with Head Start includes being a classroom teacher; director of several pre-school centers in Washington DC; community representative on the Policy Council of a Migrant Head Start grantee: program reviewer and a Head Start Program Specialist in Region III ACF office. Her work has also included several years addressing the professional development needs of staff in early care including working with the Child Development Associate credentialing program and adjunct faculty for Bank Street College of Education..
Ms. Sugarman holds a Master's of Art degree in Early Childhood Education and Master of Social Work degree.
Gerrit Westervelt
Gerrit Westervelt is Executive Director of the Build Initiative, a project created by the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative to help states create comprehensive early childhood systems. Build provides selected states (currently IL, MI, MN, NJ, NY, OH, PA, and WA) with financial support, tailored technical assistance, a peer-to-peer Learning Community, conferences, reports and other services designed to help them meet the needs of children and families. Prior to his tenure at Build, Gerrit spent six years leading Qualistar Early Learning (formerly Educare Colorado), providing quality ratings, improvement strategies and parental support for early childhood across Colorado. For nine years Gerrit was Director of State Relations for the Education Commission of the States, a Denver-based national nonprofit that helps state policymakers improve PreK-16 education. He has also served as an education lobbyist and fiscal policy analyst in New York State. Gerrit holds a bachelor's degree in Communications from Ithaca College, a Master's in Political Science from the University at Albany, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Colorado. He and his wife, Teresa Lawlor, are the proud parents of twins Evan and Aidan.