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Larry Aceves is a retired school district superintendent and past president of the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA). A former teacher, principal, and superintendent, he has been dedicated to teaching and learning since 1974 when he began his career in education. He has served in school districts in San Jose, San Diego, and the Central Coast. As a school district superintendent, Aceves worked with the public and private sectors to establish programs and facilities including a free medical and dental clinic for low-income children, preschool programs, parent and community centers, parent training centers, English Language Development programs, and gang prevention training. He championed and maintained music, art, and physical education classes for all students. As president of ACSA, the largest educational leadership association in the nation, he worked with school superintendents, principals, and other educators around the state to address challenges and seek opportunities to provide students the best classroom experience possible.
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Davis Campbell , who retired as executive director of the California School Boards Association in 2001, is very active in public education at the state and local levels. He currently serves as president for the CSBA Governance Institute. He is a senior fellow at the University of California, Davis School of Education; an elected trustee on the Yolo County Board of Education; and maintains an active consulting practice in effective governance. Campbell serves on a number of state-level boards in public education including EdSource (president, 2007–10); the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning (founding chairperson); The Stuart Foundation; the Special District Leadership Foundation; The California Institute for School Improvement; and CCS, the Cities, Counties, Schools Partnership (founding board member). He also serves as a commissioner for the Yolo County Aging and Adult Services Commission and is a member of the Board of Advisors for the UCD School of Education.
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Kenneth Hall is Executive in Residence at the Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California. He has served the University for more than four years as the founding Director of the School Business Management Certificate Program, which provides school business leadership training for those who serve in business positions in California public schools. He is also Founder and Chairman Emeritus of School Services of California, Inc, which he led as President and then Chairman for thirty years. He is a member of the University of Redlands Board of Trustees and he serves on the Education Advisory Committee for the Public Policy Institute of California. He also serves as Fiscal Officer on the EdSource Board of Directors. Hall is a past Chief Deputy Director of the Department of Finance for the state of California.
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Michael W. Kirst, principal investigator for the EdSource-Stanford Middle Grades Study, is professor emeritus of education and business administration at Stanford University and an expert on student transitions. As a policy generalist, Kirst has published articles on school finance politics, curriculum politics, intergovernmental relations, and education reform policies. He is the author of 10 books, including From High School to College (2004), and The Political Dynamics of American Education (2005). Kirst was a member of the California State Board of Education (1975–1982) and its president from 1977 to 1981. He co-founded Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), and has been a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences; a member of the National Academy of Education since 1979; vice-president of the American Educational Research Association; and commissioner of the Education Commission of the States. |
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Greg Lucas has been a California political writer and satirist for more than 20 years. He's leveled his bipartisan wit and humor at both Republicans and Democrats and, not infrequently, himself. Now a freelance writer, he still covers state government shenanigans at California's Capitol, an often funny (usually intentionally) and occasionally insightful blog on California politics. Lucas has spoken to educators, business leaders and numerous trade associations about the good, bad and ugly of California politics. He has also counseled companies on improving their writing and communications. During 19 years covering the state Capitol for the San Francisco Chronicle, Lucas wrote nearly 3,000 articles on everything from presidential politics to the introduction of prune burgers in school cafeterias. He has written about gambling, transportation, health care, growth, education and nearly every DBI (Dull But Important) issue that has confronted public policy makers over the past two decades. |
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Jack Scott assumed the position of chancellor of the California Community Colleges in January 2009 after serving as a member of the California State Legislature for 12 years. The California Community Colleges serves more than 2.9 million students and is the largest system of higher education in the nation. Scott oversees the state Chancellor's Office located in Sacramento and is charged with providing leadership, advocacy and support of the community colleges and takes a lead role in representing colleges before the governor and Legislature. He is also very engaged in recent policy efforts emanating from Washington D.C. As chancellor, he allocates state and federal funding to the colleges and districts. As a state legislator, Scott authored 146 bills that were signed into law, including several key bills important to the community colleges. As a state senator, Scott served as chair of the Senate Committee on Education and the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee on Education. Prior to being elected to the State Legislature, he was president of Pasadena City College. He is also past president of the Association of California Community Colleges. |
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Robert M. Shireman is the Deputy Under Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. The Office of the Under Secretary oversees the agency's efforts to help Americans pay for college; to promote innovation and improvement in adult, career-technical and higher education; and to support student preparation and planning for education and training beyond high school. Shireman has played a leading role in the Obama Administration's efforts to simplify the federal financial aid application process, to strengthen program integrity and consumer protection, to develop strategies to increase college completion, and to improve the reliability and reach of federal grants, loans and other college aid. Prior to joining the ED in February 2009, he was president of a California-based nonprofit, the Institute for College Access and Success. The Institute’s projects included efforts to improve the effectiveness of financial aid at California community colleges and enhance accountability through better use of higher education data. Before founding the Institute, Shireman was a senior fellow at the Aspen Institute, where he convened reform, education, and business leaders for strategy discussions. Prior to Aspen, Shireman served as the program director for higher education at the James Irvine Foundation.
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Mac Taylor was appointed as Legislative Analyst in October 2008, the fifth person to serve in that capacity since the office was founded in 1941. In his 32-year career with the office, he has served in various capacities, including Program Analyst, Section Head, and, for 17 years, as Deputy to the prior Analyst, Elizabeth Hill, overseeing K–12 education among several other areas. Taylor serves as the nonpartisan fiscal advisor to both houses of the California Legislature and oversees the preparation of annual fiscal and policy analyses of the state's budget and programs. His office is also responsible for preparing impartial analyses of all initiatives and constitutional measures qualifying for the state's ballot.
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Tom Torlakson is an assembly member and was elected to a final term in the Assembly in 2008 representing California's 11th Assembly District. He previously served as a state Assembly member from 1996–2000 and in the California State Senate from 2000–2008. During his time in the Senate, he served as chair of several Senate committees including the Appropriations Committee and the Select Committee on Schools and Community. He also served
as a member of the Education Committee. A second-generation teacher, improving our state's public education system has been the top priority for Torlakson as a member of the Legislature. He has authored legislation that led to the development of the largest system of after-school programs in the nation, played a key role negotiating and authoring the $9 billion Proposition 1A bond measure and authored the Quality Education Investment Act of 2006. He has also championed legislation to increase funding for instructional materials and bills to enhance campus safety, close the digital divide, eliminate the achievement gap, improve student health, and reduce the drop-out rate. He is the chair and founder of the California Task Force on Youth and Workplace Wellness.
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Trish Williams has served as EdSource's Executive Director since 1992 and is the project director for the EdSource-Stanford Middle Grades Study. Williams also served as the study project director for both the Similar Students and the Similar English Learner Students research projects. Under Williams' leadership, EdSource has broadened the scope of education policy topics it studies, extended its mission from K–12 to K–14, diversified and significantly increased its audience reach within California and nationally, and enhanced its reputation as a unique, trusted, and credible resource for independent and impartial information on California's most important K–12 issues, including school finance. Before coming to EdSource, Williams served as a management analyst in Washington D.C. at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as a program and policy consultant to the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth.
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