The Broad Prize Review Board
A distinguished group of the country’s top educational leaders serves as the Review Board for The Broad Prize. Review Board members examine performance indicators, demographic statistics and other information about the urban school districts that are eligible for The Broad Prize. Based on their examination, the Review Board narrows the list of 75 eligible school districts to the four finalists.
A separate Selection Jury determines the winner from among the four finalists.
> Learn more about the data analyzed by the Review Board
2011 Broad Prize Review Board Members
Anne L. Bryant
Executive Director, National School Boards Association
Anne L. Bryant is the executive director of the National School Boards Association, a national federation of state school board associations. Bryant also is on the board of directors of Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) and was the Association Trends Executive of the Year in 2005.
Carl A. Cohn
Co-Director, Urban Leadership Program, Claremont Graduate University
Former Superintendent, San Diego Unified School District
Former Superintendent, Long Beach Unified School District, Calif.
Carl A. Cohn is co-director of the Urban Leadership Program and clinical professor in the School of Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University. From 2005 to 2007, he served as superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District. Previously, he was a clinical professor at the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California and served as federal court monitor for the special education consent decree in the Los Angeles Unified School District. From 1992-2002, he served as superintendent of the Long Beach Unified School District, which won the 2003 Broad Prize.
Christopher Cross
Chairman, Cross & Joftus
Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education
Christopher Cross formed Cross & Joftus, LLC in 2004 to provide education leaders with personalized and expert assistance in policy analysis and development, evaluation, executive coaching, planning and communication strategies. Cross is a former senior fellow with the Center on Education Policy and with the Education Commission of the States. Previously, he served as president and CEO of the Council for Basic Education and as an assistant secretary of education under President George H.W. Bush.
Jo Lynne DeMary
Director, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education Center for School Improvement
Former Superintendent of Public Instruction, State of Virginia
Jo Lynne DeMary is Virginia’s former superintendent of public instruction and currently serves as director of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education Center for School Improvement and as an affiliate professor in the school’s Department of Educational Leadership. With more than 35 years of experience in public education, DeMary has served as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, elementary school supervisor, director of special education and assistant superintendent of public schools.
Charles Desmond
Chairman, Massachusetts Board of Higher Education
Charles Desmond was appointed chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education by Governor Deval Patrick in 2008. Desmond previously served as the executive vice president of the Massachusetts-based Trefler Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to improving educational opportunities for Boston’s urban youth. He also was on the steering committee of Urban Serving Universities, a national network of 19 urban universities, and he previously served as associate chancellor at the University of Massachusetts.
Dan Goldhaber
Research Professor, University of Washington Bothell’s Center on Reinventing Public Education
Dan Goldhaber is a research professor at the University of Washington Bothell’s Center on Reinventing Public Education, an affiliated scholar at the Urban Institute’s Education Policy Center and a senior non-resident fellow at Education Sector. He also serves as the principal investigator of the Washington team for the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER). Goldhaber previously served as an elected member of the Alexandria, Va. City School Board from 1997-2002.
Peter C. Groff
President and CEO, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Peter C. Groff is president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. He was previously director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Education and the founder and executive director of the University of Denver’s Center for New Politics and Policy. Groff was the 47th president of the Colorado State Senate, the first African-American in Colorado to hold that post.
Jane Hannaway
Vice President, American Institutes for Research
Director, Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data
Jane Hannaway is vice president of the American Institutes for Research in Washington, D.C. and director of the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER), which focuses on analyses of state longitudinal student- and teacher-level administrative databases, particularly analyses associated with teacher labor markets. Hannaway previously served as founding director of the Education Policy Center at the Urban Institute and on the faculty of Columbia, Princeton and Stanford universities.
Eric Hanushek
Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution of Stanford University
Eric "Rick" Hanushek is the Paul and Jean Hanna senior fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. Hanushek is also chairman of the executive committee for the Texas Schools Project at the University of Texas at Dallas, a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a board member of the National Board for Education Sciences.
Karen Hawley Miles
Executive Director and Founder, Education Resource Strategies
Karen Hawley Miles is executive director and founder of Education Resource Strategies, specializing in strategic planning, organization and resource allocation in urban public school districts. She has taught school leaders at Harvard University, in school districts, with New Leaders for New Schools, and with The Broad Institute for School Boards. Previously, she was a strategy and management consultant for hospitals and corporations at Bain & Company.
Frederick Hess*
Resident Scholar and Director of Education Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute
Frederick Hess is director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute and author of several books on schooling and education reform. Hess is also executive editor of the journal Education Next and a faculty member at institutions including the University of Pennsylvania and Rice University.
Phyllis Hunter
President, Phyllis C. Hunter Consulting, Inc.
Phyllis Hunter is a reading consultant who specializes in scientific research-based programs and provides on-site technical assistance to states implementing comprehensive reading programs. She has been an elementary school principal, middle school assistant principal, mentor teacher and speech therapist. Formerly an administrator with the Houston Independent School District, Hunter managed the district’s reading department. She was appointed by President George W. Bush to the board of the National Institute for Literacy, was a consultant for Texas Statewide Reading Initiatives, a national fellow of the Institute for Learning and an executive board member of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education and the National Center for Family Literacy.
Alexander Kress
Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Alexander "Sandy" Kress is an attorney at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer Feld & LLP in Austin, Texas, focusing on public law and policy at the state and national levels. He formerly served as an education advisor to President George W. Bush. Prior to that, he served as president of the board of trustees of the Dallas Independent School District.
Deborah McGriff
Partner, NewSchools Venture Fund
Deborah McGriff is a partner at NewSchools Venture Fund. Prior to that, she held numerous positions at EdisonLearning, including president of Edison Teachers College, executive vice president of charter schools, and executive vice president of several external relations functions. McGriff was also the first female general superintendent of Detroit Public Schools, the first female assistant superintendent in Cambridge, Mass. and the first female deputy superintendent in Milwaukee. She is the former president of the Education Industry Association, the leading professional association of education service providers, and was a teacher and administrator in the New York City public schools for more than a decade.
Thomas W. Payzant
Senior Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Former Superintendent, Boston Public Schools
Thomas W. Payzant is a senior lecturer on education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and an advisor to and superintendent-in-residence of The Broad Superintendents Academy. From 1995 to 2006, he served as superintendent of Boston Public Schools, which won the 2006 Broad Prize after being a finalist for four years. Before Boston, Payzant served as superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District for 11 years, as superintendent of Oklahoma City Public Schools for three years and as superintendent of Eugene Public Schools in Oregon for five years. In addition, Payzant served as President Bill Clinton’s assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education from 1993 to 1995.
Delia Pompa
Vice President for Education, National Council of La Raza
Delia Pompa is the vice president for education at the National Council of La Raza. Previously, she directed the office of bilingual education and minority languages affairs in the U.S. Department of Education. Pompa also served as the executive director of the National Association for Bilingual Education, the premier representative of second language learners and immigrant students. She has also served as director of education, adolescent pregnancy prevention and youth development for the Children’s Defense Fund, as an assistant commissioner for the Texas Education Agency and as the executive director for bilingual programs and early childhood education for the Houston Independent School District.
Wendy Puriefoy*
President, Public Education Network
Wendy D. Puriefoy is president of Public Education Network (PEN), the nation’s largest network of community-based school reform organizations. Puriefoy has been involved in public schools and education reform since the 1970s when she served as a special monitor to Judge Arthur W. Garrity during the court-ordered desegregation of Boston’s public schools. Prior to Public Education Network, Puriefoy was executive vice president and chief operating officer of The Boston Foundation. She currently serves on the boards of the Independent Sector, the Children’s Defense Fund, Annenberg Institute for School reform, and DEMOS, a policy think-tank focused on democratic forms of government.
Nina Rees
Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, Knowledge Universe
Nina Rees is senior vice president for strategic initiatives for Knowledge Universe, a global education company with investments in early childhood education, before- and after-school programs and online instruction. Before Knowledge Universe, Rees was the assistant deputy secretary for innovation and improvement at the U.S. Department of Education. Rees previously served as a domestic policy adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney. Rees has also been senior education analyst at the Heritage Foundation.
Margot Rogers
Vice Chairman and Senior Advisor, The Parthenon Group
Margot Rogers is vice chairman and senior advisor at The Parthenon Group’s Education Center of Excellence. Prior to joining Parthenon, she was chief of staff to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Rogers also has served in multiple roles at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, including deputy director of education and the special assistant to the director of education, where she managed the development of the foundation’s college-ready education strategy and staff realignment.
Andrew Rotherham*
Co-Founder and Partner, Bellwether Education
Andrew Rotherham is co-founder and partner of Bellwether Education, offering specialized professional services and thought leadership to the entrepreneurial education reform field. Rotherham previously served as special assistant to the president for domestic policy during the Clinton Administration and on the state board of education in
Roger Sampson
President, Education Commission of the States
Roger Sampson is president of the Education Commission of the States, a non-partisan organization that brings together key leaders—governors, legislators, chief state school officers, higher education officials, business leaders and others—to work side-by-side to improve education. Previously, Sampson was commissioner of the Alaska State Board of Education & Early Development. Sampson has served in a variety of roles and positions in public schools in both rural and urban Alaska.
John Simpson
Education Consultant, JOS Simpson and Associates
Former Superintendent, Norfolk Public Schools, Va.
John Simpson is an education consultant and serves as advisor and superintendent-in-residence to The Broad Superintendents Academy and as an associate with Hazard, Young and Attea, LLC. Previously, he was senior executive and director of the District Alliance Program at the Stupski Foundation. From 1998 to 2004, Simpson served as superintendent of Norfolk Public Schools, Va., which won the 2005 Broad Prize. He previously served as superintendent of Ann Arbor Public Schools in Michigan and of North Chicago Community Unit, District 187. Simpson was also president of the Large City School Superintendents and the Horace Mann League. He serves on the board of visitors of Eastern Virginia Medical College, the accountability review council for the Recovery School District for the Louisiana Department of Education and the board of directors for The New Teacher Project.
Elisa Villanueva Beard
Chief Operating Officer, Teach For America
Elisa Villanueva Beard is the chief operating officer at Teach For America. Previously, Villanueva Beard was executive director of the Rio Grande Valley site and later senior vice president of regional operations. Villanueva Beard also taught bilingual first and second grade in Phoenix for three years as a 1998 Teach For America corps member.
Gene Wilhoit
Executive Director, Council of Chief State School Officers
Gene Wilhoit is executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers. He previously led two state education agencies, as director of the Arkansas Department of Education and as deputy commissioner and commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Education. He also served as a program director in the Indiana Department of Education, as an administrator in Kanawha County, W.Va., and as a special assistant in the U.S. Department of Education before assuming the position of executive director of the National Association of State Boards of Education, which he held from 1986 to 1993. Wilhoit began his career as a social studies teacher in Ohio and Indiana.
*Did not participate in the vote for finalists in 2011.