One of our regular readers keeps warning about the corporate reform training program of the Aspen Institute and the Pahara Fellows. You will notice few people from public schools and a large representation of privatizes and entrepreneurs.

So when I received a press release about their new class of fellows, I paid attention. Open the link for more information.

http://pahara.org/2016/08/press-release-august-15-2016/

Press Release: August 15, 2016

Pahara and Aspen Institutes Announce New Class of Leaders for Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship

SAN FRANCISCO (August 15, 2016) – The Pahara Institute, together with the Aspen Institute, announced today the Fall 2016 cohort of the highly selective Pahara-Aspen Education Fellows Program. These 23 individuals join the Pahara community of leaders, which is designed to support and challenge diverse and innovative leaders who are reimagining America’s public schools.

“The Fall 2016 cohort of Pahara-Aspen Fellows inspires us with their deep commitment to equity and excellence for all of our public school students,” said Kim Smith, Pahara Institute Founder. “We are honored to support these exceptional leaders as they bring together their diverse perspectives in order to challenge and support each other, to examine their personal values, and to lead with even greater purpose.”

The Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship is a two-year, cohort-based program that identifies innovative leaders in the educational excellence and equity movement, facilitates their dynamic growth, and strengthens their collective efforts to dramatically improve public schools for low-income children and communities. The Fellowship provides these leaders with the unusual opportunity to step back from their demanding daily work to reflect with peers on their collective and individual impact as leaders and change agents. Fellows challenge each other to think beyond traditional silos and sector boundaries to develop strategies that enhance their effectiveness as leaders, address leadership challenges in public education, and accelerate the improvements needed to provide high quality learning opportunities for all of our nation’s children.

The Fellowship is a partnership between the Pahara and Aspen Institutes. The Aspen Institute has created a leadership development model through its renowned Henry Crown Fellowship program, which focuses on inspiring Fellows to make a lasting difference in their spheres of influence through the application of effective and enlightened leadership. Pahara-Aspen Fellows become part of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, which currently includes more than 2,200 Fellows from over 50 countries who are collectively making tremendous positive change in the world.

The Fall 2016 Pahara-Aspen Education Fellows are:

Derrell Bradford, Executive Vice President and Executive Director NYCAN, 50CAN

Chris Cerf, Superintendent, Newark Public Schools

Linda Chaput, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Agile Mind

Naomi DeVeaux, Deputy Director, District of Columbia Public Charter School Board

Steven Dow, Executive Director, CAP Tulsa

John Eriksen, Co-Founder and Partner, The Drexel Fund

Lisa Flores, Board of Education, Denver Public Schools

Adam Freed, Chief Executive Officer, Teachers Pay Teachers

Drew Furedi, Superintendent and Vice President of Charter Schools, Para Los Niños

Laura Lee McGovern, Chief of Staff, Uncommon Schools

Jorge Lopez, Chief Executive Officer, Amethod Public Schools

Doug McCurry, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Superintendent, Achievement First

Michelle Molitor, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Fellowship for Race and Equity in Education

Dianne Morales, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Phipps Neighborhoods

Gerald Richards, Chief Executive Officer, 826 National

LaShawn Routé Chatmon, Founding Executive Director, National Equity Project

Simeon Schnapper, Chief Executive Officer, Youtopia

Oliver Sicat, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Ednovate

Riccardo Stoeckicht, President and Chief Operating Officer, Innovative Schools

Annis Stubbs, Chief People Officer, Teach for America

Tammi Sutton, Executive Director, KIPP ENC Public Schools

David Sylvester, Partner, 3rd Gen Law Group LLP

Suzanne Tacheny Kubach, Executive Director, Policy Innovators in Education Network

“This cohort of Pahara-Aspen Fellows is comprised of unique entrepreneurs from around the country,” said Peter Reiling, Executive Vice President for Leadership and Seminar Programs at the Aspen Institute. “They embody the spirit needed to move the needle on the most complex challenges in American public education. We are excited for the journey we will take together and to welcome these leaders into the broader Aspen Global Leadership Network.”

To access bios and photos of the Pahara-Aspen Fellows, click here.

For More Information:

Saamra Mekuria-Grillo, Vice President of Strategy and Operations, Pahara Institute, saamra@pahara.org

About the Pahara Institute

The Pahara Institute is a national nonprofit organization focused on supporting the sustainability, diversity, and quality of leadership for the educational excellence and equity movement. The guiding principle of the Pahara Institute is that bold improvements are needed to our public schools so that every child in America has access to the tools and skills he or she needs to be successful in life. Pahara’s programs are designed to identify leaders in education innovation, and through a time-tested dialogue approach, strengthen and sustain their efforts to bring about critical improvements to our public schools. For more information, please visit pahara.org.

About the Aspen Institute

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also maintains offices in New York City and has an international network of partners.

About the Aspen Global Leadership Network
The Aspen Global Leadership Network is a growing, worldwide community of entrepreneurial leaders from business, government and the nonprofit sector — currently, more than 2,200 Fellows from over 50 countries — who share a commitment to enlightened leadership and to using their extraordinary creativity, energy and resources to tackle the foremost societal challenges of our times. All share the common experience of participating in the Henry Crown Fellowship or one of the dozen Aspen Institute leadership initiatives it has inspired in the United States, Africa, Central America, India, the Middle East and China.