John B. King, Jr
President and CEO, The Education Trust

John B. King Jr. is the president and CEO of The Education Trust, a national nonprofit organization that seeks to identify and close opportunity and achievement gaps, from preschool through college. King served in President Barack Obama’s cabinet as the 10th U.S. Secretary of Education. In tapping him to lead the U.S. Department of Education, President Obama called King “an exceptionally talented educator,” citing his commitment to “preparing every child for success” and his lifelong dedication to education as a teacher, principal, and leader of schools and school systems.

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Before becoming education secretary, King carried out the duties of the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education, overseeing all policies and programs related to P-12 education, English learners, special education, and innovation. In this role, King also oversaw the agency’s operations. King joined the department following his tenure as the first African American and Puerto Rican to serve as New York State Education Commissioner.

King began his career in education as a high school social studies teacher in Puerto Rico and Boston, Mass., and as a middle school principal.

King’s life story is an extraordinary testament to the transformative power of education. Both of King’s parents were career New York City public school educators, whose example serves as an enduring inspiration. Both of King’s parents passed away from illness by the time he was 12 years old. He credits New York City public school teachers — particularly educators at P.S. 276 in Canarsie and Mark Twain Junior High School in Coney Island — for saving his life by providing him with rich and engaging educational experiences and by giving him hope for the future.

King holds a Bachelor of Arts in government from Harvard University, a J.D. from Yale Law School, as well as a Master of Arts in the teaching of social studies and a doctorate in education from Teachers College at Columbia University. King serves as Professor of Practice at the University of Maryland’s College of Education and is a member of several boards, including those for The Century Foundation, The Robin Hood Foundation, Teach Plus, MDRC, and the American Museum of Natural History. He was elected to Harvard University’s Board of Overseers and serves on several advisory boards, including Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative, the Rework America Task Force, the GOOD+ Foundation’s Fatherhood Leadership Council, the National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement at the University of California, the National Center for Learning Disabilities, and the National Advisory Council for the Prenatal-to-Three Policy Impact Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

King lives in Silver Spring, Md., with his wife (a former kindergarten and first-grade teacher) and his two daughters, who attend local public schools.You can follow King on Twitter via @JohnBKing.

Dr. Jennifer Rice
Dean and Professor, College of Education, University of Maryland

Jennifer King Rice is dean of the College of Education at the University of Maryland. As a professor of education policy, her research draws on the discipline of economics to explore education policy questions concerning the efficiency and equity of U.S. education systems. Her recent work focuses on teachers as a critical resource in the education process, and examines the policies and resources needed to staff all schools with high-quality educators.

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Dr. Rice has published numerous articles and book chapters and has served on the editorial boards of American Educational Research Journal, Education Finance and Policy, and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. Her authored and edited books include Performance-Based Pay for Educators: Assessing the Evidence, Fiscal Policy in Urban Education, and Teacher Quality: Understanding the Effectiveness of Teacher Attributes, winner of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education book award.

As a national expert in education finance and policy, Dr. Rice regularly consults with policy organizations and state and federal agencies. She has been a National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow and a visiting fellow at the Urban Institute. She currently sits on two charter school boards, is a University System of Maryland representative on the Maryland State Teacher Certification Advisory Council, and recently completed a term as co-chair of the Maryland Education Deans and Directors Council. She earned her doctorate from Cornell University, and prior to joining the faculty at Maryland, she was a researcher at Mathematica Policy Research.

Dr. Rice brings her scholarly interests to her role as dean through her efforts to align educational resources with key efforts to advance excellence, equity and social justice in P-12 and higher education. Upon becoming dean, she led the College community through a rigorous and inclusive strategic planning process, which has resulted in new and innovative initiatives to promote the College’s shared values, vision and goals.

Delegate Eric Luedtke
Majority Leader, Maryland House of Delegates

Eric Luedtke is the Majority Leader of the Maryland House of Delegates and a career educator. The Delegate has been a leading voice for strong public schools that provide the best possible education for every kid. He has worked to secure more education funding, increase educator pay, reduce overcrowding by investing in school construction, improve the quality of special education services, and provide more opportunities for career and technical education. In addition to education work, Delegate Luedtke serves as the Chair of the Revenues Subcommittee where he works to reevaluate our tax code to ensure that it works for, and not against, Marylanders. Outside of his duties as a legislator, he works as a Clinical Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park’s School of Public of Policy. At their home in Ashton, Delegate Luedtke and his wife, Dawn, raise their four children.

Tasmin Swanson
Coalition Coordinator, Maryland Civic Education Coalition

Tasmin Swanson is passionate about supporting local leaders to build a more inclusive democracy. As a lifelong Maryland resident, she is proud to serve as the coordinator for the Maryland Civic Education Coalition. She is also the Director of Programs at Baltimore Votes, where she works to coordinate city-wide GOTV and voter education activities grounded in community, collaboration, and celebration.

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Outside of Maryland, she is also a civic designer and the communications lead at the Center for Civic Design where she works with county and state-level elections offices to infuse principles of good design and plain language into all stages of the voting process.

Her lifelong interest in community-centered work has taken her around the world. She served as a Peace Corps volunteer in China, worked in development at two DC theaters, and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

She lives in Baltimore, MD.