Dan Brown

Dan Brown is a National Board Certified Teacher and Co-Director of Educators Rising. He taught for eight years in New York City and Washington, DC, and served as a teaching ambassador fellow in the Office of Secretary Arne Duncan at the U.S. Department of Education. He is the author of the memoir, The Great Expectations School: A Rookie Year in the New Blackboard Jungle (Skyhorse Publishing, 2011). His writing on education has appeared in Educational Leadership, The Boston Globe, CNN. com, Education Week, and The New York Daily News, among other publications. He contributed a chapter to The American Public School Teacher: Past, Present, and Future (Harvard Education Press, 2011). In 2013, he gave a TEDx talk titled, "Education in America" and in 2014, Mashable named him one of "10 Rockstar Teachers on Twitter." He tweets @danbrownteacher. He holds degrees from New York University and Teachers College, Columbia University. He lives in the Washington, DC, area with his wife and two children.

Terry Holliday

Terry Holliday served as the Commissioner of Education for the Commonwealth of Kentucky from 2009–2015. During his tenure, the state was recognized as a leader in implementing college and career ready standards, assessments, and accountability. In addition, Kentucky showed significant improvements in high school graduation rates and college and career ready rates during his tenure. While commissioner of education, Dr. Holliday received recognition in a variety of areas, including being named 2009 North Carolina Superintendent of the Year; receiving the 2009 Grayson Medal for Innovation in Quality from the American Productivity Quality Council; being named the 2008 North Carolina Music Educators Association Superintendent of the Year; and being selected as a 2008 Friend of NCAAHPERD, a physical education and health award. Prior to serving in Kentucky, he served as superintendent of Iredell-Statesville school district from 2002–2009. Dr. Holliday served as president of the board for the Council of Chief State School Officers in 2014 and as a member of the National Assessment Governing Board. He currently serves as a member of the Baldrige Board of Overseers. He earned a doctorate from the University of South Carolina, master’s degree and education specialist degree from Winthrop University, and a bachelor’s degree from Furman University.

Richard Woods

Richard Woods, State School Superintendent of the Georgia Department of Education, was born in Pensacola, Florida, and while growing up in a military family, lived in California, Hawaii, and Virginia before moving to Georgia. He graduated from Fitzgerald High School, and went on to receive a bachelor’s degree from Kennesaw State University and a master’s degree from Valdosta State University. He has over 22 years of preK through12th grade experience in public education. He was a high school teacher for 14 years, serving as department chair and teacher mentor. During his tenure, he also was selected as Teacher of the Year. For eight years, he served in various administrative roles such as assistant principal, principal, curriculum director, testing coordinator, preK director, and alternative school director. He also brings a business background to the state school superintendent’s position, having been a purchasing agent for a national/multinational laser company and a former small business owner.