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Who We Are
Board of Directors
Anthony J. Colón, Board Secretary
Anthony J. Colón formed AJ Colón Consulting, LLC, a firm dedicated to
training and helping educational systems for low income, minority and
underserved children. From 2005 to 2007, he served as senior manager for
education investment strategies at Fight For Children (FFC). Anthony was
vice president of the National Council of La Raza's Center for Community
Educational Excellence. Anthony also served as principal of the Oakland
Charter Academy and a member of its board of directors. He has 30 years
experience as a teacher and school administrator in public, private and
parochial schools, and has served on the faculty of Lehman College at the
City University of New York and at Fordham University's Department of
Bilingual Services. Anthony is a founding member of the National Alliance
for Public Charter schools, serves as chairman of the American Board for
Certication of Teacher Excellence and vice-chair of the DC Public Charter
School Board. He presently serves as interim president for the Hispanic
Council for Reform and Educational Options (HCREO). Anthony holds a master's
degree and professional diploma in educational administration from Fordham
University in New York, and a bachelor's degree in sociology from St.
Francis College in Brooklyn, New York.
Ramon Cortines, Director
Ramon Cortines has been an educator and administrator since 1956 and has
held the positions of chancellor, superintendent, assistant superintendent,
principal and others. He was appointed as the senior deputy superintendent
of the Los Angeles Unified School District in 2008. From 2006 to 2008, he
was the deputy mayor for Education, Youth and Families for the City of Los
Angeles, CA. He was an independent education consultant from 2001 to 2006.
Since 1956, Mr. Cortines has served six school districts, including as
superintendent of schools for Pasadena (11 years), San Jose (2 years), New
York City (2 years), San Francisco (6 years) and Los Angeles (6 months).
Cortines is a nationally recognized leader in the field of education. He is
a trustee emeritus of Brown University and Pacific Oaks College, a member of
the board of Scholastic,Inc., and a member of the board of governors of the
San Francisco Symphony.
Bill Jackson, Founder, President and CEO
Bill Jackson is the founder and CEO of GreatSchools, an independent,
nonprofit organization that improves education by inspiring parents to get
involved. GreatSchools provides parents with information and tools so they
can choose the best school for their children, support their children's
education, and improve schools in their communities. Since its founding 10
years ago, GreatSchools has emerged as the nation's leading source of
preschool and K-12 school information, reaching about 1/3 of American K-12
parents each year. Bill is also a member of the Parent Association Council
at the Chinese American International School, a member of the board of
directors of the San Francisco Education Fund and a member of the California
P16 Council.
Larry Kane, Director
Larry Kane is a partner in the emerging company practice group at Orrick,
Herrington & Sutcliffe. He represents emerging companies to public companies
in a wide area in several areas including formation and structuring,
financing, partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, and private and public
offerings of securities. For the past 15 years, Larry has also served as
volunteer head coach of the wrestling team at Galileo Academy of Science,
where he has led hundreds of wrestlers to both athletic and academic
success. Larry also serves on the San Francisco Library Commission and ran
for a seat on the San Francisco Board of Education in 2004. Larry serves on
the board of Aim High, the San Francisco School Alliance and counsels pro
bono a number of community groups and organizations, including the Hispanic
Scholarship Fund. Larry earned his J.D. from the Columbia University School
of Law and his B.A. from Columbia University.
Leanna Landsmann, Co-Chair
Leanna Landsmann helped to launch and was president of Time For Kids, a
magazine reaching more than 4.2 million students nationwide. Before joining
Time, she was editor and publisher of Instructor, the nation's leading
magazine for teachers and director of Harcourt Brace Children's Books. She
founded Leanna Landsmann Inc. (LLI), a company that helped corporations and
organizations contribute successfully to schools. She was founding volunteer
director of New York City's Principal for a Day and founding board member of
PENCIL, Public Education Needs Civic Involvement in Learning. She writes,
A+ Advice for Parents, a weekly column syndicated by United Features. She
volunteers in schools in Western New York State, where she now resides and
recently helped launch the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Alliance Education
Program serving three large districts. Landsmann started her career as a
teacher in West Africa.
Sean Ryan, Director
Sean Ryan is the CEO of Meez, a leading social entertainment company combining
avatars, games and a virtual world. Sean previously served as vice-
president of music services at RealNetworks, where he managed the music
division after selling Listen.com to Real in August, 2003. As CEO of
Listen.com, Sean helped lead the development and roll-out of the
award-winning Rhapsody subscription music service. Prior to joining
Listen.Com, Sean ran business development for online game company SegaSoft
Networks, spent several years at the GAP helping launch the successful Old
Navy clothing line, and worked at Chemical Bank. Sean holds an M.B.A. from
UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management and a B.A. from Columbia
University.
Michael Schmier, Board Treasurer
Michael Schmier is vice president of media and audience products at Tippit, Inc., a
leading innovator in online business-to-business marketing. Previously,
Michael held a wide range of executive positions including vice president of
products and marketing at BabyCenter, the leading online destination for new
and expectant parents, and vice president of product marketing and business
development at Merced Systems, a market leader in enterprise performance
management and analytics systems. Michael has also served as practice
manager at The Advisory Board Company, an industry research and consulting
company. He has extensive experience in developing and marketing online
products, as well as managing online commerce, media and SaaS business
models. Michael received an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of
Business and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alan Tripp, Director
Alan Tripp has made a career of enhancing student motivation, success and
achievement. As founder and CEO of InsideTrack his attention is now focused
on the success of college students, as reflected in academic performance,
persistence and graduation rates. A wide variety of colleges contract with
InsideTrack to provide Success Coaching services directly to students.
When students are coached by InsideTrack, they are more likely to engage,
achieve and graduate. Previously, Alan launched SCORE! Educational Centers,
a national system of K-12 centers aimed at helping students strengthen their
academic skills and love for learning. As the founder, CEO, and general
manager of SCORE!, Alan helped to grow the company to nearly 100 centers
with more than 1,500 employees. The company is now a unit of The Washington
Post Company. Alan was a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate Schools of
Business and Education from 1999-2004, where he co-taught the core course
for education entrepreneurs. He holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.B.A.,
both from Stanford University.
Dr. Jerry Wartgow, Co-Chair
Dr. Jerry Wartgow is currently interim dean of the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver. He served as a superintendent of Denver Public Schools from May 2001 to July 2005 and was President of the Colorado Community College System from 1986 to 1998). He has served as deputy executive director of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education and as dean of the International School of Bangkok. Dr. Wartgow holds a doctor of philosophy degree from the University of Denver, a master of education degree from the University of Hawaii, a bachelor of science degree from the University of Wisconsin, and has completed postdoctoral work at the East-West Center in Honolulu and Harvard University. He is the author of Why School Reform is Failing: 10 Lessons from the Trenches (Rowman & Littlefield, 2008).
Senior Management
Bill Jackson, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer
Bill Jackson is the founder and CEO of GreatSchools, an independent,
nonprofit organization that improves education by inspiring parents to get
involved. GreatSchools provides parents with information and tools so they
can choose the best school for their children, support their children's
education, and improve schools in their communities. Since its founding 10
years ago, GreatSchools has emerged as the nation's leading source of
preschool and K-12 school information, reaching about 1/3 of American K-12
parents each year. Bill is also a member of the Parent Association Council
at the Chinese American International School, a member of the board of
directors of the San Francisco Education Fund and a member of the California
P16 Council.
Dana Meade and Paula Rivers, Co-Chief Operating Officers
Dana Meade and Paula Rivers are the co-Chief Operating Officers, job sharing and running the day-to-day operations of Greatschools.net. Dana and Paula were formerly co-General Managers of Zoomerang.com, an online survey business that grew to over 1 million members. Prior to that, Dana and Paula were Directors of Product Management at Portera Systems, Inc. Dana also held positions at Arthur Andersen and Andersen Consulting. Paula previously held positions at Cambridge Technology Partners and worked as a consultant with the MBA Enterprise Corps in Krakow, Poland. Dana earned her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; her M.S. in Environmental Engineering and Science from Stanford University; and her M.B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and three children. Paula earned her B.S. in Political Science from the University of Michigan and her M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children.
James Daly, Editorial Director
James Daly has spent more than 25 years covering the nexus between technology and culture. Prior to becoming the editorial director of GreatSchools, he launched and was the editor in chief and editorial director of Edutopia, a magazine and Web site published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation that follows innovation in K-12 public education. He also served as editor in chief of RedHerring.com, leading the Web site's relaunch in 2004.
In 1997 Daly led the launch of Business 2.0, an international biweekly business magazine that went on to win more than a dozen editorial awards, including a Folio award for best finance publication three years in a row. He served as editor in chief and editorial director at Business 2.0 until it was sold to AOL Time Warner in 2001. Daly was also a features editor at Wired magazine, a senior editor at Forbes ASAP magazine and a new-media columnist for Rolling Stone and the San Francisco Chronicle. He has written for such publications as the Los Angeles Times, ID and Writer's Digest and is the coauthor of 2030: A Day in the Life of Tomorrow's Kids (Dutton/Penguin), a children's book that follows a 10-year-old boy through a day 20 years in the future.
Daly received his bachelor of science, cum laude, in journalism and economics from Boston University. He also has a degree from the New England School of Photography and has done postgraduate work in economics and international relations at Harvard University.
Clare Ellis, Vice President, Product Strategy
Clare Ellis is responsible for guiding the strategic development and growth of the GreatSchools Web site and its products. Prior to joining GreatSchools, Ellis was the director of content development for Nickelodeon's Family and Kids Division, where she helped launch ParentsConnect and managed GoCityKids, a city guide for parents she cofounded and developed before selling it to MTV Networks. She was the founding editor in chief of BabyCenter.com and served as the editor of Disney Publishing's FamilyFun magazine, where she led a major redesign. Ellis has also worked at Health magazine, Time-Warner Inc. and McGraw-Hill publishing. She received a B.A. from Smith College and lives in San Francisco with her husband and two sons.
Lilly Fu, Chief Financial Officer
Lilly Fu is responsible for all aspects of finance, accounting, contracts and legal matters at GreatSchools. Her previous experience includes senior management positions in new media, finance and education. Before joining GreatSchools, Fu was the finance director at Crackle Inc., an online subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. She led the financial metrics and evaluation efforts at the Stupski Foundation, a private philanthropic institution dedicated to improving urban public schools in the United States. She also held finance positions at PriceWaterhouse, Oracle and AT&T.
Prior to her finance career, Fu was one of the first corps members of Teach for America, where she taught second grade in Oakland, Calif. Lilly earned her B.A. in political science and economics from Wellesley College and her M.P.P from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Jaime Uzeta, Vice President, Growth Strategy and Development
Jaime Uzeta is responsible for GreatSchools' fundraising, strategic planning and partnership efforts. His prior experience spans the nonprofit, government and corporate sectors. As the partner of the consulting firm BBMG, Uzeta advised organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and CNN on organizational and marketing strategies. At MTV, he co-developed and managed the channel's socially oriented marketing campaigns, including ones for the Emmy Award–winning Fight for Your Rights and Choose or Lose initiatives
Prior to his work in media, Uzeta held appointments in the Clinton administration, including the White House and the Departments of Treasury and Commerce. He is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the national board of Public Allies, an AmeriCorps-related, civic service apprenticeship program. He graduated cum laude from the University of Houston, with a B.A. in political science, and earned his MBA from Columbia University.
GreatSchools Learning Disabilities Consultant
Marshall H. Raskind, Ph.D. is a learning disability researcher. He is a frequent presenter at international learning disability conferences and is the author of numerous professional publications on learning disabilities. He is well-known for his research in assistive technology and longitudinal studies tracing LD across the lifespan.
GreatSchools Learning Disabilities Advisory Panel
Candace Cortiella's work as Director of the nonprofit The Advocacy Institute focuses on improving the lives of people with learning disabilities, through public policy and other initiatives. The mother of a young adult with learning disabilities, she lives in the Washington, D.C., area.
Guinevere Eden, Ph.D. is an associate professor at Georgetown University and directs the Center for the Study of Learning. Supported by NIH and NSF, her research focuses on the brain-basis of dyslexia. Dr. Eden has published widely and is a frequent speaker. She is President-Elect of the International Dyslexia Association and serves on several editorial boards.
Dave L. Edyburn, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Exceptional Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His teaching and research interests focus on the use of technology to enhance teaching, learning, and performance. He has authored over 150 articles and book chapters on the use of technology in special education.
Sam Goldstein, Ph.D. is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Utah, a Research Professor of Psychology at George Mason University and Director of the Neurology, Learning and Behavior Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Attention Disorders, author, co-author or editor of 26 books and dozens of book chapters and peer reviewed research articles.
Sheldon H. Horowitz, Ed.D. has served as the Director of Professional Services at the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) since 1996. Before that he directed hospital-based evaluation and treatment programs in psychiatry and developmental and behavioral pediatrics. He has taught at primary, middle-school, and college levels, and is widely published on topics relating to LD across the lifespan.
Arlyn Roffman, Ph.D., an expert on transition issues in special education, is a Professor at Lesley University, where she served as founding director of Threshold, a transition program for young adults with learning disabilities, from 1981 to 1996. She has served on the professional advisory boards of several national LD organizations and maintains a private practice in psychology.
