Virtual Advocacy Day: Skills, strategies, and motivation for making the case for professional learning

Frederick Brown is Learning Forward’s president | CEO. Prior to joining Learning Forward, Brown served as a senior program officer for the New York City based Wallace Foundation where he guided the work of several major grantees, including the Southern Regional Education Board; the Institute for Learning at the University of Pittsburgh; and the states of Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Oregon, Kansas, and New Jersey.

Before joining The Wallace Foundation, Brown was director of the Leadership Academy and Urban Network for Chicago (LAUNCH), an organization whose mission was to identify, train, and support principals for the Chicago Public Schools. In 2005, LAUNCH was highlighted by the U.S. Department of Education as an Innovative Pathway to the Principalship.

Brown's expertise is grounded in real-world experience. He has been an elementary school teacher and principal as well as a middle school assistant principal. He also served as a founding member of the Mathematics and Equity Teams for Ohio's Project Discovery, a statewide initiative to improve mathematics and science instruction.

Over the past 15 years, Brown has been a leader in designing and facilitating cutting-edge learning experiences for school and district administrators on topics such as cultural competence, leadership, and professional learning communities.

Segun Eubanks is the director of the Center for Education Innovation and Improvement and professor of Practice at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD). Eubanks also serves as the Chair of the Board of Education for Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS). Prior to joining UMD, Eubanks worked in various leadership roles at the National Education Association, including as director of Teacher Quality and director of Professional Educator Support. He previously served 11 years as the director of Teacher Quality for the NEA. In these roles, Eubanks led major policy initiatives and programs such as the Teacher Leadership Initiative, the Teacher Residency Taskforce, the National Commission on Effective Teachers and Teaching and the NEA’s Committee on Professional Standards and Practice.

Paul Katnik is the assistant commissioner of the Office of Educator Quality. Katnik has been in education for over three decades working with children of all ages, K-12, as both a teacher and a building principal. He has served at the Department of Education for over ten years, and has been instrumental in coordinating the state model Educator Evaluation System, revising teacher and leader preparation programs, developing the state’s Educator Equity Plan, and creating the Missouri Leadership Development System.

Barbara Patterson Oden is president of Learning Forward Virginia (lfvirginia@gmail.com).

Melinda George is Learning Forward’s chief policy officer, serving on the Learning Forward leadership team and overseeing Learning Forward’s policy and advocacy work. Melinda has been integral to developing strategy and facilitating networks as well as leading the Learning Forward fundraising team. Prior to joining Learning Forward, Melinda was the president of the National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future (NCTAF) where she led its charge to build a research-based framework of policies and practices that ensure every child has access to a competent, caring teacher in a school organized for success. From 2006-11, Melinda served as the senior director of Education Strategic Relations at PBS, where she developed national partnerships and oversaw the development of PBS TeacherLine, an online professional development service. Prior to PBS, Melinda was the first executive director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA). Melinda began her career as a 4th- and 5th-grade teacher in D.C. Public Schools.

Bernstein Strategy Group’s Founder and President, has over 25 years of experience in education, technology, privacy, appropriations, and telecommunications policy. Jon began his Washington, DC tenure in 1994 as a Legislative Fellow for Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). He later became legislative counsel for The Lightspan Partnership, an educational software company. In 1997, Jon moved on to lobby for the National Education Association, leaving there in 1999 to commence work for the Federal Communications Commission. He departed the Commission in 2001 to begin work in private practice and launched BSG in 2005. Today, Jon works closely with many of the major K-12 education associations as co-chair of both the Education and Libraries Networks Coalition and the Homework Gap Big Tent Coalition and as Executive Director of the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training. He also helps lead the Principals Group, which focuses on professional development funding and related issues. He received his BA from Colgate University and his JD from the Northwestern University Law School.