SEATTLE — Here’s an update to the who’s-who list I started yesterday, name-checking the notable people here in Seattle for the Gates Foundation’s announcement.
It really is remarkable to have so many players in one place. I guess the prospect of dinner at the Gates family estate, which was offered to all guests Monday night (plus a romp on the family trampoline, says Eduwonk) was hard to pass up. Or is it that Bill Gates is more powerful than even the U.S. Education Secretary (see Skoolboy at Eduwonkette: “Bill Gates, U.S. Superintendent of Schools”)?
Below the jump, and in no particular order, the list. I’ve added links this time so you can read more about these people. Warning: One link will direct you to a MySpace page with loud gospel music. This will not be an error.
UPDATE: Jim Hunt, the former North Carolina governor and a mentioned name for Education Secretary, was physically in Seattle; he did not teleconference.
- Richard (Dick) Riley, the Education Secretary for eight years under President Clinton and former South Carolina governor
- Bob Wise, former governor of West Virginia and now president of the Alliance for Excellent Education
- Craig Barrett, chairman of Intel
- Arthur Levine, critic of teaching preparation, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, former president of Teachers College
- John Deasy, former superintendent, Prince George’s County, Maryland; now works at Gates Foundation
- Michele Cahill, Carnegie Foundation and former top adviser to Chancellor Joel Klein
- Beverly Hall, superintendent, Atlanta public schools since 1999 (long time!)
- Tom Payzant, Harvard Graduate School of Education and former Boston superintendent
- Byron Garrett, CEO of the National PTA
- Jack Jennings, Center on Education Policy
- Bob Hughes, president of New Visions for Public Schools
- Charles Reed, chancellor of the California State University system
- Ed Rendell, governor of Pennsylvania (by teleconference)
Jim Hunt, former governor of North Carolina and now the head of the Hunt Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy (by teleconference)