The Nation's Report Card and 12th Grade Academic Preparedness:
Regional Symposium

The Panelists

• + bio Greg Jones, Presiding
  Vice Chair, NAEP 12th Grade Preparedness Commission
  President and CEO (Retired), State Farm General Insurance
  
  Greg Jones is the President and CEO (Retired), of State Farm General Insurance. He is Chairman of California Business for Education Excellence and former Chairman of the California Business Roundtable. Mr. Jones currently serves on the boards of directors for Junior Achievement of Southern California, the California Chamber of Commerce, Franklin University, the Los Angeles Urban League, the National Urban League, the NCAA Leadership Advisory Board, and the Tiger Woods Learning Center. He is a former member of the California State Board of Education and is listed in Who's Who of Executives and Professionals.
• + bio Andrea Corso, representing the Honorable Kevin Johnson
  Deputy Director, STAND UP
  Andrea Corso currently serves as the deputy director of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's groundbreaking STAND UP initiative, a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that every child has the opportunity to attend an excellent public school. Coming to Sacramento in 2007, Ms. Corso served as director of student achievement for Sacramento High School during a time when the school made significant academic gains. During her career as a teacher, Ms. Corso taught in some of the most challenging of circumstances-from rural North Carolina, to an alternative school in Chicago, to a charter school in New York.
• + bio Mark Musick
  Advisor, NAEP 12th Grade Preparedness Commission
  James H. Quillen Chair of Excellence in Teaching and Learning, East Tennessee State University
  Mark Musick holds the James H. Quillen Chair of Excellence in Education and Teaching at East Tennessee State University and is president emeritus of the Southern Regional Education Board, America's first interstate compact for education. Mr. Musick was appointed by three U.S. Secretaries of Education to chair the National Assessment Governing Board. He is a charter member of the new board of ACT, Inc., serving as lead director of the ACT board and as a member of the ACT executive committee. Mr. Musick was elected in 2006 to the board of directors of the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment.
• + bio Michael Kirst
  President, California State Board of Education
  Michael Kirst, Ph.D., is President of the California State Board of Education. He is a professor emeritus of education at Stanford University, where he has served on the faculty since 1969. Dr. Kirst received his Ph.D. in political economy and government from Harvard University. Before joining the Stanford University faculty, Dr. Kirst held several positions with the federal government, including staff director of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Manpower, Employment and Poverty, and director of Program Planning for Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Office of Education. He is a former president of the California State Board of Education. His latest books include From High School to College, with Andrea Venezia, (2004) and Political Dynamics of American Education (2009). Dr. Kirst is a member of both the National Academy of Education and the International Academy of Education.
• + bio Alice Perez
  Vice President, California Community Colleges Board of Governors
  Vice President, California Asian Chamber of Commerce
  Alice Perez is vice president of the California Community Colleges Board of Governors and vice president of the California Asian Chamber of Commerce. She is Director of Government Affairs for StandUp, an education nonprofit working to improve public schools in the Sacramento region. She is the former manager of customer strategy for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. She has served on the boards of numerous professional and community service organizations, including the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce, the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the California Student Aid Commission, the Center for Fathers and Families, the National Low Income Energy Consortium, Mercy Health Foundation, and the California Museum for History, Women and Arts. Ms. Perez received the Sacramento State Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes alumni who have made notable contributions to the campus and community. She earned a bachelor's degree in finance and insurance from Sacramento State University in 1999.
• + bio Blair Taylor
  President and CEO, Los Angeles Urban League
  Blair Taylor is a longtime business leader who has served as the president and CEO of the Los Angeles Urban League since 2005. Through the League, Mr. Taylor has supervised several initiatives, including the nationally recognized Greater Crenshaw Educational Partnership that has worked to improve graduation rates and reduce dropout rates at Crenshaw High School. Over the last two decades, Mr. Taylor has held high-level executive positions at several businesses, including IBM, Pepsi, and Guidance Solutions, and he is serving as a senior staff member for the Los Angeles City Council's 8th District. He was most recently executive vice president of the College Summit, a national nonprofit organization that partners with schools and districts to strengthen college-going culture and increase college enrollment rates. He is also a member of the National Assessment Governing Board.
• + bio Charles Reed
  Chancellor, California State University
  Charles B. Reed, Ed.D., is chancellor of the California State University (CSU). As chancellor, he is the chief executive officer of the country's largest senior system of public higher education. He provides leadership to 43,000 faculty and staff and 412,000 students on 23 campuses and seven off-campus centers. CSU offers approximately 1,233 bachelor's degree programs, 783 master's programs, and 29 joint doctoral programs in 319 areas. CSU prepares the majority of the state's new public school teachers and 10 percent of the nation's K-12 instructors. Dr. Reed has written and spoken widely on education, finance, management, governance, and the politics of education. He has served internationally and nationally as a consultant, conference leader, and keynote speaker on education and related subjects.