Arizona Charter Schools Association - Keynote Speakers

Gregg Vanourek
Founding Partner, New Mountain Ventures
Co-Author, Life Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives

Gregg Vanourek is a founding partner of New Mountain Ventures, a leadership development company that works with clients nationwide, including charter schools and charter school support organizations. Previously, he founded and ran his own consulting company, served as Senior Vice President of School Development for a national online education company, and served as Vice President for Programs for a national education foundation, where he managed its national research programs and helped to launch a scholarship program for low-income youth. Before that, Gregg was a Research Fellow at a leading national think tank, where he also participated in what was then the largest research project in the nation on charter public schools, leading to a book on charter schools that he co-authored in 2000 (Charter Schools in Action: Renewing Public Education, published by Princeton University Press).

Gregg has recently co-authored a book, Life Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008, www.lifeentrepreneurs.com). In Life Entrepreneurs, Gregg Vanourek and Christopher Gergen offer stories and strategies for creating an extraordinary life through the power of what they call “life entrepreneurship.” Life entrepreneurs are ordinary people who integrate their life, work, and purpose through distinctively entrepreneurial behavior—and, in so doing, create extraordinary lives of significance. Drawing on interviews with 55 high-impact entrepreneurs around the world, the authors—themselves entrepreneurs—provide a tour de force of vivid examples, frameworks, and strategies for helping us create lives of purpose, service, and fulfillment. They conclude by drawing out the implications of today’s entrepreneurial boom for our lives, work, learning institutions, and communities.

Dr. Chan has consistently pushed the limits of education for nearly 40 years as an educator, school leader, and the founder of the first conversion charter school in the nation. Serving more than 2,000 students, Chan’s school was named the 1995 California Distinguished School and a 1996 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Chan is a member of the California State Board of Education, adjunct professor at UCLA, and a Commissioner of the Los Angeles City Commission for Youth and Families. A recipient of the Milken Educator Award, McGraw Hills Distinguished Educator award, Gleitsman Community Activist Award, and Irvine Foundation Leadership Award, Chan has relentlessly shared her innovative ideas on education and social reform internationally and has delivered testimony to 37 state legislatures on charter school policies.

Rebecca Gau
Vice President of Research and School Quality
Arizona Charter Schools Association

Rebecca leads the Research and School Quality Team at the Arizona Charter Schools Association and just released the report Success Measured: a first-of-its-kind study that examines year-to-year progress of charter school students’ AIMS scores. She also recently co-authored Beat the Odds: Why Some Latino Students Succeed and Others Do Not, and Trends in Charter Authorizing.
Rebecca is a veteran educational analyst and has worked both with the Morrison Institute for Public Policy and Andersen Consulting (now Accenture).



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	Conference Keynote Speakers Gregg Vanourek Founding Partner, New Mountain Ventures Co-Author, Life Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives Gregg Vanourek is a founding partner of New Mountain Ventures, a leadership development company that works with clients nationwide, including charter schools and charter school support organizations. Previously, he founded and ran his own consulting company, served as Senior Vice President of School Development for a national online education company, and served as Vice President for Programs for a national education foundation, where he managed its national research programs and helped to launch a scholarship program for low-income youth. Before that, Gregg was a Research Fellow at a leading national think tank, where he also participated in what was then the largest research project in the nation on charter public schools, leading to a book on charter schools that he co-authored in 2000 (Charter Schools in Action: Renewing Public Education, published by Princeton University Press). Gregg has recently co-authored a book, *Life Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives* (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008, www.lifeentrepreneurs.com). In Life Entrepreneurs, Gregg Vanourek and Christopher Gergen offer stories and strategies for creating an extraordinary life through the power of what they call “life entrepreneurship.” Life entrepreneurs are ordinary people who integrate their life, work, and purpose through distinctively entrepreneurial behavior—and, in so doing, create extraordinary lives of significance. Drawing on interviews with 55 high-impact entrepreneurs around the world, the authors—themselves entrepreneurs—provide a tour de force of vivid examples, frameworks, and strategies for helping us create lives of purpose, service, and fulfillment. They conclude by drawing out the implications of today’s entrepreneurial boom for our lives, work, learning institutions, and communities. Dr. Yvonne Chan Founder of Next Century Learning Center in Pacoima, California Dr. Chan has consistently pushed the limits of education for nearly 40 years as an educator, school leader, and the founder of the first conversion charter school in the nation. Serving more than 2,000 students, Chan’s school was named the 1995 California Distinguished School and a 1996 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Chan is a member of the California State Board of Education, adjunct professor at UCLA, and a Commissioner of the Los Angeles City Commission for Youth and Families. A recipient of the Milken Educator Award, McGraw Hills Distinguished Educator award, Gleitsman Community Activist Award, and Irvine Foundation Leadership Award, Chan has relentlessly shared her innovative ideas on education and social reform internationally and has delivered testimony to 37 state legislatures on charter school policies. Rebecca Gau Vice President of Research and School Quality Arizona Charter Schools Association Rebecca leads the Research and School Quality Team at the Arizona Charter Schools Association and just released the report Success Measured: a first-of-its-kind study that examines year-to-year progress of charter school students’ AIMS scores. She also recently co-authored Beat the Odds: Why Some Latino Students Succeed and Others Do Not, and Trends in Charter Authorizing. Rebecca is a veteran educational analyst and has worked both with the Morrison Institute for Public Policy and Andersen Consulting (now Accenture).

Conference Keynote Speakers