“Governor-elect Charlie Baker is seeking advice. Lots of it,” the Boston Globe reported earlier this month.
“On Thursday, he announced a long list of people who will serve on his advisory transition committees on schools, jobs/economy, community, health, and better government.
“The multitude — more than 170 people in all — include big-names in the worlds of academia, business, and nonprofits…”
As we’ve blogged before, this is a great time for advocates to reach out to Baker’s transition team members and ask them to prioritize early education and care.
“It’s a good idea, and I’m glad to hear that the governor-elect is following that pattern,” the Globe quotes John Walsh saying about the large size of Baker’s transition team. Walsh was Governor Deval Patrick’s 2006 campaign manager. Having a large team works “because it just gives an opportunity, as you’re embarking on this, to hear from [many] different folks.”
We’re glad to report that one of the members of the schools committee is Strategies for Children’s (SFC) Amy O’Leary, director of our Early Education for All campaign. The committee co-chairs are Marty Meehan, the chancellor of the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and Beth Anderson, CEO of Phoenix Charter Academy Network.
Baker’s team also has geographic diversity. As Masslive.com reports, “Western Massachusetts members of the school committee include John Davis, of Longmeadow, of Ventry Industries LLC in Springfield; Ira Rubenzahl, president of Springfield Technical Community College; and Henry Thomas III, president of the Urban League in Springfield and chairman of the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees.”
Advocates can also contact members of Baker’s jobs and the economy committee. The co-chairs are Karen Kaplan of Hill Holiday and Jay Ash, who will serve as Baker’s Secretary of Housing and Economic Development. Another committee member is Marcy Reed, president of National Grid in Massachusetts, who spoke at the Early Childhood Summit that SFC co-sponsored in 2013.
Below is the full list of school committee members. Check out the Globe article to see the full list of all committees’ members — and encourage them to make the case for high-quality early education and care.
Schools Committee:
Beth Anderson, Phoenix Charter Academy Network, Chelsea (Chair)
Marty Meehan, UMass-Lowell, Lowell (Chair)
Erika Ebbel Angle, Science from Scientists, Beverly
David Birnbach, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mobile Strategy Group LLC, Andover
Mary Bourque, Chelsea Public Schools, Chelsea
Erica Brown, City on a Hill Charter Public Schools, Boston
Donna Colorio, Dimitria Delights, Inc/ Qunisigamond Community College/ Commonwealth of MA, Worcester
Michael Contompasis, Mass Insight Education, Chestnut Hill
Mark Culliton, College Bound Dorchester, Dorchester
John Davis, Ventry Industries LLC, Longmeadow
William DeRosa, Whittier Tech, Peabody
George Dhionis, Esped, Marblehead
Pam Eddinger, State of Massachusetts, Bunker Hill Community College, Brookline
Kathryn Everett, The Lynch Foundation, Boston
Barbara Fields, retired educator, Mattapan
Roland Fryer, Harvard University, Cambridge
Christopher Gabrieli, National Center on Time and Learning, Boston
Scott Given, UP Education Network, Charlestown
Sheila Harrity, Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School District, Worcester
Howard Horton, New England College of Business and Finance, Somerville
Vanessa Kirsch, New Profit Inc., Brookline
Stig Leschly, Match Charter Public School, Brookline
Linda Looft, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Leicester
Edward Madaus, Guild of St. Agnes Early Education, Boylston
Robert Manning, MFS Investment Management, Swampscott
Patricia Meservey, Salem State University, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Salem
Amy O’Leary, Strategies for Children, Brookline
Elizabeth Pauly, The Boston Foundation, Boston
Jeffrey Riley, Boston
Ira Rubenzahl, Springfield Technical Community College, Springfield
Eileen Rudden, Co-founder, LearnLaunch, Cambridge
Henry Thomas, Urban League of Springfield, Springfield
Paul Toner, New Voice Strategies – Viva Idea Exchange, Cambridge
Shannah Varon, Boston Collegiate Charter School, West Roxbury
Stephen Zykofsky, self-employed, Lynn
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