RIDGE-LANE Limited Partners establishes a Council of State K-12 Education Chiefs

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Governor of Pennsylvania and first Secretary of U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Thomas J. Ridge, and financier R. Brad Lane announce a Council of State K-12 Education Chiefs.

• John C. White: served as Superintendent of Education for the State of Louisiana under Governor's Bobby Jindal and John Bel Edwards, with the distinction of being the longest serving state education chief in the nation. He served under Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein as Deputy Chancellor for the New York City Department of Education.
• Gerard Robinson: served as Commissioner of Education for the State of Florida under Governor Rick Scott, as well as Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia under Governor Bob McDonnell. His work spans public schools, virtual schools, charter schools, college laboratory schools, public universities, community college systems, and higher education research centers.
• Hanna Skandera: served as Secretary of Education for the State of New Mexico under Governor Susana Martinez, as Under Secretary of Education for the State of California under Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Deputy Commissioner of Education for the State of Florida under Governor Jeb Bush, as well as Senior Policy Advisor for U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.
• Tony Smith: served as Superintendent of Education for the State of Illinois under Governor Bruce Rauner, as well as Superintendent of Oakland Unified School District, Deputy Superintendent for the San Francisco Unified School District, and Superintendent of the Emery Unified School District.
• Candice McQueen: served as the Commissioner of Education for the State of Tennessee under Governor Bill Haslem, where she developed and led a strategic plan for 1 million students. Dr. McQueen is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET), which has developed 275,000 educators, 30,000 administrators, and 2.75 million students.
• Steve Canavero: served as Superintendent of Public Instruction for the State of Nevada under Governor Brian Sandoval. He is a member of Chiefs for Change, an Aspen-Pahara Fellow, a board member of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, and a board member of the Council of Chief State School Officers.
• Chris Cerf: served as Commissioner of Education for the State of New Jersey under Governor Chris Christie, where he oversaw 2,500 public schools with 1.4 million students and 110,000 teachers in 574 districts, with a $35 billion budget. He was Superintendent of Newark Public Schools, and Deputy Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education.

"We are experiencing unprecedented and pervasive challenges to our nation's public education systems, where 50+ million K-12 students are experiencing disruptions to the access of rigorous and relevant coursework in productive learning environments - which is critical to human development, workforce readiness, and economic productivity," said R. Brad Lane, CEO of RIDGE-LANE LP

"Our distinguished team brings an unparalleled breadth and depth of domain expertise - bridging research & practice, teaching & learning, private innovation & public implementation - with a mission of advancing novel solutions to grand challenges and critical needs of individuals, institutions, communities, and society as a whole."

RIDGE-LANE Limited Partners is a venture development firm – focused on root-cause solutions to grand challenges in Education, Sustainability, and Information Technology – with a team of General Partners, Venture Partners, and Senior Advisors who have served at the highest levels of finance, government, and the military. 

We create value for our clients and society by bridging the gaps between private-sector innovation, investment capital, policy and procurement – across the Federal, State, and Local levels: an innovation ecosystem, providing corporate development to commercialize and scale novel technology companies, as well as place-based solutions that improve cities and quality of life.

Innovators tackling grand societal challenges: [email protected]

For more information visit: www.RIDGE-LANE.com

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SOURCE Ridge-Lane Limited Partners