Kentucky’s Commissioner of Education Terry Holiday, the Executive Director of 55,000 Degrees and Kentucky Board of Education member Mary Gwen Wheeler, and businessman Billy Harper of Harper Enterprises will join forces at The Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky’s upcoming education summit in Louisville.
The summit, titled Innovate: Education, will bring business and education leaders together on Feb. 25, 2015 to discuss innovation in public education, brainstorm ideas to resolve issues blocking that innovation and to create commitments to turn those ideas into action.
The Fund’s Executive Director, Barbara Bellissimo, said the concept of bringing these two groups isn’t a new one, but certainly one that can’t be left out of the equation when attempting to create a truly innovative public education system.
“What we’re doing here – bringing together business and education – isn’t a new idea, but it is a critical one. We need educators to hear first-hand where the real gaps are in our workforce. And likewise, we need business leaders to understand there is more to being involved with the schools in their community than just writing a check. These two groups are partners in the Commonwealth’s education system and have been working together for many years,” said Bellissimo. “But we think it’s time to come together as one large group and create a set of attainable goals and commitments that we’re all willing to work together on throughout the year.”
Attendees will hear from nonprofit sector expert and social enterprise pioneer Dan Pallotta during the keynote luncheon. Pallotta himself is no stranger to innovation having created the multi-day charitable event industry with Pallotta Teamworks’ AIDS Rides and Breast Cancer 3-Days. Pallotta’s presentation will draw on his extensive background as a champion for charity and he will share with the audience his belief that we must change the way we think about changing the world.
For more information about Innovate: Education, click here.
From the Fund for Transforming Education