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Thomas L. Alsbury (Conference Chair) - Assistant Professor of Educational Administration, North Carolina State University
Dr. Alsbury earned his B.S. in Molecular Biology, B.A. in Chemistry Teaching, M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, post-master’s and M.Ed. in Educational Administration with principal credentials from the University of Washington. He earned his superintendent credentials and Ed.D. in Educational Administration at Washington State University. Dr. Alsbury completed the only national study related to one of the major theories on school governance and has received numerous distinguished awards for his research. Dr. Alsbury’s line of research is in organizational theory, the superintendency, and school board governance. Over the past five years he has been the chair of the American Educational Research Association's special interest group called Research on the Superintendency, and is widely published on the topic. Dr. Alsbury has agreed to chair the symposium and serve as editor of the book Relevancy and Revelation: The Future of School Board Governance.

Lars G. Björk (Author only) – Professor, Director of the Institute for Education Research, University of Kentucky
Dr. Björk holds a Ph.D. and an Ed.S. in Educational Administration, an M.Ed. in Public Administration, an M.Ed. in Secondary Education, and a B.A. in Education from the University of New Mexico. He served on the faculties of the University of New Mexico, University of South Carolina and Georgia Southern University. Dr. Björk serves as the co-director of the University Council for Educational Administration’s Center for the Study of the Superintendency.

William L. Boyd (Author only) – Distinguished Professor, Harry L. Batschelet Chair of Educational Administration, Penn State University
Dr. Boyd earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and is the editor of the American Journal of Education. A specialist in educational administration and education policy and politics, he has published over 130 articles and has co-edited fifteen books. He has researched education reform efforts in the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada, and Sweden. As a researcher, Dr. Boyd has studied school reform; school effectiveness; efforts to achieve coordinated, school-linked services for at-risk children and their families; and the politics of parental choice in education.

Peter J. Cistone – Dean, Professor, College of Education, Florida International University
Dr. Cistone holds an M.A. in Education from Lehigh University and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Pennsylvania State University. A member of the faculty at Florida International University since 1982, he served as Dean of the College of Education for five years. Previously, he held academic appointments at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto and Temple University. The author of numerous publications, he is noted for his seminal contribution to school governance theory in his books The Politics of Education (1974) with Laurence Iannaccone, and his edited book Understanding School Boards (1975). Dr. Cistone chaired the first national symposium on school board research in 1972, which resulted in the 1975 publication of an edited book compiling the papers from the symposium and provided the first state-of-the-research synthesis on school governance.

Barbara DeHart – Dean, School of Educational Studies; Director, Urban Leadership Program; Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California
Dr. DeHart is a recent professor and director of the cohort-based Urban Leadership Center. Her research focuses on the areas of educational leadership; organizational theory; and educational politics, policy, and governance (at the macro and micro levels). She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Dr. DeHart has served public education for thirty-three years, most recently as superintendent of schools in Westminster School District, Orange County, California. She recently completed a study on California school board governance following up on Iannaccone’s research.

Mary L. Delagardelle - Director, Iowa School Boards Foundation
Dr. Delagardelle holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies from Iowa State University. She has served as a school board member and educator for over 30 years and is currently the deputy executive director of the Iowa Association of School Boards and executive director of the Iowa School Boards Foundation. Dr. Delagardelle’s dissertation Role and Responsibilities of Local School Board Members in Relation to Student Achievement won the College of Human Science Research Excellence Award. Dr. Delagardelle recently led a multi-year research project on school board training and governance approaches that positively influence student achievement.

Lance D. Fusarelli - Associate Professor, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies, Educational Administration Coordinator, North Carolina State University
Dr. Fusarelli earned an M.A. in Government and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Texas at Austin where he was a University Fellow. He won the Dissertation of the Year Award from the Politics of Education Association and held a faculty position at Fordham University. As an expert in school policy, school boards, and superintendents, he has written or co-authored five books, including Effective Communication for School Administrators: A Necessity in an Information Age (2007). Dr. Fusarelli has written numerous articles on school governance and policy implications in the Journal of School Leadership, Journal of Educational Administration, Peabody Journal of Education, and Educational Policy.

DeLacy Derin Ganley - Co-Director, Teacher Education Internship Program; Assistant Professor, School of Educational Studies; Claremont Graduate School
Dr. Ganley holds an M.A. in English and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership.  Since 2004, she has Co-Directed Claremont Graduate University's Teacher Education Internship Program, serving as the Director of Curriculum and Research.  Ganley's background as a K-16 English teacher gives her experience working with linguistically and culturally diverse populations and an understanding of how technology can facilitate student learning.  Dr. Ganley's research interests are eclectic but can be grouped into four main categories: (a) the beliefs, characteristics, and practices that interrupt cycles of academic failure and promote student success, (b) teacher preparation, (c) systems theory and its application to educational institutions, and (d) school leadership and reform.

Thomas E. Glass - Professor of Leadership, The University of Memphis
Dr. Glass holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Educational Sociology from Wayne State University. He held faculty positions at Northern Illinois University, Washington State University, The University of Detroit and Indiana University. Dr. Glass served public schools as a superintendent and administrator in Michigan, Washington, and Arizona. Recently, he was lead author of The Study of the American School Superintendency 2000: A Look at the Superintendent of Education in the New Millennium. For ten years he served as editor of The Journal of School Business Management and has been a frequent contributor to numerous education journals. For over twenty-five years, Dr. Glass has served as a consultant to nearly one hundred school districts assisting them in public opinion polling, strategic planning, facilities, demographics, communications, and management review.

Frederick M. Hess – Director, Educational Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute (AEI)
Dr. Hess holds a B.A. in Political Science, M.A. in Government, M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction, and a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University. A former public high school social studies teacher, Dr. Hess previously taught education and politics at the University of Virginia. He is a faculty associate at the Harvard University Program on Education Policy and Governance and serves on the review board for the Broad Prize in Urban Education. At AEI, Dr. Hess works on a diverse range of K-12 and higher education issues including educational politics, administrative preparation and licensure, and school governance. He has been the executive editor of Education Next since 2001, and has recently released a book entitled Educational Entrepreneurship: Realities, Challenges, Possibilities (2006).

Laurence Iannaccone – Retired, Professor Emeritus University of California at Santa Barbara
Dr. Iannaccone was associate dean and department chair of the Graduate School of Education at the University of California at Santa Barbara and program leader in educational administration. He has been on the faculties of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, the University of Toronto Educational Theory Department, Harvard University, The Claremont Graduate School, Washington University, and New York University. During Dr. Iannaccone's tenure, he served as editor of the journal Educational Researcher. Dr. Iannaccone is author of innumerable books and articles on school board governance. His most recent research article was the Crucible of Democracy: The Local Arena (1994), in the Journal of Education Policy. Dr. Iannaccone is known for his development of the dissatisfaction theory of American democracy.

Michael W. Kirst (Author only) – Professor Emeritus, School of Education, Stanford University
Dr. Kirst received his bacherlor's degree in economics from Dartmourth College and his M.P.A. and Ph.D. in political economy and government from Harvard University.  Dr. Kirst is a member of the National Academy of Education and a former vice-president of the American Educational Research Association. He is co-director of the Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) Center, and was president of the California State Board of Education. A former staff director of the U.S. Senate Subcommission on Employment, Manpower, and Poverty, Dr. Kirst has also held several major positions in the U.S. Office of Education. He was twice selected as chairman of the Politics of Education Special Interest Group in Politics of Education. He is editor for the McCutchan series in educational administration and policy analysis. Dr. Kirst's seminal decision output theory led to the book The Political Dynamics of American Education (2005) with Frederick Wirt.

Theodore J. Kowalski – Endowed Professor, Kuntz Family Chair in Educational Administration, University of Dayton
Dr. Kowalski is a former public school teacher, principal, associate superintendent, and superintendent. He earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Indiana State University. He held faculty positions at Saint Louis University and Ball State University where he was the Dean of the Teachers College. Dr. Kowalski is the author of more than 160 publications including 17 books, as well as the editor of the Journal of School Public Relations. His most recent book is the second edition of The School Superintendent, a book frequently used in university superintendent courses. His most recent journal article is entitle Evolution of the School Superintendent as Communicator (2005).

Frank W. Lutz -  Retired, Emeritus Professor, Texas A&M - Commerce
Dr. Lutz received his B.S., M.S. and Ed.D. from Washington University at Saint Louis.  He directed the Center for Policy Studies in Education at Texas A&M, served as Dean of Education at Eastern Illinois, Director of Education Policy Studies at Pennsylvania State University and Director of Institute of Staff Relations at NYU.  With Laurence Iannaccone, he founded the "dissatisfaction theory" of American Democracy.  After retirement, Dr. Lutz joined the new doctoral faculty at the University of Texas-Pan American and was influential in establishing their program in education leadership.  He has written, co-authored or edited seven books, 23 chapters, 14 monographs, 107 articles, and has presented over 100 papers at scholarly and professional organizations.

Carol Merz Frankel – Dean, Professor Emeritus, School of Education, University of Puget Sound
Dr. Merz has been dean of the School of Education at the University of Puget Sound since 1987. She holds a B.A. and an M.A. in Education from Stanford University and an Ed.D. from Washington State University in Educational Administration. She previously served as a school principal and teacher for nearly 20 years. Dr. Merz has done seminal theoretical research on school board governance with notable contributions in her books Schools and Community: Promise and Paradox (1997), and The Politics of School Community Relations (1992). Dr. Merz also did key research on school boards and school board governance in journals including Urban Education and Planning & Changing.

Meredith L. Mountford - Associate Professor, Director for the Center for Educational Leaders. Florida Atlantic University
After eight years as a teacher, one year as a principal, and three years as a superintendent in Wisconsin, Dr. Mountford earned her Ph.D. in educational administration at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mountford’s dissertation Motivations for School Board Membership, Conceptions of Power, and Their Affect on Decision-Making won the Dissertation of the Year Award for American Educational Research Association's special interest group called Research on the Superintendency. Dr. Mountford also held faculty positions at the University of Missouri-Columbia and was Director of the Ed.D. Program in Educational Leadership. Dr. Mountford's most recent publications include Conceptions of power held by educational leaders: The impact on collaborative decision-making processes (2005) with Rose Ylimaki and Motives and Power of School Board Members: Implications for School Board-Superintendent Relationships (2004).

George J. Petersen - Professor and Chair of the Department of Graduate Studies in the College of Education at California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo
Dr. Petersen earned his Ph.D. in Educational Policy from the University of California - Santa Barbara and held a faculty position at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He also served as the associate director of UCEA. He is the author of several books on educational policy including The Politics of Leadership: Superintendents and School Boards in Changing Times (2005) with Lance Fusarelli. His journal articles include School Leader, Advocate, and the Good Neighbor: The Superintendent's Complex Relationship with the Board President, the School Board, and the Rest of the Community (2006) and The Board President and Superintendent: An Examination of Influence Through the Eyes of the Decision Makers (2005).

Francis X. Shen – Inequality Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
Francis Shen is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a licensed attorney in Missouri. He recently co-authored The Education Mayor (Georgetown Press), and is completing a Ph.D. in the Harvard University Government Department. He has published on a wide range of education policy issues, including school finance, charter schools and school governance.

Samuel C. Stringfield – Professor and Distinguished University Scholar, Co-Director, Nystrand Center of Excellence in Education, College of Education and Human Development, University of Louisville
Dr. Stringfield earned his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Temple University. In addition to his current position he is also Director of the Grawemeyer Award in Education, acting chair of the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology and a faculty member of the Department of Teaching and Learning, and the Department of Leadership, Foundations, and Human Resources Education. Dr. Stringfield is the author of numerous publications including Educational governance reforms: The Uncertain Role of Local School Boards in the United States with Deborah Land (2005). His articles frequently appear in educational policy journals such as American Educational Research Journal and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis.

Kenneth K. Wong - The Walter and Leonore Annenberg Professor in Education Policy; Professor of Education, Political Science, and Public Policy; Director of Urban Education Policy Program at Brown University
Dr. Wong holds M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Political Science from the University of Chicago and has been director of the National Research Center on School Choice, Competition and Student Achievement. He held faculty positions at Peabody College and Vanderbilt University and was the associate director of the Peabody Center for Education Policy. Author of numerous publications, he currently has a book under contract entitled How Mayors Improve School Performance.