Dr. Craig Barrett is a leading advocate for improving education in the U.S. and around the world. In 2009, he stepped down as Chairman of the Board of Intel Corporation, a post he held from May 2005 to May 2009, following 35 years of service to the company.

Dr. Barrett received his BS, MS and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science from Stanford University. After graduation, he joined the faculty of Stanford in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, rising to the rank of Associate Professor. Dr. Barrett was a Fulbright Fellow at Danish Technical University in Denmark and a NATO Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Physical Laboratory in England.

Dr. Barrett chairs Achieve, Inc., Change The Equation (a national science, technology, engineering and math [STEM] initiative), and Dossia. He is vice chair of Science Foundation Arizona, and is a member of the Board of Directors of BASIS Charter Schools, Inc., K12 Inc., Society for Science and the Public, the Arizona Commerce Authority Board, and a faculty member of Thunderbird School of Global Management. Dr. Barrett has co-chaired the Business Coalition for Student Achievement, the National Innovation Initiative Leadership Council, and has served as a member of the Board of Trustees for the U.S. Council for International Business and the Clinton Global Initiative Education Advisory Board.

Chad Colby has more than 23 years of experience in political and education communications. He has worked in three state education agencies included assisting New Mexico’s secretary of education with the adoption of new education reform initiatives; serving as the Communications Director at the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education; and working as an assistant to the Florida Commissioner of Education. Chad also worked at the U.S. Department of Education from 2004 to 2009 and served as the deputy assistant secretary for media affairs and strategic communication during his final two years there. His work has transitioned to communications leadership in the nonprofit education sector including recent work with Achieve and his current position at Great Minds. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Chad graduated from Florida State University.

Debbie Veney is the senior vice president of communications and marketing at the National Alliance. She brings more than 20 years of experience in strategic communications, advocacy, crisis communications, and media relations. She also brings a deep passion for equity in education and believes in the power of a high-quality education to change a child’s life.

Before returning to the National Alliance, she held senior communications and policy positions at NewSchools Venture Fund, The Education Trust, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Communities In Schools, and previously at the National Alliance.

Debbie serves on the board of directors of the D.C. Jazz Festival, Education Writers Association, and the Contemporary American Theater Festival. She was also the founding board chair of the Philadelphia affiliate of Komen for the Cure. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Howard University, and a master’s degree in broadcasting, telecommunications, and mass media from Temple University, where she was honored with a Lew Klein Award and inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame.

Mali is an ICF Certified Professional Coach focused on Empowerment and Restorative Relating, a Collaborative Communication Trainer and a Certified Positive Discipline Classroom Educator with a mission to grow collaboration, effective partnerships, intrinsic engagement and inclusion beyond diversity and conflict. As an Implementation Team trainer with “Restorative DC”, an initiative of SchoolTalk in partnership with DCPS and OSSE, Mali facilitates and teaches restorative practices, mediation, conflict-resolution, communication skills and collaborative techniques to D.C. schools and educators as well as to individuals, families, community groups, and organizations through her private coaching/training practice. With her past career and strengths as a marketing/social media and fundraising manager and as a natural community organizer and networker, Mali enjoyed being part of the team to bring BASIS to Washington, D.C. in 2011 as she believes it brings a world-class, affordable, and powerful education that offers a diversity of options for D.C. children and their families. Mali is a native of France, and an American who has lived in the District of Columbia itself since 1998. She graduated with Honors from Sorbonne University, France, with a Master in International Economics and Management.

Anne House Quinn is President & CEO of Quinn Marketing & Development, Inc. (QMD, a consulting firm providing marketing and fundraising management services to nonprofit organizations and associations. Some clients include StepAfrika!, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award World Fellowship (Prince Philip’s international charity), the National Parks Conservation Association, the Kennedy Center, Ford’s Theatre, and Folger Shakespeare Library. She also has consulted with many associations including the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists , the American Institute of Biological Sciences, and the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.

Ms. Quinn is an Advanced Certified Fund Raising Executive (ACFRE) through the Association of Fundraising Professionals. The ACFRE program is the most rigorous step in the certification process available to all fundraisers. Currently, there are 107 ACFREs in North America. A life-long volunteer, Ms. Quinn has served as a board member of many nonprofit organizations, and she served on her church finance council and endowment committee. She has an MBA degree from The George Washington University and earned a BA from James Madison College at Michigan State University.

Bio coming soon.

Tony Axam is an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the District of Columbia, representing indigent people charged with crimes in the District. After working many years as a trial attorney, he is currently the head of appeals for the office. He has been with the office for 18 years. Tony lives in Ward 6 where he has been active as a volunteer coach through the D.C. Department of Recreation as well as through the all-volunteer organization, Sports on the Hill. Between 2012-2017, Tony served as a board member for the BASIS DC Boosters. Tony received his B.A. from Yale University in 1992 and his J.D. from Georgetown in 1995.