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 transitioned to communications leadership in the education sector including recent work with Achieve and Great Minds. He is currently a consultant to nonprofits. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Chad graduated from Florida State University.

Debbie Veney is the founder and CEO of Agency, an advocacy and strategic communications nonprofit. Before creating Agency, Debbie led communications, marketing and grassroots advocacy at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. 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.

Debbie has also held senior communications and policy positions at NewSchools Venture Fund, The Education Trust, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Communities In Schools. Before joining the nonprofit arena, Debbie built a solid reputation in corporate communications and issues management at DuPont, CIGNA and United Healthcare.

Debbie serves on the board of directors of the D.C. Jazz Festival, Education Writers Association, and BASIS DC charter school. 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 a marketing and fundraising consultant working with 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. 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 degree from James Madison College at Michigan State University.

Bio coming soon.

Tony Axam is the married father of two children who each attended public charter schools in Washington, DC. He works as
an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the District of Columbia, representing indigent people charged with crimes in
the District. He has been with the office for 24 years and iscurrently the head of appellate division. 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. He currently volunteers as the President of Washington Capital United, a travel soccer club that is part of the Capitol Hill community. Between 2012-2017, Tony served as a board member for the BASIS DC Boosters.