Mary Cullinane is director of innovation and business development for the Microsoft Corporation. A former teacher, she joined Microsoft in 2000, where she has worked to promote innovative programs and initiatives, including as national program manager of the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation and creator of the Microsoft Innovation Center Awards. In 2003, Cullinane accepted the position of School of the Future technology architect, in which she was responsible for driving the creation of the new high school. In 2008, she became the U.S. director of innovation and business development for the Microsoft Education Group. Cullinane, a recipient of the Microsoft Circle of Excellence Award, has spoken at national and international conferences on topics such as educational technology, school reform, and strategic leadership. She has testified before Congress and has appeared on PBS, National Public Radio, and ABC News, and in Wired magazine.
Frederick M. Hess is a resident scholar and director of education policy studies at American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and an executive editor of Education Next. His many books include When Research Matters (Harvard Education Press, 2008), No Remedy Left Behind (AEI Press, 2007), Educational Entrepreneurship (Harvard Education Press, 2006), Tough Love for Schools (AEI Press, 2006), Common Sense School Reform (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), and Spinning Wheels (Brookings Institution Press, 1998). His work has appeared in both popular and scholarly outlets, including Social Science Quarterly, the Harvard Educational Review, Education Week, Phi Delta Kappan, the Washington Post, and National Review. Hess serves on the review board for the Broad Prize in Urban Education, as a research associate with the Harvard University Program on Education Policy and Governance, and as a member of the research advisory board for the National Center for Educational Accountability. He is a former high school social studies teacher and has taught at Harvard University, Georgetown University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Virginia.
