Ms. De Aidre Ashford, Detroit School of Arts Parent De Aidre Ashford currently serves as the parent representative on the governing council at Detroit School of Arts. She is the mother of six high achieving children all of whom attended Detroit Public Schools. Ms. Ashford is also a Detroit Public School alumnus who went on to complete her undergraduate studies at Spring Arbor University, majoring in Business Management and Organizational Development. Additionally, De Aidre has two graduate degrees; one is in Organizational Management conferred from Spring Arbor University and another in Library and Information Science conferred from Wayne State University. Ms. Ashford has worked as an insurance agent and as an administrative assistant and technical service representative for several Fortune 500 companies in the metro Detroit area. At the community level, she has served as a technical coordinator and in various additional leadership positions at her local church for the past 5 years. Additionally, De Aidre has actively volunteered at Think Detroit PAL, Cass Technical High School, Renaissance High School, the Parade Company, Detroit Long Term Planning Project, Riverdale Community Organization, and Neighbors Building Brightmoor.
Mr. Stuart Frankel, Stuart Frankel Development Company Mr. Stuart Frankel was born in Detroit, Michigan, where he attended Hampton Elementary School (now Brenda Jordan Elementary School) and Mumford High School. Stuart went on to pursue a bachelor s degree at the University of Michigan. After his undergraduate program, Mr. Frankel went on to obtain a Bachelors of Law from Wayne State University and a Masters of Law from New York University. In addition, he has received credits towards a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Detroit. In his professional life, Stuart first worked as a tax attorney for Coopers and Lybrand. He then served as a partner at Frankel Development Company. Currently, he is the founder and owner of Stuart Frankel Development Company. In 1997, Stuart and his wife founded the Maxine and Stuart Frankel foundation for Art. Stuart and Maxine are connoisseurs of the arts and have affiliations with the Cranbrook Art Museum, Sphinx Organization (Music), the University of Michigan Museum of Art, and the University Musical Society at the University of Michigan. Mr. Frankel also served on the Downtown Development Authority in Troy, Michigan for over ten years. Notably, he has received numerous awards, including the recently bestowed recognition as recipient of the Distinguished Service Outside of the Profession Award (2013) by the National Art Education Association. Additionally, he received the Helping Heart Award (2004) from the Common Ground Sanctuary for outstanding leadership and volunteerism and the Governor s Award for Arts and Culture from Governor Granholm in 2004.
Dr. James Kelly, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (Retired) Dr. James A. Kelly has had a distinguished career in education policy, education finance, philanthropy, and teaching standards, assessments and certification. He advises education organizations, international agencies, governments and foundations on education policy; and serves on the boards of many non-governmental organizations in the fields of education, philanthropy, art and music. Notably, Dr. Kelly was founding President and CEO of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), where he led efforts to create National Board Certification (NBC), the United State's advanced professional certification program for accomplished elementary and secondary teachers. Dr. Kelly was a senior program officer at the Ford Foundation, where he influenced state education finance and tax policies to make their support for public education more equitable. From 1985-87 was president of the Center (now College) for Creative Studies, in Detroit, MI. He was an assistant and associate professor at Teachers College, Columbia University from 1966-1970, taught part-time at Harvard University while based at the Ford Foundation, and was responsible for education policy at the National Urban Coalition during the 1968-69 urban upheavals in many American cities. Dr. Kelly began his career as a teacher, assistant principal and assistant superintendent of the public schools in Ladue, Missouri. His B.A degree is from Shimer College, then an integral part of the College of the University of Chicago. His M. A. is from the University of Chicago, and his Ph.D. is from Stanford University, with concentrations in education, political science and economics.
Ms. Katy Locker, Hudson-Webber Foundation Katy Locker joined the Hudson-Webber Foundation in 2008 and her current role in the organization is Vice President of Programs. Established in 1943 with major contributions from Mr. and Mrs. Richard H. Webber, other members of the Webber family, and The J. L. Hudson Company, the Foundation has assets of over $160 million and concentrates its efforts and resources on its mission of improving the quality of life in metropolitan Detroit. During 2012, the Foundation provided grants totaling nearly $7 million. In addition to managing Hudson-Webber s grantmaking programs and grantee relationships, Locker has led an effort with Foundation President & CEO, David Egner, to enhance the focus of the Hudson-Webber Foundation s work and giving to include 15 15, a shared vision to attract 15,000 young, talented households to Greater Downtown Detroit by 2015. The Foundation works in the targeted geography of Greater Downtown Detroit to assist in making it the kind of place that young talent wants to be. 15 15 is a focused extension of the Foundation s historical giving to the Woodward Corridor. Before joining the Hudson-Webber Foundation, Locker practiced law and worked on a variety of policy projects in the city of Detroit and served as the Director for the Coalition for a Detroit Land Bank. In addition, she previously served the Judicial Council of California as a Policy Analyst and practiced law in California. A resident of Detroit, Locker is a board member of Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan and a prior board member and chair of the Detroit Artists Market. Locker is a graduate of Leadership Detroit Class XXVIII. She holds a bachelors degree and masters in Public Administration from Cornell University and a law degree from the University of Michigan. In 2010, Locker was named to Crain s Detroit Business Forty Under Forty. In 2012, Locker was named a German Marshall Fund Marshall Memorial Fellow.
Dr. Elizabeth Moje, University of Michigan School of Education Elizabeth Birr Moje is Associate Dean for Research and Community Engagement and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the School of Education at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Moje also serves as a Faculty Associate in the University s Institute for Social Research, and a Faculty Affiliate in Latino/a Studies. Moje teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in secondary and adolescent literacy, literacy and cultural theory, and qualitative and mixed research methods. Her research interests revolve around the intersection between the literacies and texts youth are asked to learn in the disciplines (particularly in science and social studies) and the literacies and texts they experience outside of school. In addition, Moje studies how youth make culture and enact identities from their home and community literacies, and from ethnic cultures, popular cultures, and school cultures. These research interests stem from the start of her career when she taught history, biology, and drama at high schools in Colorado and Michigan. Her current research focuses on communities and schools in Detroit, Michigan. She also engages in literacy professional development with teachers in Detroit and around the country. Moje has authored or edited three books and numerous book chapters, as well as articles in journals such as the Harvard Educational Review, Review of Research in Education, Reading Research Quarterly, Teachers College Record, Journal of Literacy Research, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Research in the Teaching of English, Urban Review, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, and Science Education. Moje is currently serving on the National Academy of Science/National Research Council s Committee on Learning Adolescent and Adult Literacy; the PISA Steering Committee; the William T. Grant Foundation s Scholar Selection Committee; and as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching. She has also served as a member of the Carnegie Corporation of New York s Adolescent Literacy Council; the Spencer Task Force on Enhancing Doctoral Education; the Spencer Foundation s Exemplary Dissertation Award Committee; and as Research Chair of the National Conference on Research on Language and Literacy (NCRLL).
Dr. Lester Monts, University of Michigan Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Lester P. Monts is the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Senior Counselor to the President for the Arts, Diversity and Undergraduate Affairs, and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Music. As the senior vice provost, Monts works with the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs on matters related to budget, tenure and promotion, enrollment, and a broad range of academic issues. He oversees operations of sixteen central administrative units, including five centers and eleven academic service units. Monts has served on the music faculties of Edinboro University, University of Minnesota, Case Western Reserve University and the University of California at Santa Barbara. From 1988 to 1993, he served as dean of undergraduate affairs in the College of Letters and Science, where he directed Santa Barbara's undergraduate honors program. Monts has focused his scholarly research on the musical and cultural systems among the Vai people of Liberia and is regarded as one of the world's leading scholars on music and culture in the Guinea coast region of West Africa. His book, Vai Musical Language, is published by the Societe d'etudes Linguistiques et Anthropologiques de France; it explores Vai folk etymologies related to the intersection between music and other linguistic phenomena. He has presented his research at the conferences of many national and international learned societies, including the Society for Ethnomusicology, the African Studies Association, and American Anthropological Association. A professional trumpeter, Monts has performed with numerous orchestras, including the Minnesota Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Santa Barbara Symphony and the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra. He also served as principal trumpet for the Allegheny Summer Music Festival and the Music Festival of Arkansas.
Dr. Glenda Price, Detroit Public Schools Foundation and Marygrove College Dr. Price served as the President of Marygrove College from 1998 through June 2006 and is currently President Emeritus. Prior to assuming her responsibilities at Marygrove, Dr. Price was the Provost at Spelman College in Atlanta from 1992 to 1998. Following her retirement from Marygrove College, Dr. Price served as the Interim President of the Michigan Colleges Foundation from January through August 2008. Dr. Price has held positions as faculty and administrator at several academic institutions, as well as practicing as a clinical laboratory scientist. Dr. Price served as a director of LaSalle Bank Corporation, a member of the ABN AMRO Group, from 2002 until 2008. Dr. Price currently serves on the board of several community, civic and educational organizations, including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Focus: HOPE and the Michigan Colleges Foundation. In addition to her leadership positions in various organizations, Dr. Price serves on the Audit Committee for the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.