Retention 2010
Freeman A. Hrabowski, III President, Universitiy of Maryland, Baltimore County
Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, has served as President of UMBC (The University of Maryland, Baltimore County) since May, 1992. His research and publications focus on science and math education, with special emphasis on minority participation and performance. He currently chairs the National Academies’ Committee on Underrepresented Groups and the Science & Engineering Workforce Pipeline.
He serves as a consultant to the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Academies, and universities and school systems nationally. He also serves on the boards of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, France-Merrick Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation (Chair), and The Urban Institute.
He also sits on the boards of Constellation Energy Group, McCormick & Company, and the Baltimore Equitable Society. He also served on the board of the Maryland Humanities Council as both a member and Chair.
He has authored numerous articles and co-authored two books, Beating the Odds and Overcoming the Odds (Oxford University Press), focusing on parenting and high-achieving African American males and females in science. Both books are used by universities, school systems, and community groups around the country.
A child-leader in the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Hrabowski was prominently featured in Spike Lee’s 1997 documentary, Four Little Girls, on the racially motivated bombing in 1963 of Birmingham’s Sixteenth Street Baptist Church.
Born in 1950 in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. Hrabowski graduated at 19 from Hampton Institute with highest honors in mathematics. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he received his M.A. (mathematics) and four years later his Ph.D. (higher education administration/statistics) at age 24.
Dr. Reginald A. Wilkinson, President and CEO of Ohio College Access Network
Dr. Reginald A. Wilkinson is currently the President & CEO of the Ohio College Access Network. Previously, he served as the Executive Director of the Business Alliance on Higher Education and the Economy, and was employed by the State of Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) since September 1973. Dr. Wilkinson is past President of the nation's oldest and largest corrections organization: American Correctional Association (ACA).
Dr. Wilkinson has authored numerous articles on a variety of correctional topics. He is editor of two books: Correctional Best Practices: Directors’ Perspectives and Best Reentry Practices: Directors’ Perspectives. As ACA president, he commissioned the publication of Best Practices: Excellence in Corrections. Dr. Wilkinson has written chapters in a number of books, a few of which include: Ohio Crime, Ohio Justice; Prison and Jail Administration: Practice and Theory; Frontiers of Justice, Volume 2; and The Full Spectrum: Essays on Staff Diversity in Corrections.
Dr. Wilkinson has received awards from such organizations as the National Governors' Association, the ACA, the Association of State Correctional Administrators, the International Community Corrections Association, the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, the Volunteers of America, the Ohio Community Corrections Organization and the Ohio Correctional and Court Services Association. Dr. Wilkinson's academic background includes a Bachelor's degree in political science and a Master's degree in higher education administration, both from The Ohio State University. He was also awarded a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Cincinnati.
Greg Darnieder, Special Assistant and Advisor to the Secretary on the Secretary’s Initiative on College Access, Department of Education
Greg began his career in education as a middle grades teacher in St. Louis and Riverdale MD. He has a BA in Sociology, a K-8 teaching certificate from St. Louis University and a MA in Christian Education from Wheaton College. He worked for 15 years as the executive director of youth development and college access organizations in Chicago’s Cabrini Green Housing Development. Beginning in 2003, he oversaw the Steans Family Foundation’s community focused philanthropic efforts in Chicago’s North Lawndale community including early childhood, education, organizational development and affordable housing. He has served in leadership roles for several foundations and on over twenty non-profit organization boards.
In 2003 Greg established the Department of Postsecondary Education and Student Development (DPSESD) at Chicago Public Schools (CPS), designing and implementing an assortment of postsecondary, academic, financial, and social support programs and building university, corporate and civic partnerships to enhance college access. In 2008 he was named the director of the Department of College and Career Preparation (DCCP) for CPS, a newly formed department that consists of the DPSESD and the Department of Education To Careers.
In 2009, Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, named Greg the Special Assistant to the Secretary for College Access at the U.S. Department of Education, where he currently serves.
Cheryl Hyman, City Colleges of Chicago Chancellor
Hyman is a graduate of Olive-Harvey College and also holds an Executive Master of Business Administration degree from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, a Master of Arts degree in Community Development from North Park University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Hyman currently serves as vice president of Operations Strategy and Business Intelligence at ComEd, overseeing operational strategic initiatives, business intelligence, and operational analysis. She joined ComEd in 1996 and held positions in various departments of the company, including Community Relations, Information Technology, and Transmission and Distribution.
Hyman began her career with ComEd as a Development Analyst responsible for maintaining and enhancing nuclear-related legacy applications, including Nuclear Production Operations and Nuclear Emergency Preparedness. She spent nearly four years as an External Affairs manager responsible for creating and managing community and economic development grants, which provided funding for housing, comprehensive planning, education, and youth enrichment. She also served as ComEd Director of Government and Legislative Affairs.
She has been active in Exelon’s African American Members Association (EAAMA) and was instrumental in ComEd’s corporate sponsorship of the Black Star Project, which brings EAAMA members to local schools to promote and reinforce the importance of education. She also serves as the Chairman for the Black Star Project Advisory Board. Hyman was elected to the Board of Directors for The Night Ministry, an organization aiming to non-judgmentally serve the needs of the homeless and runaway youth. She has been sworn in under the State of Illinois as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for abused and neglected children who are wards of the Juvenile Court. Hyman is a Chicago native who grew up on the West Side and graduated from Orr High School.
Pranav Kothari, Managing Director of Mission Measurement
Pranav Kothari is an expert in measuring performance of social impact and education organizations. As Managing Director of Mission Measurement, LLC, Pranav advises leading funders, education initiatives, and nonprofit organizations. He speaks and leads workshops on measuring social impact, national nonprofit effectiveness, and education philanthropy and serves as guest lecturer at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management Executive Education and MBA programs.
Prior to joining Mission Measurement, Pranav was a Program Director at KnowledgeWorks Foundation where he led new strategy development and college access grantmaking. His work in postsecondary education access has been recognized by the Ohio College Access Network and the Ohio Appalachian Center for Higher Education.
Pranav holds an A.B. in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Pranav currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National College Access Network, the Research Advisory Board of the Educational Policy Institute and the Chicago Advisory Board of Education Pioneers.