AFC Congratulates Nina Rees as new CEO of National Alliance for Public Charter Schools

The American Federation for Children and the Alliance for School Choice are pleased to congratulate Nina Rees, who was today named the new Chief Executive Officer of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS).

AFC Senior Advisor Kevin P. Chavous worked closely with Rees in the effort to pass the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program while Rees served as Assistant Deputy Secretary of Innovation and Improvement at the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). As the first head of the Office for Innovation and Improvement at DOE,  Rees helped bring about the nation's only federally-funded voucher program, which is now thriving as a model for private school choice across the country.

According to Chavous:

I am a huge fan of Nina Rees. Having worked with her closely, I can attest to her leadership skills and her ability to build consensus. More significant, however, is Nina's heartfelt commitment to the educational needs of our children. She is an excellent choice to lead the Alliance at this time.

As a good friend to the Federation and the Alliance for the better part of a decade, Rees has regularly embraced bringing all educational options to low-income families. In addition to her work in spearheading the creation of the D.C. voucher program and the city's burgeoning charter school sector, Rees  has served as a key White House domestic policy advisor, a senior education analyst at the Heritage Foundation, and as a regular presence on a host of national news outlets.

Here's more on Rees's expansive and deep background in the realm of education:

Rees currently serves on the board of advisors of the Education Policy and Governance Program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, the Apple Tree Institute for Education Innovation and the review board for The Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools. She also serves on the board of directors of the Charter School Development Corporation and the Education Industry Association. 

Most recently, Rees spent over six years as Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives for Knowledge Universe, a leading global education company with investments in early childhood education, before- and after-school programs and online instruction. Rees oversaw the organization’s public policy and government relations work in Washington, DC. 

Those of us in the private school choice movement have greatly appreciated the continued support of charter organizations like the NAPCS. Formerly led by ex-Colorado Senate President Peter C. Groff -- also a strong supporter of all forms of choice -- the union of choice organizations from across the movement is a fundamentally important part of making sure that all children have options, especially as we see more and more students who seek but are denied strong charter options because of burgeoning waiting lists.

Rees will be formally introduced as the new NAPCS CEO at the organization's annual conference, which is to be held next week in Minneapolis, MN.

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MAG