• Dr. Howard Fuller has been a tireless advocate for equality in the education system. As one of the nation's first "non-traditional" school superintendents in 1991, Fuller made the leap from advocate and activist to running the Milwaukee Public Schools during tumultuous political times. He was one of the first school leaders to publicly link poor-performing schools with reform-stifling provisions of the teacher's contract. He is a distinguished professor of education and director of the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University, which supports excellent education options for all children, particularly those from low-income families. A mentor to many of today's education reformers working across the nation, Fuller co-founded the Black Alliance for Educational Options. He currently serves on numerous boards. 

• As the senior Democrat on the Education and Workforce Committee, Representative George Miller has been an inspirational and effective champion of many efforts to close the achievement gap. He was one of the original authors of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and he helped pass the Empowering Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act and establish the Early Learning Challenge Fund, among many other reform bills. He also authored the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which cut interest rates for Stafford Loans in half, increased Pell Grants, and provided loan forgiveness to qualified public service employees with student loan debt. Miller was ahead of his time: in 1994, he drafted an amendment which would have required states to certify that their teachers had been qualified for the subject areas they were teaching and to have plans in place to pay exceptional teachers more. The vote in the House, after dramatic pushback from special interests, was 434-1 against. Today, Miller is far from the lone vote on those types of issues.

• As founder and CEO of the Success Charter Network, Eva Moskowitz has been at the forefront of reshaping educational opportunity in Harlem, New York. Her work to expand quality school choice for every family was recently featured in the documentary The Lottery, which follows four children who enter the public lottery for admission to Harlem Success Academy. Eva also fought tirelessly for New York City's children as a member of the City Council, where she was chair of the Education Committee and earned a reputation for saying what needed to be said, even if nobody else in city government had the guts to say it. 

• In her role as Denver Public Schools Board Member and former President of the Board, Theresa Peña has fought to pass critical education reform measures to improve the quality of Denver schools for every child. Among her many achievements, she was instrumental in passing a comprehensive plan for Far Northeast Denver that aims to improve student achievement, ensure the effectiveness of teachers and principals, support rigorous curriculum standards and assessments, and provide comprehensive support systems for children. It is no accident that Denver, Colorado is at the forefront of today's education reform battles. Peña's unapologetic focus and leadership has made progress possible in the Mile High City.