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Tom Vander Ark
Managing Partner Tom Vander Ark is Managing Partner of Revolution Learning. Previously he served as President of the X PRIZE Foundation and Executive Director of Education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation where he developed and implemented more than $3.5 billion in scholarship and grant programs to improve education throughout the United States. In December 2006, Newsweek readers voted Vander Ark the most influential baby boomer in education. Prior to his role with the Gates Foundation, Vander Ark was the first business executive to serve as a public school superintendent for one of Washington State's larger school districts that has been recognized for narrowing achievement gaps and reducing administrative costs. Vander Ark also has extensive experience in the private sector serving as a senior executive for retail start up, PACE Membership Warehouse, that achieved $5 billion in revenue and was sold to K-Mart. Tom managed a business consulting practice for Cap Gemini and was a founding partner of the Center for Strategic Planning. He began his career at Amoco Minerals (now Cyprus Amax) in engineering and corporate finance. Tom advises Communities in Schools, ConnCan, Democrats for Education Reform, National Association of Charter School Authorizers, MLA Partner Schools and Strive for College. Tom blogs at EdReformer.com. |