Contributor

Nelson Smith, President & CEO, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools

Nelson Smith is President and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, a post he has held since December 2004. The Alliance is the national nonprofit that works to increase the growth and quality of public charter schools through advocacy, communications, and capacity-building initiatives.

Previously, Smith served as Vice President for Policy and Governance at New American Schools; was the first Executive Director of the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board; and was Vice President for Education and Workforce Development at the New York City Partnership. From 1985 to 1992, at the US Department of Education, he oversaw numerous programs devoted to improving education through research-based methods.

He has written extensively on issues affecting the charter sector. For the Progressive Policy Institute, Smith authored studies of the charter school movements in California and Texas, and for the Education Commission of the States he wrote The New Central Office, an exploration of how central-office functions change as public school districts move toward charter-based systems. His articles about charter schooling and education policy have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Education Next and other publications. He presented on charter schooling at the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative conference.

A graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, Smith is a resident of the District of Columbia, where he is active in civic and arts organizations. He is a member of the Board of Trustees for the E. L. Haynes Public Charter School.