Thank you to Tom Vander Ark for hosting Education Forward DC’s CEO, Maura Marino, on his Getting Smart podcast.
Learn more about Maura, Education Forward DC’s work and mission, and DC’s education ecosystem by listening to the podcast here.
Key Takeaways
[:33] Tom welcomes Maura Marino to the podcast.
[:36] About Maura’s upbringing and education in New Jersey.
[1:39] How and why she ended up going to Stanford University in California.
[2:31] About Maura’s teaching career after college in East Palo Alto, CA.
[4:40] Why Maura decided to go to Harvard Business School, after getting her Masters from Columbia.
[5:50] Was going to Harvard Business School a good experience for Maura?
[7:04] The different positions Maura held at NewSchools Venture Fund (where she stayed for 8 years).
[8:19] More about NewSchools and the visionary work of the early leaders.
[10:52] About the two-year-old organization Maura helped launch called Education Forward DC, and about its mission.
[11:52] Does Maura’s work with Education Forward DC build on any cities in particular?
[13:25] Does Maura see NewSchool development remaining an important part of creating a healthy ecosystem in DC?
[16:29] How the DC Public Charter School Board are an important part of the success story.
[17:44] Is school improvement an important part of Education Forward DC’s agenda?
[18:33] NewSchools relationship with the district now.
[19:34] Does Maura have the sense that these ecosystem leaders (or “quarterback organizations”) can help bring sustainability to an urban innovation and improvement agenda? Can they be part of the bridge that keeps things together in a city when the district may be undergoing change?
[21:46] Does working with like-minded schools in a network resonate with Maura and her work with Education Forward DC?
