2014 ASU+GSV Summit to feature Gov. Jeb Bush, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and more than 225 game-changing education companies

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., March 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 1,500 investors, entrepreneurs and leaders from education, business, government and philanthropy will gather at the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale for the Fifth Annual ASU+GSV Education Innovation Summit from April 21-23, 2014.

Co-hosted by Arizona State University and GSV Advisors, the Summit has become to education innovation what Davos is to global economics and Sun Valley is to media. Unlike other conferences that focus specifically on education policy or technology, the GSV Summit is unique both in composition and mission.  It brings key stakeholders together in one place to collaborate and drive change, and serves as a launch pad for new ideas and ventures. 

Headlining this year's event are former Governor of Florida Jeb Bush; NBA legend and global social entrepreneur Earvin "Magic" Johnson; and Netflix co-founder and CEO, investor and philanthropist Reed Hastings. 

"We bring together the world's most visionary, passionate, and energetic players to stimulate debate and to push forward fundraising, strategic alliances and overall community activism that will scale education innovation globally and drive a higher return on education," said Deborah Quazzo, the founder and managing partner of GSV Advisors.   

The theme of this year's Summit is the "American" Dream – an examination of how this national ideal has become a global aspiration rooted in the conviction that opportunity is limitless and that education makes possible social mobility and prosperity.

"In five short years, the Summit has become the place where leaders from around the world get together to drive learning innovation to impact people's lives in meaningful ways.  In the knowledge based economy and global marketplace, education makes the difference in how well an individual does, how well a company does and for that matter, how well a country does.  The 'American' Dream of optimizing one's potential with the foundation of education has become a universal aspiration in what we refer to as the Global Silicon Valley – from Austin to Boston, from Chicago to Sao Paulo, from Shanghai to Mumbai," said Michael Moe, the Summit's co-chair and the founder of GSV Asset Management and GSV Capital, the sister companies of GSV Advisors.      

"As the pace and complexity of our global society increases exponentially, there is an urgent need to realign the design and infrastructure of education with the needs of the people our educational systems are intended to serve," said Michael M. Crow, Arizona State University's president and the Summit's co-chair.  "Universities must become effective partners for global development. Only through the proliferation of networks —such as those the Summit helps to build—can transformation occur at the scale that is immediately needed in order to advance our global knowledge economy."

The ASU+GSV Summit attracts the most disruptive organizations in education – including Coursera, DonorsChoose, Knewton, edX, Dreambox Learning, General Assembly, Curious.com, Code.org, Minerva, and Inkling.

This year, more than 225 innovative new and growing companies will present their work before an audience of venture capital firms, major strategic education companies, philanthropists and educators.  Attendees and presenters will have the opportunity to connect and forge new relationships.  Previous presenting companies have gone on to collectively raise more than $1 billion from some of the world's best known investors.

The Summit's lead sponsors are the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hot Chalk, Pearson, Capella Education, DLA Piper, Ingram Books and Microsoft; with additional support from Apollo Education Group, Arizona State University Online/Arizona State University SkySong, Blackboard, Cengage Learning, Century Link, Chegg, DeVry University, Follett, Hobsons/Naviance Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Kaplan, Lumina Foundation, McGraw Hill Foundation, Mediasite by Sonic Foundry, Noodle, The Parthenon Group, Scholastic, University Ventures, Vinci, William Blair, 2U, ABS Capital Partners, ACT Foundation, Amazon, AT&T, Canvas by Instructure, Dell, Discovery Education, GinkgoTree, Lynda.com, MacMillan New Ventures and Renaissance Learning. 

For more information, visit http://edinnovation.gsvadvisors.com/.  @asugsvsummit  #EDInnovation

SOURCE ASU+GSV Summit