Aspen Institute to Host 'Education Innovation Forum and Expo'

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Aspen Institute presents the 'Education Innovation Forum and Expo: Leveraging i3 to Drive an Innovation Culture.' The event convenes January 20-21 at the Convention Center in Washington, DC. The forum and expo will connect the nation's most thoughtful educational leaders, influencers, and problem solvers with those searching to support or implement solutions to the nation's biggest challenges. The event will capitalize on the momentum created by the tremendous response to the Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) to ignite a broader national drive to create and sustain an innovation culture in public education.

Speakers currently confirmed to attend include: US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, News Corporation Executive VP Joel Klein, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Deputy Director of Education Stacey Childress, Stupski Foundation CEO Susan Colby, Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek, US Department of Education Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement Jim Shelton, Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Goldman Sachs Managing Director Carlos Watson, Warburg Pincus Managing Director Adarsh Sarma, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt CEO Barry O'Callaghan, North Carolina AT&T State President Cynthia Marshall, Bellwether Partners  CEO Kim Smith, Learn Capital Managing Partner Tom Vander Ark, NeXt Advisors Co-Founder Michael Moe, Ecko Enterprises CEO Mark Ecko, Investors' Circle CEO Suzanne Biegel, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy's Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra.

The Forum will also feature a venture fair on January 19 to alert investors to opportunities in the growing education technology sector.  A collaboration with Investors' Circle and Startl, the venture fair will seek to drive investment dollars to innovative education solutions with the potential to produce improved student performance.

"This event will begin a much needed national dialogue on how to effectively create a more innovation friendly policy environment as well as attract more private equity investment to the education space," said Gary Huggins, executive director, the Aspen Institute's Commission on NCLB.

"Partnerships fostered by this gathering and follow up activities have the potential to drive sustainable and scalable solutions for some of education's most persistent challenges," said Walter Isaacson, president and CEO, the Aspen Institute.

For a list of currently confirmed speakers, agenda updates, and further event information, please visit www.edinnovation.org.

We will extend the conversation to those unable to attend by webcasting the proceedings on our website www.edinnovation.org. There we will also host an ongoing exhibitor blog, showcasing each participating exhibit. Event updates will be featured at www.twitter.com/aspeninstitute and www.facebook.com/aspeninstitute. To follow the event on Twitter, use the hashtag #EdInno.

Underwriters for the Forum and Expo include AT&T, Goldman Sachs, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, News Corporation, Scholastic, Stupski Foundation, and Warburg Pincus.  

The Aspen Institute mission is twofold: to foster values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues. The Aspen Institute does this primarily in four ways: seminars, young-leader fellowships around the globe, policy programs, and public conferences and events. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It also has an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.

SOURCE The Aspen Institute