What was your first job after college and how did you get it?
I worked for a pro-Israel lobbying firm. I learned about it from a friend.
How did you get your current job?
I quit my teaching job three years ago to work on starting this school and raised money to draw a small salary during Explore's two-year planning phase.
What experiences and/or course work in college best prepared you for this job or influenced your decision to do this work?
Experiences that best prepared me -- Teach for America in Louisiana and teaching in South Africa
Any regrets? What experiences and/or course work might have better prepared you for this work?
No regrets -- though I've heard better things about Harvard's school of education than Columbia's (where I went)
Have you attended graduate school or are you considering graduate school? What degree do you have/would you want and why? Are there any limitations to advancement in your field if you do not have a certain graduate degree?
I think it's been helpful to get a master's. It gives me a "passport" to be young and to start a charter school -- the master's helps to legitimize what I do. My master's gave me a great perspective on education in the U.S. from a
historical perspective and from a current perspective.
