Paul D. Houston
Paul Houston serves as President of the Center
for Empowered Leadership and Executive Director,
Emeritus of the American Association of
School Administrators, and previously Houston
served as its executive director. Prior to AASA,
Houston served as superintendent of three
very different school districts: Princeton, New
Jersey, Tucson, Arizona, and Riverside, California.
Houston has also served as an assistant
superintendent, principal, and teacher.
Houston holds degrees from Ohio State University, the University of
North Carolina, and Harvard University. He has received numerous honors
including an honorary doctorate from Duquesne University, the Richard
R. Green Award for Leadership in Urban Education from the Council of
Great City Schools, the Courageous Leadership Award from the Hope
Foundation, and the Outstanding Educator Award from the Horace Mann
League. In 2008 he received the prestigious American Education Award
from AASA, and in 2009 he received the Learning and Liberty Award from
the National School Public Relations Association.
Houston's extensive writing includes over 300 articles in various professional
magazines and journals. He has co-authored three books and
authored three collections of essays. He is also co-editor for a series of
books from Corwin Press on the Soul of Educational Leadership.
Houston has established himself as a leading spokesperson for American
public education through his extensive U.S. and international speaking
engagements and media interviews.
Rex Miller
Rex Miller is an award winning author, internationally respected futurist, executive coach and compelling speaker. In his new book
Humanizing the Education Machine, he explores why the U.S. education system is perfectly designed to create disengaged teachers and students. He makes clear the threat to our kids and nation of perpetuating a Gutenberg approach to learning in a Google world of opportunities and challenges.
Rex has invested over 10,000 hours of research and hands-on experience working with more than 100 business leaders, educators and community leaders over the last decade. Traveling together these leaders met in city after city discovering positive outliers who defy conventional wisdom and hold the keys to creating inspired learners prepared for a Google world.
Jared Emerson
Jared Emerson is an American artist
who travels the world offering his performance
art for fans and art collectors
alike. His art has raised significant
financial resources for global charities
seeking to do good for others.
Born in Michigan and now residing
in Greenville, South Carolina with his
wife, Jared incorporates his values
into every aspect of his life and work. His personal mission has led him
to perform and create art for a large number of churches and charities
around the world, with his performance piece "Face of God" being the
most requested. In 2014, as a part of the Winter Jam concert tour, Jared's
performances reached over 500,000 people, which included 31,000 fans
at the Georgia Dome.