Building Education Systems of the Future

2018 CANnual Report

Welcome

Letter

Dear friends,

You don’t need movie tickets or comic books to see heroes. Just glance around: ordinary Americans have always worked together to make extraordinary change in our country. It’s what moves us forward toward a more perfect union.

50CAN’s advocates across the country are shining examples of that commitment to a brighter future. From the shores of Hawaii to the vibrant streets of Miami, parents, students, teachers and everyday folks are working together to build the education systems of the future.

Together with your support in 2018, we secured 13 policy victories, including expanding teacher diversity in Connecticut, investing in computer science education in Hawaii and securing an historic investment in public charter schools in Georgia. We added our first city campaign and two new states to our network, including returning to our roots when ConnCAN joined the 50CAN network. We also grew community membership across our network by more than 1,000 people.

We are reminded year after year that we all go further when we’re working together, and we look forward to partnering with you to build upon this success in the months and years to come.

Pastor Michael Phillips
Board Chair
Marc Porter Magee
CEO and Founder

Building

Momentum

13 policy wins
2 new campaigns launched, including our first city campaign P.S. 305 in Miami
136 trainings delivered
8 travel guides published to the future of public education
2,053 connections with lawmakers
2,024 emails from community members to legislators
204 media hits
145 individual donations received from crowdfunding campaigns

Building

Leaders

50CAN is, ultimately, about people. We find, connect and support great local leaders to bring about real change to the education landscape through advocacy.

We are passionate about identifying outstanding education leaders in each city and state and giving them an opportunity to lead as executive directors, staff, board members, philanthropists and citizen advocates.

Staff

As of December 2018
  • Atnre Alleyne
  • Amanda Aragon
  • Alissa Bernstein
  • Derrell Bradford
  • Danielle Capalbo
  • Stephanie Chapman
  • Charles Bufalino
  • Su Cui
  • Brent Easley
  • Victor Evans
  • Elizabeth Frosch Taylor
  • Robert Fontenot
  • Subira Gordon
  • Aisha Heredia
  • Mina Hosseini
  • Marc Porter Magee
  • David Miyashiro
  • Patricia Morgan
  • Jonathan Nikkila
  • Michael O'Sullivan
  • Steven Quinn
  • Shelonda Richardson
  • Anne Salorio
  • Yannell Selman
  • Ned Stanley
  • Chris Tessone
  • Vallay Varro
  • Daniel Walker
  • Toni Williams

National Board

As of December 2018
  • Michael Phillips, Board Chair
    Senior Pastor, The Kingdom Life Church
  • Ann Borowiec
    Former CEO, JP Morgan Private Wealth Management
  • Campbell Brown
    Head of News Partnerships, Facebook
  • Deepa Javeri
    Founder and CEO, Propel
  • Marc Porter Magee
    CEO & Founder, 50CAN
  • Roland Martin
    Managing Editor & Host, Roland Martin #Unfiltered
  • Andrew Schwedel
    Partner, Bain & Company
  • Dacia Toll
    Co-CEO & President, Achievement First
  • David Wick
    Consultant, Spencer Stuart

State Advisory Boards

As of December 2018

CT

  • Derrick Diggs, Board Chair
    Director of Business Development, Diggs Construction
  • Andy Boas
    Principal, Carl Marks Management, LLC, Director, Bridgeport Public Education Fund
  • John N. Irwin III
    Managing Director, Brookside International, Chairman, Achelis and Bodman Foundation
  • Shelly Kassen
    Selectman, Town of Westport, Board of Directors, Washington Institute for Near East Policy
  • Erika Long
    Founder, Capere Group
  • Brian Olson
    Co-Founder, Viking Global Investors, Chairman, Civic Builder
  • Andrew Schwedel
    Partner, Bain & Company
  • Michael Sullivan
    Managing Director, Point72 Asset Management, Board Member, StudentsFirstNY
  • Deepa Javeri
    Founder and CEO, Propel

DE

  • Rod Ward, Board Chair
    President, Corporation Services Company
  • Chantalle Ashford
    Teacher, Indian River High School
  • Dr. Teri Quinn Gray
    President, Delaware State Board of Education
  • Darryl Scott
    Former Legislator, Delaware State House of Representatives
  • Luis Garcia
    Student, University of Delaware
  • Robert Wright
    Hazardous Materials Program Manager, Bayhealth Medical Center

GA

  • Erin Hames
    President, ReformEd
  • Danielle LeSure
    Founder, EdConnect
  • Joselyn Baker
    Founder, Butler Baker Communications
  • Dwight Ho-Sang
    Principal, KIPP WAYS Academy
  • Robert Hennessy
    President, Hennessy Jaguar Land Rover Centers of Atlanta

HI

  • Jeff Arce, Board Chair
    Senior Advisor, The MacNaughton Group
  • Jill Baldemor
    Executive Director, Teach for America, Hawaiʻi
  • Nancy Barry
    Founding President, Hoʻala Foundation for Education
  • Tea Giacomelli
    Managing Director, Strategent Search
  • AJ Halagao
    Director of Marketing and Executive Vice President, Hawaiian Electric | HEI Charitable Foundation
  • Tiffany Huynh
    Senior Account Executive, Anthology Marketing Group
  • Elisa Yadao
    Senior Vice President and Chief Communications & Community Engagement Officer, HMSA | Blue Cross Blue Shield of Hawaiʻi

NC

  • Pamela Blizzard, Board Chair
    Managing Director, Research Triangle High
  • Nafeesha Irby
    Executive Director, TFA Piedmont Triad
  • Rick Lawson
    Executive Director, The Children’s Museum of Wilmington
  • Taylor Griffin
    Consultant, North Carolina
  • Tricia Cotham
    Former Legislator, North Carolina State House of Representatives

NJ

  • Ann Borowiec, Co-Board Chair
    Former CEO, JP Morgan Private Wealth Management
  • Tom Kean, Co-Board Chair
    Former Governor, State of New Jersey
  • Ray Chambers
    UN Special Envoy, Financing the Health MDGs and for Malaria
  • Mary Farrell
    Director, The Maeve Foundation, Inc.
  • Sarah Keh
    Vice President, Corporate Giving of Prudential Financial
  • Tom Healey, Emeritus Member
    Managing Partner, Healey Development
  • Dr. Michael Nettles
    Senior Vice President, Educational Testing Service
  • Larry Rogers
    Treasurer, Better Education for Kids
  • Walter Shipley, Emeritus Member
    Retired Chairman and CEO,, Chase Manhattan Bank
  • Josh Weston, Emeritus Member
    Honorary Chairman, ADP, Inc.
  • Sam Cole
    President and COO, Phigital, Inc.
  • Christine Healey
    President, Healey Education Foundation
  • Susan Bass Levin
    President and CEO, The Cooper Foundation
  • Chris Cerf
    President, Montclair Education Partners
  • Dr. Anju Thomas
    Former Scientist and Lecturer, Various

PA

  • Mark Gleason, Board Chair
    Executive Director, Philadelphia School Partnership
  • Adiah Ferron
    Counsel, Astrazeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
  • Tom Jones
    Partner, Jones Day
  • Brook Lenfest
    CEO, Netcarrier
  • Marc Mannella
    CEO and Founder, KIPP Philadelphia Schools

PEJ

  • Steven G. Tepper
    General Counsel, Selfhelp Community Services
  • Sam Roberts
    Staff Attorney, Legal Aid Society
  • Ron Jacobs
    Partner, Venable LLP
  • Ralia Polechronis
    Counsel, Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz

P.S. 305

  • Luisa Santos
    CEO, Lulu’s Ice Cream
  • Ryan Pontier
    Professor of Bilingual Education, Florida International University
  • Brandon Alfred
    Dean, Miami-Dade County Public Schools

TN

  • Susan Rhodes, on behalf of Janet Ayers
    President, The Ayers Foundation
  • John Eason
    Principal, Diversified Trust
  • Sutton Mora Hayes
    EVP and COO, Community Foundation of Greater Memphis

Building

Campaigns

Our advocacy work at 50CAN is organized into campaigns: efforts designed to achieve a clear goal in a specific amount of time. Like stories, advocacy is most effective when it has a beginning, middle and end. Here are four stories from the field about how our local leaders are working to make a difference in the lives of students.

You can’t beat robots, so work with them

How Hawaii students, teachers and advocates won big for STEM

What can you buy with $500,000? Major strides toward equity in computer science education, it turns out. Our team in The Aloha State knew the balance was off in public schools: just three in 10 Hawaii students who took AP Computer Science in 2017 were girls and young women; and just four schools across the state that served large numbers of low-income students even offered the course. HawaiiKidsCAN spearheaded a movement to change that—and it paid off.

Breaking a 10-year spell

How Miami advocates are making transparency the norm

School board meetings last a lifetime in Miami—or it can feel that way. When you are a busy parent that’s a tough sell, even if those meetings shape public education for your kid. That’s why P.S. 305 is in the crowd. Our team in Miami-Dade County takes detailed notes to share with community members. In 2018, as voters prepared to choose their next school board members, P.S. 305 knew that parents needed even more access.

Are you represented?

How Delaware advocates of all ages made education their issue

Representation matters—from the teachers leading our public school classrooms to the board members leading our public school systems. DelawareCAN worked around the clock toward equity of opportunity, resources and access to information for students and adults. They ensured that education in the First State was in the spotlight all year long, exposing areas for improvement in diversity, funding and promotion of elections.

Bring everyone to the table

How Georgia advocates expanded the options

Little and often makes much, and pizza goes a long way, too. Maybe it’s because you can choose what works best for you? Our team in Georgia took parent advocates from educational meetings at local pizzerias to lawmaker meetings at the Capitol, helping them understand their power to make change and call for choice: from the kind of school a child attends to the kind of AP courses they can access, regardless of zip code or family income. It all added up in the end—and Georgia kids were the real winners.

Building

Support

$100,000 +

Andy Boas
Barr Foundation
Baton Rouge Area Foundation
Bouncer Foundation
Charles Koch Foundation
Daniels Fund
Harold K.L. Castle Foundation
Laura and John Arnold Foundation
Longwood Foundation
Memphis Education Fund
RedefinED Atlanta
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
The Challenge Foundation
The City Fund
The Walton Family Foundation
Tony Davis

$50,000-$99,999

Andrew Schwedel
Chamberlin Family Foundation
Christine and Thomas Motamed
ETS
JJJ Charitable Foundation
Olson Family Fund
Robins Foundation

$5,000-$49,999

Brett Williams
Bob and Lynn Johnston
Deepa and Munir Javeri
Community Foundation of Greater Memphis
Community Foundation of New Jersey
Edchoice*
Eileen and Leslie Quick
Finn Wentworth
Hawaiian Electric Industries Charitable Foundation (HEI)
Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc.
Incyte Charitable Giving Foundation
Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Metrowest NJ
John and Wendy Cozzi
John Irwin
Lone Pine Foundation
Patrick Family Foundation
Prudential Financial
The Walter V. and Judith L. Shipley Family Foundation
Ann & Stanley Borowiec
Atherton Family Foundation
Chichester Dupont Foundation Inc
The Community Foundation For A Greater Richmond
Newark Charter School Fund (NCSF)
Maeve Foundation/Mary Farrell
Erika Long
Kōaniani Fund of the Hawai'i Community Foundation
Speedwell Foundation
The MCJ Amelior Foundation
Turrell Fund
The Miami Foundation
Al & Jane Nahmad Family Foundation
Barclays Bank Delaware
Dev Ittycheria and Dr. Anju Thomas
Healey Family Foundation
Philip L. Van Every Foundation
Rod and Gina Ward
The Rock Foundation (Arthur Rock)
Thomas L. Kempner Jr. Fund
William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund
Arsht-Cannon Fund
Health Foundation of South Florida (HFSF)
The Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation
Blue School Partners
F. M. Kirby Foundation, Inc.
Rose Community Foundation
William E. Simon Foundation
Allan Muchin

* in-kind contribution

$1,000-$4,999

Wayne and Carol Miyashiro
Andrew Ashforth
Alex Johnston
Alma DeMetropolis
Elisa Yadao
Jonathan Nikkila
Nutmeg Education Foundation, Inc
Alex O. Romero
GI Go Fund
Hanna Skandera
JobPath
Joe Lujan
Larry Downes
New Castle County Executive
Richard Pechter
Blue State Coffee
Delores Clark
Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA)
JPMorgan Chase & CO.
Town of Kiawah Island
KIPP Sunrise Academy
Darrell Harvey
Brian J. Carlin
IBM Corporation
Richard Witmer
Strada Education Network
The McCall Kulak Family Foundation
Garrett A. Turner Foundation Fund of the Manatee Community Foundation
Wells Fargo Foundation
Leadership for Educational Equity

Financials

2018 balance sheet

Total assets
$3,089,112
Total liabilities
-$311,787

Total net assets
$2,777,325

Building

Awareness

50CAN is proud to recognize our advocates, leaders, supporters and friends through this annual report. Your continued support of our work defines the future of education policy. We look forward to our work together in the future. For all that you have done in 2018 and beyond, thank you.


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