Nina Rees

President, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools

Nina Rees is the president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.<br /> <br /> Nina has over 20 years of experience in Washington, D.C., most recently as senior vice president for strategic initiatives for Knowledge Universe, a leading global education company with investments in early childhood education, before- and after-school programs, and online instruction.<br /> <br /> Previously, she served as the first assistant deputy secretary for innovation and improvement at the U.S. Department of Education. In this capacity, she oversaw the administration of 28 grant programs supporting 1,300 projects and was responsible for spearheading innovative federal programs and policies such as school choice, charter schools, alternative routes to teacher certification, and school leadership. She also helped coordinate the implementation of several provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. Prior to joining the Education Department, Nina served as deputy assistant for domestic policy to Vice President Dick Cheney.<br /> Nina has also served as the senior education analyst at the Heritage Foundation, where she authored more than two dozen policy briefs and served as the foundation’s chief spokesperson on education. She has appeared on various news outlets including CNN, C-Span and PBS’s NewsHour and her articles and opinions have been published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.<br /> <br /> Nina currently serves on the boards of advisers of the Education Policy and Governance Program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. She also writes a weekly blog for U.S. News &amp; World Report.<br /> <br /> Nina holds a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Virginia Tech and a master of arts degree in international transactions from George Mason University. She lives in McLean, Virginia, with her husband and daughter.