Andrew Rotherham Speaker & Booking Information

Rotherham is co-founder and co-director of Education Sector, an independent national education policy think tank. Rotherham, who Washingtonian Magazine describes as "at the forefront of U.S. education policy," is also a member of the Virginia Board of Education. In addition, Rotherham writes the award-winning blog Eduwonk.com, which an Education Week study found to be among the most influential information sources in American education.

In 1998, Rotherham launched the 21st Century Schools Project at the Progressive Policy Institute, which he directed until 2005. Under his leadership the center became a leading Washington D.C.-based education policy center and developed public policy strategies to eliminate systemic inequities in American education and to redesign American public education into a system based on universal access to high quality instruction, public sector choice and customization, common academic standards, and accountability for results. The project's ideas have been implemented in national and state education policy.

Rotherham previously served at The White House as Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy during the Clinton administration. He managed education policy activities at the White House and advised President Clinton on a wide range of education issues including the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, charter schools and public school choice, and increasing accountability in federal policy. Rotherham also led the White House Domestic Policy Council education team, the youngest person to have done so.

Governor Mark Warner appointed Rotherham to the nine-member Virginia Board of Education in 2005. He was the youngest appointee in the modern era. In addition, Rotherham is a member of the board of directors of the National Council on Teacher Quality, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and the Indianapolis Mind Trust. He is also a trustee of the César Chavez Public Charter High School for Public Policy in Washington, D.C. and serves on advisory boards and committees for numerous organizations and institutions including The Broad Foundation, Georgetown University, Harvard University, the National Governors Association, and the National Charter School Research Project.

Rotherham has published more than 100 articles, book chapters, papers, and op-eds about education policy and politics. He is a regular commentator on National Public Radio and his work has appeared in a wide-range of publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, Education Week, The Washington Monthly, The Times of London as well as academic and trade publications. He has co-edited three influential books on education policy, most recently Collective Bargaining in Education: Negotiating Change in Today's Schools with Jane Hannaway (Harvard Education Press, 2005), which former California Secretary of Education Alan Bersin said "set the stage for a vigorous debate that is long overdue."

Rotherham, recently recognized as one of "40 People under 40 to Watch" by Washingtonian Magazine, was born and raised in Virginia and educated in Virginia's public schools and universities. He holds degrees from Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia and is currently completing a doctorate in political science from the University of Virginia. He lives in Earlysville, Va., with his wife, Julie, who also works in education, and their two daughters.