Chris Barbic has spent the last 28 years working in public education as a teacher, charter school founder, and superintendent. He currently serves as a founding partner at The City Fund, a national non-profit organization that supports local leaders in cities that are working to grow the number of great public school options. Chris began his career as a middle school English teacher in the Houston Independent School District (ISD) in 1993, and after teaching for 6 years, he founded YES Prep Public Schools. Chris left YES Prep in 2011, and served as the founding superintendent of the Achievement School District (ASD) in Tennessee for five years. Chris lives in Nashville with his wife Natasha and their two children, Tatiana (20) and Ramiz (18).

Marie Bigham is the Founder and Executive Director of ACCEPT (Admissions Community Cultivating Equity & Peace Today), an advocacy group and community that centers racial justice in the college admissions process and profession. Recently named a “Global Game Changer” by Facebook, Marie is a national leader in college admission redesign and reform. In 2018, ACCEPT received the Excellence in Education Award from the National Association for College Admissions Counseling, awarded to “those who use their prominence to advance equity and access in education”.

Margo Wright, founder of Yenko, has extensive experience in retail, consulting, and nonprofit management. She previously oversaw the College Readiness and College Success pipeline at the Harlem Children’s Zone and also served as Executive Director of Bodanna, a nonprofit social enterprise. She is a graduate of Harvard College and has an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.