BRYAN C. HASSEL is Co-Director of Public Impact. A Rhodes Scholar, he is a nationally recognized expert on school choice and school reform who speaks frequently on these topics. He has advised leaders across the political spectrum, from city halls to the White House, on educational issues. He has organized and led national conferences. He has authored and edited dozens of books, articles, toolkits and other publications for schools, policymakers, and parents. President Bush appointed him as one of 19 members of the President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education. He recently helped launch the Opportunity Culture Initiative, Public Impact’s effort to develop and refine school and staffing models for reaching more students with excellent teachers. Bryan received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which he attended as a Morehead Scholar. He earned his doctorate from Harvard University, where he concentrated his studies on education policy, and his masters from Oxford University.
EMILY AYSCUE HASSEL is Co-Director of Public Impact. Emily previously worked as a consultant and manager for an international human resources consulting firm, helping for-profit, nonprofit and educational organizations to maximize the effectiveness of their employees. In addition to assisting parents with their school choices, she has authored publications on school leadership, professional development and selecting school designs. President Clinton’s Secretary of Education chose to distribute her professional development toolkit, Learning From the Best, to all 15,000 U.S. school districts. Most recently, Emily helped launch the Opportunity Culture Initiative, Public Impact’s effort to develop and refine school and staffing models for reaching more students with excellent teachers. Emily received her undergraduate degree in psychology and graduate degrees in law and business administration, all from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
BRYAN and EMILY each attended both public and private schools. Between them, they personally experienced assigned public, magnet, neighborhood, traditional, open, single-sex, private day, and co-educational boarding schools, as well as at-home tutoring.
BRYAN and EMILY are also parents of four school-age children, two girls and two boys. Their children have attended both public and private schools. They have personal experience with the challenging process of selecting schools for their children in this era of burgeoning parental choice.