Portfolio & Transparency

I have supported numerous education-related entities.  Occasionally, people ask, “What’s in it for you?” It’s a fair question, and I have no problem providing complete transparency.

For starters, none of my commitments will generate personal financial gain for me. Almost all are grants to non-profits. A few (noted below) produce fees, or could potentially produce a financial gain — all of which goes to the 501(3)c edu21c. I’m fully retired from my venture fund. In terms of net worth, here’s some perspective.  If people like Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg are the Empire State Building, I’m a few-inches tall.

I focus on K-12 education, particularly grades 7-12 when the focus shifts from ‘how kids learn’ to ‘what kids learn.’  I recognize the vital importance of pre-K, but there’s only so much I can take on.  It’s quite challenging to change higher education, so I make limited commitments there — usually to alternatives to traditional higher education.  Across K12 schools, my grants have been focused (in number and magnitude) almost entirely on organizations helping our public schools.  My priority is helping all kids and schools, not shifting the balance of kids from one type of school to another.

Prior to the pandemic, I trraveled quite a bit — more than 150 nights in hotel rooms each year, for seven years, visiting schools and meeting educators.  For my speaking enagements, I don’t require a fee, Why this commitment?  I genuinely fear for a future where machine intelligence profoundly reshapes what’s required for career and citizenship, with every potential to destabilize our democracy.   The exponential growth of technology innovation renders useless the narrow skills prioritized by our education model — memorizing content, replicating low-level procedures, and following instructions.   As the lower rungs of the economic ladder disappear, our children deserve an education that equips them to find, or create, fulfilling life paths — something they will have to do numerous times during their adult life. Many assume that I’m part of the “STEM is the key to success” crowd, but I’m a big believer in the liberal arts and humanities. — great vehicles for fostering essential skills and mindsets.

FILMS

In the world of film, I organized, funded and helped produce a feature-length documentary Most Likely To Succeed,  directed by the remarkable Greg Whiteley.  It’s the best film ever done on the topic of education. I’ve also been the executive producer of other films on education and youth leadership, including A Most Beautiful Thing, College Behind Bars, She Started It, The Hunting Ground, CodeGirl, They Call Us Monsters, School in the Cloud,  The Bad Kids, College Behind Bars, and A Most Beautiful Thing. And we’re hard at work on a new documentary, which should be launched in 2025.