Congratulations to our Chief External Officer, Ryan J. Smith, for being appointed Chair for Closing the Achievement Gap Initiative by State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond. Ryan’s work will align with the initiative’s goals, which include addressing ways to close the achievement gap and improving educational outcomes for all California public education students. Recently, the Superintendent appointed two co-chairs to help lead the initiative’s efforts. Ryan will be joined by Manufou Liaiga-Anoa’i and Roseann Torres