Released on: July 2, 2008, 9:51 am

Press Release Author: Edith Wooten/ NEA Foundation

Industry: Education

Press Release Summary: Leadership Emphasizes Expertise, Connections, Diversity and
Commitment

Press Release Body: Washington, D.C. -- The NEA Foundation today announced the
election of a new chair, Lauri J. Fitz-Pegado, a partner at The Livingston Group,
LLC and the former Assistant Secretary at the Department of Commerce in the Clinton
Administration, and the appointment of two new members: Lori McFarling, Divisional
Marketing Officer for Discovery Education & Domestic Distribution at Discovery
Communications, and Kirk Michel, President and Founder of KEMA Advisors, Inc., an
investment-banking firm that provides expertise in a wide range of financial
disciplines.

"We are pleased to have these extremely talented individuals and advocates for
public education, as we continue to grow The NEA Foundation and our work.
Importantly, our Board of Directors is a diverse group, whose keen business and
multi-sector insights provide us with the ability to be strategic, smart, inclusive,
and connected," said Harriet Sanford, The Foundation's president and CEO.
At The Livingston Group, LLC, which provides public affairs, government relations
and strategic communications counsel to governments, corporations, educational
institutions and non-profit organizations, Fitz-Pegado contributes to the
development of new business strategies, proposals and presentations and is the
Director of the International Relations/Business Development Practice Group. At the
Department of Commerce, she served as Assistant Secretary and Director General of
the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service. Appointed by President Clinton and
confirmed by the Senate in 1994, she served under the late Secretary Ronald H.
Brown, Secretaries Mickey Kantor and William Daley. She was Director for Public
Liaison of the first Clinton-Gore Inaugural and advisor on international issues to
Democratic Committee Chairman Ronald H. Brown.
Fitz-Pegado is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Washington
Government Relations Group. She serves on the boards of the Constituency for Africa
and the American and African Business Women's Alliance. She is a senior advisor and
mentor to minorities in international affairs as part of the University of Denver's
International Career Advancement Program and the United Negro College Fund's
International Institute for Public Policy.

"I am very pleased to accept this leadership position at a critical juncture in
public education," said Fitz- Pegado. "Through its work and grant programs, The NEA
Foundation is advancing student achievement by investing in public education."

A 20-year Discovery veteran and highly respected industry leader, McFarling is a
member of the senior leadership team at Discovery, who oversees all partnership,
outreach, professional development, marketing, and public affairs activities for the
company's Education division. Previously, McFarling was Chief Operating Officer for
Animal Planet and Discovery Kids Media.

She serves in several industry leadership roles as a member of the National Cable &
Telecommunications Association (NCTA), the Cable & Telecommunications Association
for Marketing (CTAM), Women in Cable & Telecommunications (WICT), and the
Association of Cable Communicators (ACC). In 2005, she received the industry\'s
highest honor, the prestigious Vanguard Award for Marketing, and was named to the
"Wonder Women" class of television executives in 2006.
"I am delighted to be using my knowledge of education, television, new media and
entertainment to help the NEA Foundation take its support of public education to the
next level," said McFarling. "At Discovery, our commitment to helping people
explore their world and satisfy their curiosity means that we create and provide
engaging digital resources to schools and homes to make educators more effective, to
increase student achievement, and to connect classrooms and families to a world of
learning. My membership on this board is a natural extension of this very important
work."
Kirk Michel has significant experience as an Investment Banker and Commercial Banker
to small and medium sized companies, Fortune 100 Corporations, and real estate
developers, as well as to state and federal governments and governmental agencies.
Additionally, Michel co-raised and co-managed a debt and equity real estate
investment fund, which invested in over $100 million of multifamily housing product.
Michel participates on the Board of Directors of several private companies and
PharmaBio Serv, Inc., a publicly traded company.

"As a financial analyst and investor I know that one of the most important
investments an entity can make is in its human capital, and nowhere in this country
is the potential and the need greater than in public education," Michel said. "By
lending my expertise and connections to The NEA Foundation, I believe that I will be
making an important contribution that will result in more educators having access to
the tools and information they need to ensure that all students are inspired and
equipped to succeed in a rapidly changing world."

"Our board members translate their passion for our mission in many different ways,"
Sanford said. "At times an ambassador, advocating for our cause and at times a
strategic thinker, offering advice and assistance, each of our members is a trusted
expert and highly valued resource." The NEA Foundation's new board members will
become active in September. They typically serve two three-year terms, she added,
and play a critical role in shaping the success and direction of the organization.

Through its partnership with educators and business leaders, the NEA Foundation
advances student achievement through a variety of grants programs and awards to
educators. Since 1999, the Foundation has awarded more than 1,800 individual grants
totaling $5.9 million to individual and teams of educators. Last year the NEA
Foundation awarded more than 200 grants totaling more than $2 million dollars.

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About The NEA Foundation
The NEA Foundation is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization created in 1969 by the
members of the National Education Association and sustained by contributions from
educators, corporate sponsors, and other supporters of public education. The
Foundation offers grants and programs that support educators' efforts to close the
achievement gaps, increase classroom innovations, salute excellence in education,
and provide professional development. For more information, visit
www.neafoundation.org.
The NEA Foundation's Board Members are: Louis G. Lower II, Chair, President & CEO,
The Horace Mann Companies; Lauri Fitz-Pegado, Vice-Chair, Partner, The Livingston
Group; John I. Wilson, Secretary-Treasurer, Executive Director, National Education
Association; R. Joseph Bower, CPA; Mark Howard Chichester, Executive Director, Aspen
Institute\'s Socrates Society; Deborah A. Cowan, Senior Vice President in Finance,
Radio One, Inc.; Therese Crane, Senior Education Advisor, Infotech Strategies;
Christopher Gardner, President & CEO, Gardner Rich & Company; Lionel C. Johnson,
Senior Managing Director; GWI Consulting; Nita Jones, Representative, NEA Board of
Directors; Herb Levitt, Representative, National Council of Urban Education
Associations; Elizabeth Lisboa-Farrow, President & CEO, The Oliver Group, Inc.;
Jessica Mendoza, U.S. Olympian; Larry Nelson, Director of Global Citizenship, Sun
Microsystems, Inc.; Ambassador Pete Romero, CEO, Experior Advisory; Harriet Sanford,
President & CEO, The NEA Foundation; Reg Weaver, President, National Education
Association; Kevin Welner, Associate Professor, University of Colorado; Jessie
Woolley-Wilson, President, K12, Blackboard, Inc.
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Web Site: http://www.neafoundation.org

Contact Details:
Edith B. Wooten
Director of Communications
The NEA Foundation
1201 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202.822.7834 (T) 202.822.7779 (F)