General Sessions Speakers

Opening General Session
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 • 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. • Palms Ballroom

Eva Moskowitz
CEO and Founder at Success Academy Charter Schools

As one of the most prominent leaders in education reform, Success Academy Founder and CEO Eva Moskowitz has spent decades advocating for public charter schools as a key component of education reform in the United States. Throughout her career, the born-and-bred New Yorker and former City Councilmember has taken on powerful unions and politicians and, as chair of the city’s education committee, held more than 100 hearings calling for massive reforms of the management and performance of New York City’s public school system.

After leaving the City office in 2005, convinced that the current state of education in New York City could not continue on its path, Eva accepted an offer to create a charter school in Harlem. On August 21, 2006, she opened the doors of her first school, Harlem Success Academy - two years later she opened three more schools, and two years after that, three more. In five years, she went from one school with 165 kids to seven schools with 2,400 kids. The Economist said Harlem was viewed as the home of the charter school movement due to the success of Harlem Success Academy.

The journey wasn’t easy - it took perseverance and grit - but she never lost sight of the children and families who desperately needed and deserved excellent schools regardless of their zip code. Today, Eva oversees 57 schools educating 22,000 students across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. Whether testifying before congressional committees or meeting with city and state elected officials, Eva constantly works to overturn policies that block children from accessing high-quality opportunities. Her schools have been instrumental in closing the educational disparity between disadvantaged and affluent students in the U.S. Her work was the subject of a 2023 Harvard Business School case study.

Eva holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a Ph.D. in American history from Johns Hopkins University, and an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Tufts University. She is the recipient of the Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools, The Robin Hood Foundation’s Hero Award, The Manhattan Institute’s Alexander Hamilton Award, and was named to Crain’s Most Powerful Women in New York, Forbes 50 Over 50, and City & State’s New York City Power 100 list. She is the author of The Education of Eva Moskowitz, Mission Possible: How the Secrets of Success Academy Can Work in Any School, In Therapy We Trust, and A+ Parenting: The Surprisingly Fun Guide to Raising Surprisingly Smart Kids.

Eva resides in Manhattan with her husband, Eric Grannis, and their three children, two of whom graduated from Success Academy.

Manny Diaz, Jr.
Commissioner, Florida Department of Education

Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. is a lifelong educator, having begun his career in education teaching Social Studies and coaching baseball in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system in 1994. He then served as an Assistant Principal from 2007 to 2013 until becoming the Chief Operating Officer at Doral College. He was appointed Commissioner of Education by the Florida State Board of Education effective June 1, 2022.

Commissioner Diaz received his Bachelor’s degree from St. Thomas University, a Master’s degree in education from Nova Southeastern, and completed a Harvard Graduate School of Education program for principals.

He served with distinction in the Florida Legislature, originally elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2012, where he quickly became known as an expert and champion of education. During his tenure in the Florida House of Representatives, he served as Chairman of both the Education Choice and Innovation Committee and the PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee. In 2018, he was elected to the Florida Senate where he served as Chairman of the Education Committee. During his legislative career he sponsored numerous educational initiatives to support Florida’s students, families, and public-school teachers.

A devoted husband and father of four, he understands the importance and value of providing students with a world-class education and is honored to continue serving Florida as the Commissioner of Education.

Closing General Session
Thursday, November 21, 2024 • 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. • Palms Ballroom

Jim Horne
Partner, Strategos Group
Jim Horne served as the State of Florida’s first appointed Commissioner of Education under Governor Jeb Bush. During his tenure as a Florida State Senator, Jim was the leader of education policy and budget reform. He was the catalyst behind many of the education reforms spearheaded by Governor Bush, many of which have become national models. As a key leader in Governor Bush’s plans for education reform in the Senate, he was tapped by Governor Bush in 2001 to take the reins of the Nation’s inaugural K-20 system of education. As Commissioner, he reorganized three separate Pre-K-20 delivery systems (Universities, Community Colleges, and K-12) into one seamless system of education. Jim was also responsible for implementing the most robust education reforms in the Nation and overseeing the distribution of the entire Pre-K-20 budget of nearly $20 billion dollars.