Jonathan Gyurko (pronounced GUR-koh) holds a PhD in politics and education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and was the inaugural Harber Fellow in Educational Innovation at Wesleyan University. From 2000 to 2014 he led public education reform efforts for the New York City Department of Education, the United Federation of Teachers, the Coalition of Public-Independent Charter Schools, and as a board member of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. He served as board secretary for DREAM Charter School and board vice president for the American Friends of Maru-a-Pula School in Gaborone, Botswana. He currently serves as president and co-founder of the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), which awards the only nationally recognized certification in effective college instruction. Gyurko attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead Scholar and began his career as an English and drama teacher at Tiger Kloof School in Vryburg, South Africa.