About Bob Wise
Former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise has spent his career advancing education opportunities for our nation’s students.
He recently completed 14 years as president of the Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed), a Washington, DC–based national nonprofit that has become a national leader in advocating the policies and practices necessary for secondary school students to be ready for postsecondary education and careers. While leading All4Ed, he was named one of the ten most influential people in education technology by Tech & Learning and named to the NonProfit Times’s “Power & Influence Top 50,” an annual listing of the fifty most influential executives in the nonprofit sector.
After serving a combined twenty-four years as governor, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and state legislator, Gov. Wise has become a prominent speaker and advisor on education issues and trends. He has frequently been an advisor to the U.S. Department of Education, White House, and key state and federal policymakers.
While at Alliance for Excellent Education,
Bob played a major role in:
- Leading the development of Future Ready Schools®, a network of 3,300 districts and 30 states focused on improving learning outcomes;
- Pioneering the first national Digital Learning Day in 2012;
- Launching a science of adolescent learning initiative to guide policy and practice decisions;
- Creating the Graduation Effect to demonstrate the economic impact of raising high school graduation rates;
- Partnering on the to raise the high school graduation rate to 90 percent by 2020;
- Building coalition to extend broadband and wifi to all schools.
As governor of West Virginia from 2001 to 2005, Gov. Wise fought for and signed legislation to fund the PROMISE Scholarship program, which has enabled thousands of West Virginia high school graduates to continue their education in the Mountain State. During his administration, West Virginia saw a significant increase in the number of students completing high school and entering college. He also implemented comprehensive early childhood education for all four-year-old children. As a member of the US House of Representatives, he focused on improving financial aid for college and early childhood development.
Gov. Wise’s awards and recognitions include
- 2018 Consortium for School Networking Partnerships that Matter Award
- 2017 California Linked Learning Champion Award
- 2015 North Carolina State University Friday Institute Medal for advancing innovation
- 2014 Bammy Award for Education Policy/Researcher for extraordinary leadership in education
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s 2013 Thought Leader Award
- 2012 Charles W. Elliot Fellow of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
Notable boards and commissions, past and present, include the Mathematical Science and Research Institute in Berkeley, CA, chair of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards, West Virginia Wesleyan College trustee, Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation Commission on Standards and Performance Reporting, the Gordon Commission on the future of assessment, the Management and Training Corporation, the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, the University of California San Francisco Dyslexia Center Advisory Board, the Chartwell School in Seaside, CA, and The Leadership Academy Board of Directors.
Gov. Wise authored Raising the Grade: How High School Reform Can Save Our Youth and Our Nation. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University, a Juris Doctor degree from Tulane University, and a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
Working from Washington, D.C. and California, Gov. Wise continues striving to improve education opportunities for America’s youth.