NC Institute for Educational Policymakers
Advisory Board
Giving input to the Institute is an Advisory Board, chaired by William Friday, President of the Kenan Family Trust. The Board includes distinguished former policymakers, current and former news reporters, educators, and others who are familiar with North Carolina’s policymaking environment.
Also advising the Institute are the educational leaders in both the state House and Senate, the chair of the State Board of Education, and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Bill Friday
Advisory Board Chair
Staff
Directing the work of the Institute is the Public School Forum, an education public policy center that was established in 1985. Forum research and demonstration projects have contributed to the creation of the Teaching Fellows Program, the establishment of supplemental funding for low-wealth and small schools, the School Technology Fund, and the enactment of the NC School Improvement and Accountability Act of 1989, which introduced statewide testing and accountability programs and was the precursor to today’s ABCs initiative.
The Forum is a bi-partisan organization composed of business leaders, elected and appointed officials and educators. In addition to the Institute, the Forum is home for NC Partners, a statewide umbrella organization for school-business partnerships, the Education: Everybody’s Business Coalition, and the Education Policy Fellowship Program, a training program focused on mid-career professionals. Staffing the Institute for Educational Policymakers are John Dornan, Jo Ann Norris, and Michelle McNiff.
John Dornan
Executive Director
Dornan’s career in education has encompassed work in over 30 states and the District of Columbia. He began as a high school English teacher, and then for 17 years worked in education associations in Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, Washington DC, New York and, from 1982-86, North Carolina. In 1986, Dornan was asked to begin and lead the work of the Forum. Since that time, the Forum’s work has received recognition in and out of North Carolina. Dornan brings to the Institute years of experience in the public policy arena as a lobbyist, researcher, campaign consultant and consensus builder.
Jo Ann Norris
Associate Executive Director
A native of North Carolina, Norris began her career in the classroom as an elementary teacher in the Wake County Schools. Her teaching career culminated when she was named the North Carolina Teacher of the Year in 1979. She then joined the staff of the North Carolina Association of Educators where she directed the organization’s political action committee and lobbied the General Assembly. In 1986, she joined the staff of the Public School Forum and, since that time, has been the Forum’s liaison to policymakers in the General Assembly and on the State Board of Education. Norris also administers the NC Teaching Fellows Program, housed and administered by the Forum.
Kendall Jordan
Director of Public Policy Research
Jordan completed her undergraduate work at Wesleyan COllege and completed her MBA degree at Pfeiffer University in Charlotte where she concentrated on Finance and Organizational Behavior. Prior to joining the Forum staff in December 2006, Jordan was employed at the NC Department of Pubic Instruction whre she served as both a financial/statistical analyst and teacher allotment supervisor. As the Director of Public Policy Research, Jordan is responsible for providing financial and statistical support to the Forum staff and initiatives, policymakers, school administrators, and local school boards. In addition, she is responsible for publishing and distributing both the Forum's weekly newsletter, The Friday Report, and the annual Local School Finance Study.