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Michael Robbins

Michael Robbins is Senior Advisor for Nonprofit Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Education. In this role, he develops and supports initiatives within the federal government to help maximize the education contributions of community-based organizations. Michael works with communities across the country to strengthen partnerships between schools, families, and community-based organizations to propel school improvement and create a community culture of education success. He is also focused on how blended learning—the combination of online and on-site learning—will transform the education work of community-based organizations.

Michael has two decades of experience in education and youth development as a social entrepreneur and cross-sector leader. Before joining the Obama administration, Michael served at The SEED Foundation where he focused on community engagement, fundraising, and new school development. While at SEED he also chaired the board of the D.C. charter school association.

Michael's career has spanned from the grassroots to the national level. He has worked intensively with children and families in the most challenged neighborhoods of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. He has collaborated with and advised leaders in education, nonprofits, government, philanthropy, and business. Michael has also held senior leadership positions at FIRST and The Shriver Center, and worked on the start-up of AmeriCorps during the Clinton administration.

Michael holds a bachelor's degree from Rhodes College and master's degrees in business administration and public management from the University of Maryland. He is the father of a kindergartener who inspires his work to transform American education.

Ken Bedell

Ken Bedell is ordained in The United Methodist Church. He led congregations for 16 years in New York, Maryland, and Ohio. He has taught at the junior high, high school, college and theological schools level. As a volunteer with the Mennonite Central Committee he taught high school in Swaziland. In his capacity as executive secretary of the International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges and Universities Ken visited schools and colleges in Argentine, Brazil, Korea, Mozambique, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. His is the author of five books and numerous articles and scholarly papers. His book entitled, "Different Ships—Same Boat," on ethics was published by the World Association for Christian Communication. For five years he edited the annual "Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches" for the National Council of Churches. After receiving his PhD in sociology he became active in the Religious Research Association where he served on the executive committee. As an early promoter of the use of technology in education and the church, he was the founding president of the Church Computer Users Network in the mid 1980s. He is married to the former Kathryn Hale. They have two grown daughters, Charity Pelletier and Sarah Cook and three grandchildren.

Tenicka Boyd

Tenicka Boyd is the Confidential Assistant in the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the United States Department of Education. She most recently worked at the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. Before joining the Obama administration, Tenicka worked on faith outreach and healthcare at Tenants and Workers United in Alexandria, VA. She worked on the Obama campaign as a volunteer, fellow and field organizer in several states. Prior to her campaign work, Tenicka worked as a faith-based community organizer in Flint, MI, a PICO-affiliated organization, specializing in education reform and community development. Originally from Milwaukee, WI, Tenicka holds a Bachelor’s degree from Tennessee State University and a Master’s degree from the University of Michigan. In her spare time she enjoys traveling to Latin American countries, writing, and cooking.