In advance of The Connecticut Mirror’s April 29 event “Small State, Big Debate,” here’s a chance to get to know our individual speakers and their work through video and audio. Please click here to register for the event:
John Jackson, Schott Foundation, President/CEO
Dr. John H. Jackson became the President and CEO of The Schott Foundation for Public Education in 2007. In this role, Dr. Jackson leads the Foundation’s efforts to ensure a high quality public education for all students regardless of race or gender.

In 1999, President Bill Clinton appointed Dr. Jackson to serve in his administration as Senior Policy Advisor in the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Education.
He also served on the Obama-Biden transition team as a member of the President’s 13-member Education Policy Transition Work Group.
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Nikole Hannah-Jones, ProPublica, Civil Rights Reporter
Nikole Hannah-Jones joined ProPublica in late 2011 and covers civil rights with a focus on segregation and discrimination in housing and schools. Her 2012 coverage of federal failures to enforce the landmark 1968 Fair Housing Act won several awards, including Columbia University’s Tobenkin Award for distinguished coverage of racial or religious discrimination.
Prior to coming to ProPublica, Hannah-Jones worked at The Oregonian and The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. She has won the Society of Professional Journalists Pacific Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award three times and the Gannett Foundation Award for Innovation in Watchdog Journalism. Her fellowship work has also taken her to Cuba and Barbados, where she wrote about race and education.
Here is her groundbreaking series “Living Apart: Fair Housing in America” from ProPublica. Also, please take a listen to her on “This American Life” here, from the Nov. 2013 episode “House Rules.”
Jacob Hacker, Yale University, Director, Institution For Social and Policy Studies
Jacob S. Hacker, Ph.D., is the Director of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies, and Stanley B. Resor, Professor of Political Science at Yale University. He is a board member of The Century Foundation, Economic Policy Institute, The American Prospect, and a member of the Scholars Strategy Network steering committee.

Dolores Acevedo-Garcia, Brandeis University, Director, Institute For Child Youth and Family Policy
Dolores Acevedo-Garcia, Ph.D., is Samuel F. and Rose B. Gingold Professor of Human Development and Social Policy, and Director of the Institute for Child, Youth and Family Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University.
