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Nelson Smith is a consultant on education policy and public charter schooling. From 2004 to 2011 he was President and CEO and then Senior Advisor to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Previously, he served as Vice President for Policy and Governance at New American Schools; as Executive Director of the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board; and as Vice President for Education and Workforce Development at the New York City Partnership. From 1985 to 1992, at the U.S. Department of Education, he oversaw numerous programs devoted to improving education through research-based methods. Currently an Adjunct Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Mr. Smith was given a Career Achievement Award from New Schools Venture Fund in 2010, recognizing his quarter-century of leadership in education reform. A graduate of Georgetown University, he lives in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.