Ahearn Visionary Award

2019

Eileen Ahearn

Eileen Ahearn built a remarkable career beginning with her work at Quincy Public Schools in Massachusetts. She was also the founder of the Assabet Valley Collaborative, served as the Superintendent of schools in Maynard, Massachusetts, and after a move to Washington, DC, served as a Policy Analyst and Project Director at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education for more than 20 years until her retirement. In the early 1990’s, as the first charter school in the nation opened its doors in Minnesota, Eileen recognized that state charter school laws represented an opportunity for children with disabilities. Existing federal statutes had not anticipated autonomous public schools and the process of ensuring all students have access would be complicated, however Eileen was up for the challenge.

Eileen’s recognition of the obstacles that would emerge at the intersection of federal civil rights laws and state charter school laws created the foundation upon which the mission of the Center for Learner Equity (initially the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools) was built. In March of 2022, Eileen passed away, leaving behind a legacy and vision that has enabled hundreds of thousands of children with disabilities the ability to actively exercise choice in charter schools across the nation.

2022

Kristin Wright

Kristin Wright, a California native, is the Executive Director of Equity, Prevention, and Intervention at the Sacramento County Office of Education. She began this role in June 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Kristin assumed this position after leaving her post as California’s State Director of Special Education, a role she proudly served for four years. Wright also served at the California Department of Education as a policy consultant in the Special Education Division and as an education policy advisor to the California State Board of Education.

As a parent trying to traverse the education system with her daughter, Wright grew frustrated with a system that she found ill-equipped and less than willing to educate a child with the level of support Shelby required. This frustration landed her a State Senate appointment to the California Advisory Commission on Special Education (ACSE), a role she served in for almost eight years – the last four as Commission Chair. During her tenure at the ACSE, Wright immersed herself into the world of special education and returned to higher education to earn both her Education Specialist Credential and Master’s in Education.

Kristin considers herself a lifelong learner and, before working for the state, was fortunate to spend several years working for Edresults.org and under contract with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation researching charter schools and how they served students with disabilities. After visiting CHIME Charter School in Los Angeles, Wright finally visualized what inclusion could look like. At that moment, she decided to advocate for Shelby to receive a fully inclusive education. She met Lauren Morando Rhim, Paul O’Neill, and Robin Lake through that work. Seeing inspiring leaders and educators defying the odds for kids catalyzed a deeper curiosity about implementation, mindset, and inclusive practices beyond California. Kristin has since traveled to Israel, Ireland, and England to widen her view by visiting schools and talking with educators and education leaders from around the world.

2023

Marty Mittnacht

Marcia (Marty) Mittnacht, currently retired, comes to the Board with many years of experience in special education. Marty was with the Massachusetts Department of Education from 1989 to 2016 working in special education throughout. Marty retired with the title of Associate Commissioner for Special Education and all that is implied by the title occurred during her 27 years at the Department: Regulation writing and rewriting; working with charter schools, private schools, vocational schools and special education specific schools; policy and interagency work; grant and funding development activities; and more. Marty also has served on several other Boards: The National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE); The Massachusetts Association of Private Special Education Schools (MAAPS); and the Massachusetts Coalition on the Status of Women (A Cambridge City Board). Marty enjoys policy discussion and believes strongly in equity for underserved populations.

2024

Paul T. O’Neill

Paul O’Neill is the Co-founder and Senior Fellow Emeritus of the Center for Learner Equity. His commitment to equity and opportunities for all students to learn comes from his lifelong grappling with learning disabilities and ADHD.

Paul is an education attorney, professor, and author. He has extensive experience in guiding education organizations through challenges and growth. Throughout his career, he has advised schools, authorizers, networks, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and philanthropies on the rules and complexities that apply to educational organizations and on effective board governance. Paul’s professional experience spans the education sector. He served as General Counsel of the SUNY Charter Schools Institute, one of the nation’s leading charter school authorizing offices. He has also served for years as a lawyer in private practice, for boutique law firms specializing in education law and large corporate law firms, and as in-house counsel for a large charter school management organization.

Paul is currently a Partner and Co-Chair of the Education Law practice group at Barton Gilman LLP, which features the largest charter school law practice east of California. He is a former Associate Director of the Newgrange School and Educational Outreach Center in New Jersey, which serves individuals with learning disabilities. On the academic side, Paul serves as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College, where he teaches courses on education law and policy. He is a frequent guest lecturer at other universities on a range of education reform topics and is the author of several books and numerous scholarly and professional articles.

Paul holds a B.A. from Oberlin College, a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, and an M.Ed. from Teachers College. When Paul is not working, he is committed to community service. He helped found charter schools in the South Bronx, Brooklyn, Washington D.C., and New Orleans. He is on the board of the NYC Autism Charter Schools and Digital Pioneers Academy Charter School in Washington, D.C., and the Board of Governors of Union College of New Jersey. He served for several years as Chair of the Education & Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association and on the Professional Advisory Board of the National Center for Learning Disabilities. He and his wife, Mari, had three kids – Katie, Tom and Jack. Paul likes to take unreasonably long walks, enjoys Antiques Roadshow, and is devoted to pizza.