James Kelly

James A. Kelly has had a distinguished career in education policy, education finance, philanthropy, and teaching standards, assessments and certification. He was the Founding President of the Natinal Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Earlier in his career, he was a senior program officer at the Ford Foundation, an assistant and associate professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, and taught courses at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education and Kennedy School, and a public school teacher and administrator in Ladue, Missouri. His BA and MA are from the University of Chicago and his PhD is from Stanford University. Since retiring in 1999, he has had senior advisory roles with the National Academy of Science, the World Bank, Atlantic Philanthropies, Standard and Poor’s, and other organizations. and he chairs the National Board of Advisors at the University of Michigan’s TeachingWorks initiative.