Dr. Jim Goenner is a champion for excellence and a member of the National Charter Schools Hall of Fame. He is on a mission to change the arc of education. Jim sees chartering as a powerful strategy for challenging the givens of the educational system and an opportunity to create the conditions where innovation and excellence can thrive. Jim currently serves as the President & CEO of the National Charter Schools Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the charter schools movement and equipping schools, boards and authorizers with the ideas, tools and resources they need to win for kids. Prior to joining the Institute, Jim led Central Michigan University’s chartering efforts, making CMU the nation’s first and largest university authorizer of charter public schools. Under his leadership, CMU became known as the “gold standard” for charter school authorizing, earning recognition from both the U.S. and Michigan Departments of Education. As a movement builder, Jim helped found the National Association of Charter School Authorizers and the Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers. He also helped found and led the Michigan Association of Public School Academies, which continues to serve as the unified voice for Michigan’s charter community. Jim has testified before numerous policymaking bodies, including the United States Congress, and was invited by the U.S. Department of Education to serve on the advisory board of the National Charter Schools Resource Center. He has received gubernatorial appointments from Michigan Governors John Engler and Jennifer Granholm. Jim presently serves on the boards of CharterFolk and the Charter Schools Development Corporation, which specializes in facilities financing. He also serves as a Blue-Ribbon Panel Judge for the prestigious Yass Prize and is a member of the 2024 cohort of the highly selective Pahara Fellowship. Jim earned his doctorate in educational administration from Michigan State University and is the proud father of seven children and two grandchildren.

Former Minnesota State Senator Ember Reichgott Junge is author of Minnesota’s 1991 first-in-nation charter school law, a member of the National Charter Schools Hall of Fame, founding board chair of a Minnesota charter school, and co-founder of the National Charter Schools Founders Library. Her award-winning historical memoir, Zero Chance of Passage: The Pioneering Charter School Story is currently available in audio book and ebook on the Founders Library website at www.charterlibrary.org. She is an international spokesperson for charter public schools, focusing on messaging, advocacy, origins, and board governance in 34 states, Guam, Canada and India. She is board vice chair of Maryland-based 22Beacon, copublisher of Zero Chance of Passage (as Charter Schools Development Corporation). In 2025, she was lead party of the Amicus Lawmaker brief submitted to the US Supreme Court in the St. Isidore Oklahoma case. She coordinated with eight other pioneering lawmakers and governors around the country to document the legislative origins of chartering as a new sector of public education. A nonprofit attorney, Ember is also a broadcast political commentator and competitive ballroom dancer. Her book, The Dance of Resilience: Transforming Lives through the Power of Partner Dance will be published January 19, 2026 and distributed by Simon and Schuster.