Readers of this blog have come to expect news from around the country, analysis, cogent commentary, and best-practice policy recommendations. All of that has been in large part due to the efforts of Adam Emerson. Sadly for us, Adam has moved on to become the Florida Department of Education’s Director of Charter Schools. We want to congratulate Adam on his new position. We also want to thank him for his insight and leadership on parental-choice issues for Fordham and for getting Choice Words off the ground.
But as they say, the show must go on. We are extremely excited to be taking over the reins of what we’ll call “Choice Words 2.0.” We will continue to provide readers with insight and news, and we will bring our own penchant for data, analysis, deep dives, and a variety of lenses through which to look at all aspects of parental choice.
Please let us know what you want to see us cover and share with us your own insights on topics as we cover them. For those wanting to know a little more about us, we’ve described below the background and experiences that we’ll bring to this work.
Chad and Michael: Who We Are
Michael Brickman is national policy director at Fordham, where he is already a regular contributor to the Flypaper blog and other publications. He served in communications roles on state and national political campaigns before being tapped by Wisconsin governor Scott Walker to lead his education-reform efforts. While in the governor’s office, Brickman worked to support collective-bargaining reforms, increase standards and accountability, expand school choice, and keep college affordable through innovative reforms. He graduated from the University of Delaware with an honors bachelor’s degree in political science.
Chad Aldis is vice president for Ohio policy and advocacy and leads Fordham’s policy, advocacy, and research agenda in the Buckeye State. He represents the Institute in its work with the media, state and local policy makers, other education-reform groups, and the public. In addition to his experience with Fordham, he has served as the executive director of School Choice Ohio, the Ohio state director for StudentsFirst, a program officer for the Walton Family Foundation, and the director of scholarship programs at the Florida Department of Education (overseeing the John M. McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program and the Tax Credit Scholarship Program). Aldis holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Mississippi and a law degree from Florida State University.
