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Chad Wick begins by discussing his background and education: his German-American roots; childhood in Dayton, Ohio; undergraduate engineering studies at General Motors Institute; Air Force service during the Vietnam War; and MBA studies at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. Wick next discusses his early career and the experiences that lead to his involvement in philanthropy: his move to Cincinnati to work for PNC Bank; serving as Chairman of the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center; a controversial Robert Mapplethorpe show at the Arts Center that lead to Wick’s blacklisting in the banking industry; becoming President of the Mayerson Company in 1990; and helping to create the Manuel D. and Rhoda Mayerson Foundation. Wick then discusses the creation and goals of the KnowledgeWorks Foundation, of which he served as founding President and CEO from 1998 to 2013: working with John Pepper, CEO of Procter & Gamble to a create nonprofit focused on improving low-performing Cincinnati schools; the creation of the Student Loan Funding Corporation; Starting Points: Meeting the Needs of Our Youngest Children, a commision funded by the Carnegie Corporation; shifts in Ohio state education policy in early 1990s, the Head Start program; and Wick’s focus on changing Ohio state policy to allow more funding of professional development for early childhood educators. Wick continues by discussing the 1999 creation of the Ohio College Access Network under Governor (Robert) Bob (A.) Taft (III); strategic grants; New Visions for Public Schools; the creation of New Technology High School in Napa, California and the education initiatives of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and KnowledgeWorks’ acquisition of the New Tech Network of schools. Wick concludes by further discussing KnowledgeWorks’ interactions with and views on the Carnegie Corporation and some of KnowledgeWorks’ future goals and and areas of focus: Michael Levine’s work in early childcare development; working with Michele Cahill, Robert Hughes and New Visions for Public Schools; KnowledgeWorks’ board meeting with Vartan Gregorian; the Carnegie Corporation’s publication of “The Urban High School’s Challenge: Ensuring Literacy for Every Child”; the differing approaches of older and newer models of philanthropy; how the Common Core is shaping educational policy; the importance of data in promoting and shaping educational reform; the correlation between income inequality and underperforming schools; KnowledgeWorks’ focus on performance and competency-based learning and on equipping high school students with the skills necessary to succeed in college and in the job marking; education reform in Detroit and working to change the culture of the city; the importance of public-private partnerships in sparking change; and President Barack Obama’s visit to Manor New Technology High in Austin, Texas.

Robert Hughes begins by discussing his education and early career as a lawyer; coming to work at New Visions for Public Schools; the creation of the New Century High Schools initiative in 2001 as a means to enact change in New York City public high schools; and the process of proposing the project to a consortium of three funding foundations (the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Open Society Institute). Hughes then discusses the specific role of the Carnegie Corporation in the New Century High Schools project; his work with the Carnegie Corporation’s Vice President, National Program, and Program Director for Urban Education, Michele Cahill; the project’s goals of improving schools at the system level and creating new educational models; the focus of the Gates Foundation on funding small schools; and the role of philanthropic organizations in impacting government agencies. Hughes continues by discussing the development of the Scaffolded Apprenticeship Model (SAM); New Visions’ transition towards becoming a partnership support organization (PSO); and the role of philanthropic organizations in supporting PSOs. Hughes also discusses the importance of personalization in education; New Visions’ shift towards work with charter schools; how the Carnegie Corporation’s support of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education has impacted the next phase of the New Century initiative (New Century II); improving high school graduation rates; and the future of education in the face of increasing globalization and adoption of digital technologies.

Path to position on board of Carnegie Corporation of New York: work on topic of education during governorship; McKinsey & Company report; involvement of trustees in grantmaking; process of hiring Vartan Gregorian as president of Carnegie Corporation: search committee, impressions of Vartan Gregorian, comparison with David A. Hamburg; communication: board involvement in policy, national and international presence; role of board chairman; comparison with other nonprofit boards; work as chair of 9/11 Commission: influence of Carnegie leadership experience, advantage of background outside national security; return to Carnegie board in 2005; board involvement in investments; development of trustee ethics code; second term as chairman: reorganization of committees, discussion of meeting structure; centennial celebration: reconnection with Carnegie family and Carnegie institutions; personal and organizational philosophy of risk in grantmaking; program review under Vartan Gregorian: staff turnover, Carnegie legacy, history; education programming: collaboration with Gates Foundation, importance of teacher education and recognition, racial and economic inequality in American school systems, special program for New York City schools; democracy programming: efforts to increase voter registration, importance of civic education; Islam Initiative; impact of Carnegie Corporation; future of philanthropy.