Gerard Robinson
Gerard Robinson is the president of the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) and is also an Atlanta based education policy consultant. In addition, he is a senior research associate for the School Choice Demonstration Project (SCDP) at the University of Arkansas. Mr. Robinson advises the SCDP on matters such as research protocols, survey preparation, outreach to the economically disadvantaged community, family sessions, data analysis and interpretation, and report preparation. In addition to his SCDP duties, Mr. Robinson is a principal investigator for a Charles Stewart Mott Foundation-funded study about Black parents’ perceptions regarding public after-school programs in Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC.

Mr. Robinson’s professional endeavors have included numerous initiatives involving urban school reform and policy development. He served as executive director of a not-for-profit organization in New York City that opened a charter school in New Jersey. He participated in the crafting of public policy through his fellowship with the California State Senate, as a resource person in the Virginia General Assembly and the U.S. House of Representatives, and as a legislative liaison for the superintendent of the District of Columbia Public Schools. Mr. Robinson also was an elementary school teacher in Los Angeles and a teacher in the Pre-College Academic Program at St. Peter’s College in Jersey City, New Jersey. In addition to numerous publications and national and international public speaking engagements, Mr. Robinson has received a Master of Education degree from Harvard University, a Bachelor of Arts from Howard University, and an Associate of Arts from El Camino Community College. He is completing a Ph.D. at the University of Virginia. Mr. Robinson brings his passion, deep knowledge of policy, school choice, and research ability to the work of designing KIPP STRIVE Academy.