About

Gene Hickok is senior advisor to Whiteboard and helps lead Dutko's rapidly expanding education practice. He has more than a decade of experience in education policy and politics, at every level of government.

A former professor of political science and law, Gene began his education service on the local school board. In 1995, then Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge named Gene the state’s Secretary of Education. He held that post for six years and earned a national reputation as a reformer, embracing charter schools, school choice, higher standards for students and teachers, expansive use of technology, and competition.

In 2001, Gene joined the George W. Bush Administration as Under Secretary of Education. He became Deputy Secretary in 2003. He was an architect of the No Child Left Behind Act, and was responsible for its implementation.

Gene feels educational entrepreneurship holds the key to improving America’s schools and keeping America competitive globally.

Gene and his wife Kathy have two children and reside in Richmond, Virginia. Read more

David DeSchryver serves as the VP of Education Policy at Whiteboard Advisors.  He is an attorney who works with both public and private sector clients, providing them counsel on federal programs, regulations, budgets, legislation, administrative actions and how this all shapes the challenges of education entrepreneurship. 

David has worked in education technology, policy and law for over 15 years.  He served as the policy director at The Center for Education Reform, where he worked with state and federal legislators to develop a wide variety of school improvement legislation.  As a managing editor and academic services manager at SchoolNet, he analyzed school transformation and implemented comprehensive instructional management systems in urban districts.  As an NCLB program manager for the DC Public Charter School Board, he worked with schools to facilitate their compliance with NCLB and develop their school improvement processes.  As an attorney at the education law firm of Brustein & Manasevit, David provided counsel to state and local educational agencies on federal education programs and fiscal compliance while helping them navigate the challenges of education policy. Read more

Peter W. Cookson, Jr. is a Senior Advisor to Whiteboard Advisors, where he develops creative research strategies for education entrepreneurs and investors, and provides counsel to a range of organizations based on his broad practical and policy experience in government, K-12 and higher education.  

A sociologist of education, he has taught and held leadership positions at several leading colleges and universities including Teachers College, Columbia University. A leader in the educational reform movement, Peter has published extensively and conducted nationally recognized educational research. 

In the last twenty years Peter has raised substantial funds for institutions of higher education and businesses for creating innovative and educationally effective programs and products. An area of particular expertise is assisting e-learning companies launching and sustaining programs in the public school sector. Peter is the founder of Ideas Without Borders.

He holds degrees New York University, Harvard and Yale. Read more

Erica Price serves as Senior Associate at Whiteboard Advisors, where she specializes in education policy.  With deep ties in Democratic politics and a keen understanding of both state and federal policymaking, Erica advises and advocates on behalf of both corporate and non-profit clients.  She also authors policy and political research on a wide range of topics. 

Prior to joining Whiteboard Advisors, Erica worked on former Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet’s successful 2010 Senate campaign. Before joining Sen. Bennet, Erica served as Midwest Finance Director at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign committee. In this role, Erica spent four years as an advisor to Democratic Senators and oversaw the DSCC’s outreach to Native American tribes.

Erica was a Nemerov Writing Scholar at Washington University in St. Louis, where she graduated Magna cum laude with a degree in Political Science and Economics.

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Rachel Vessey Gibson is a Senior Associate for Whiteboard Advisors, focusing on education policy. Prior to joining the team, Rachel was a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Department of Education. There, she helped to develop and implement policies related to Race to the Top, the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, and the Ed Jobs Fund; acted as New York State’s lead Race to the Top program officer; and managed the production and publication of national reports on Race to the Top grantee progress.

Rachel holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, where she focused on social enterprise and interned at JPMorgan’s higher education/non-profit investment banking group. Prior to business school, Rachel spent four years working at inner-city schools in Harlem, New York City, where she taught 6^th grade social studies, launched a library program for 280 K-8 students, and led foundation and corporate fundraising efforts. She received her undergraduate degree in American History & Literature, magna cum laude, from Harvard. Read more

As a CPA, former Commissioner of Education and State Senator in the State of Florida, Jim Horne brings an extensive background in both the public and private sectors to bear on WhiteBoard’s education policy and business strategy work. From 1994-2001, Mr. Horne served in the Florida Senate where he held several key leadership positions. In 1996, he was selected to chair the Senate Education Appropriations committee where he quickly put his financial background to work in designing an allocation of education resources for the community college system based on performance and outcomes. Read more