The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is a proud partner of NBC News and Education Nation. This unprecedented event, beginning September 26, will convene over 300 top leaders in education, business and government, along with parents, students and teachers for a weeklong conversation on the challenges of the U.S. educational system.
The Kellogg Foundation is excited to champion what we believe is the most important discussion during Education Nation: Addressing the needs of vulnerable children through quality early childhood learning.
Sterling Speirn, the Kellogg Foundation’s president and CEO, will be a featured panelist on Monday discussing, “A fresh start: leveling the playing field before school begins.” Additional panelists include Larry Berger, CEO and Co-Founder of Wireless Generation; Susie Buffett, philanthropist (Sherwood Foundation, Buffett Foundation, Girls, Inc.); Jim Hunt, Foundation Chair of the James B. Hunt. Jr. Institute for Education Leadership and Policy; and Gary Knell, President and CEO of Sesame Workshop.
“Kellogg Foundation has placed a special emphasis on whole child development from birth to age eight,” said Foundation CEO Speirn. “The foundation intends to commit half of its future annual grant making to increase the number of children who are successful and performing strongly by the end of third grade, acknowledging the important role that school meals and access to good nutrition can play in children’s learning and success.”
Sharlonda Buckman, executive director of the Detroit Parent Network and Ellen Galinsky, CEO of Families and Work Institute, both Kellogg Foundation grantees, will also contribute to the conversation around early childhood development.
Other participants of Education Nation include U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan; Gen. (ret.) Colin Powell, Founding Chairman of America’s Promise Alliance; Harlem Children Zone’s CEO Geoffrey Canada; and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Since 1930, the Kellogg Foundation has had a clear mission: Supporting children, families, and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society.
