Jo O'Brien - Profile of an Industry Leader 5/02/02:
Whatever
figures you use, there is a small percentage of women in leadership positions
in business and industry. The same is true in government. Leadership is
taught in a variety of courses. But we don’t know for sure where
the leadership quotient begins.
Meet
Jo O'Brien, Assistant to the Commissioner for Learning and Results, at
the Colorado Department of Education. Previously, Jo worked for the Chicago
Tribune, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and she was a director
for the Kentucky Department of Education. She was on faculty at Michigan
State
University and has worked extensively with low-income schools to guide
higher student achievement performance.
You won't
hear any intelligent person argue with the statement, "Education
of our children is a top priority." At the same time, there is a
great deal of discussion, often leading to a stalemate as it relates to
how do we best do it? There are many 
groups
around the state and the nation that are trying new ideas.
While
many are working on their own thing, others stand by on the sidelines
doing nothing but complaining. Jo O'Brien 
continues
to pull together the best in class for our students. Her vision is great
and her mind is open to possibilities. Yes, she has standards, guidelines
and other important metrics as part of her plan…all for the good
of the students.
Keep your eyes open,
you'll see Jo around - at CSIA and COBRT anyplace someone is willing to
talk about and offer a way to advance our education system for the students
here in Colorado. May 2nd she'll be at the Denver Convention Center -
Computer & Technology Showcase, helping to present Hamilton Middle
School teacher, Dan Cornell and his computer science students with some
well deserved recognition.
Feature Interview 5/10/2002
Jo O'Brien and
Colo Dept of Education
Jo
O'Brien
