Michael Bennet

By:Eli Regalado Issue: Biennial of the Americas 2010 Section:The Americas Roundtables

A Leader in Education Reform

Marie Levens

A businessman, lawyer, politician, education superintendent, and currently the junior U.S. Senator from Colorado, Michael Bennet knows what he wants to accomplish. Triumph over tribulation, Bennet was held back in the second grade due to dyslexia. Determined not to let a disability slow him down, he went on to earn a Bachelors Degree at Wesleyan University and a Juris Doctorate from Yale.

During his career, he served as Deputy Attorney General under President Clinton, Director for Anschutz Investment Company, Chief of Staff for Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, Superintendent for Denver Public Schools, and most recently, U.S. Senator. With a vast array of public and private experience, Bennet is a valuable asset to the people in Colorado, as well as the U.S. He is viewed as an education expert by many, including President Barack Obama, because of his expertise in turning around low performing schools. “We are falling behind the rest of the world,” says Bennet about education while he stresses reform.

During the Education Roundtable, Bennet told the audience, “There has been very little improvement in reading and math. Things are not getting better. The same problems in education are being felt not only in our nation, but around the hemisphere. We need to look beyond our community to our country and our hemisphere.”