Staff
Mike Hudson, President
Mr. Hudson is a Texas native, graduate of U.S. Military Academy and University of Texas Law School, and Vietnam veteran. He began his career as Director of Public Affairs for the University of Texas System, responsible for legislative and congressional representation. He served as Staff Counsel to the Texas Senate Education Committee and as Chief of Staff and Subcommittee Director in the U.S. Congress. Mr. Hudson formed numerous state offices and grassroots coalitions for national organizations working successfully on education reform, access to health care and ballot initiatives. He is also owner of Michael Hudson Strategic Services, specializing in grassroots organizing, media campaigns and event production and management. He joined Just for the Kids in 2001.
Chrys Dougherty, Director of Research
Dr. Dougherty is responsible for the design of the Just for the Kids School Reports. He oversees procedures for selecting consistently high performing schools, as well as the Center's research projects using longitudinal student data. He authored Asking the Right Questions about Schools: a Parents' Guide and has written extensively on the value of longitudinal student data and the Nine Essential Elements of statewide student information systems. After teaching science in an elementary school in Oakland, California, Dr. Dougherty received his Master's of Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs in 1985, and earned a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University in 1992. From 1992 to 1998, he taught statistics, economics, econometrics, and education policy courses at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Dougherty joined Just for the Kids in 1997, with a goal of improving the information that parents, educators, and community leaders have about schools.
Jean Rutherford, Director of Educational Initiatives
Dr. Rutherford is the Director of Educational Initiatives for the National Center for Educational Achievement. In this position, she has provided national leadership in research on educational best practices and worked with the U.S. Department of Education to provide the Title I series for the No Child Left Behind legislation.
Prior to joining NCEA, she served as Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for Highland Park Independent School District in Dallas, Texas where she designed and implemented a full curriculum management system. Dr. Rutherford has also served as school principal for two nationally recognized secondary schools, one in Illinois and one in Texas; directed both special education and guidance services; and taught at the middle and high school levels.
She received her Bachelor's from Millikin University, her Master's from Northern Illinois University, her Administrative Certification from Illinois State University and her Ed. D. in Education from Northern Illinois University.
Angela Hall Watkins, Managing Director
Angela Hall Watkins facilitates cross-departmental program development and leads strategic planning, program oversight, and resource development for NCEA. Ms. Watkins oversees NCEA's communications, computer programming, and IT divisions and manages fund development activities that raise financial support for NCEA's data-driven research and school services.
Prior to joining NCEA, Ms. Watkins worked for nonprofit organizations that serve children, youth, and families in San Francisco, Ann Arbor, Atlanta, and Austin. She has a comprehensive background in philanthropy including experience as a fund raiser, grant manager, and grant maker. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Ms. Watkins received her Bachelor's Degree from Stanford University and her Master's Degree in Education from the University of Michigan.
Aimee Guidera, Director of the Data Quality Campaign
As Director of the Data Quality Campaign, Aimee Guidera manages a growing partnership among national organizations collaborating to improve the quality, accessibility and use of longitudinal data in education. Aimee joined the National Center for Educational Achievement as Director of the Washington, DC office in 2003 to promote the vital role Just For The Kids School Reports can play in current education reform efforts of national education, business, and government organizations.
Prior to joining NCEA, Aimee worked at the National Alliance of Business, the National Governors Association and taught English in Japanese high schools. She received her AB from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs, and her Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Roxana L. Galan, Chief Financial Officer and Human Resources Director
Ms. Galán's primary responsibilities include financial accounting and reporting; taxation; human resources; cash management, banking and investments; budgetary management; capital asset and inventory management; risk assessment and risk management; procurement and vendor management; and operational functions.
Prior to joining NCEA, she served as Director of Business Affairs for Executive Education within the McCombs School of Business, and Chief Financial Officer/Human Resources Director for the Center for Lifelong Continuing Engineering Education, both units at the University of Texas at Austin; served as a Financial and Tax Consultant for local and national CPA firms; and served as an International Business Manager for a global non-profit organization in Moscow/St. Petersburg, Russia.
She received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in Accounting from The University of Texas at Austin; and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Management and minor in Human Resources from Texas State University. She holds a Certified Public Accountancy license within the State of Texas and is a Texas Notary Public.