Staff

R. Craig Wood

Executive Director

The Future of AEFA

The future of the American Education Finance Association is positive and bright. The Association is entering a time on which it has a solid base of membership and financial support from its members as well as institutions. AEFA has existed for more than thirty years and provides a forum for the examination and review of the public policy issues regarding the financing of education.

The American Education Finance Association has had only two Executive Directors in its long and illustrious history. The skilled leadership of George Babigian and Ed Steinbrecher has left the Association in a strong position. The capable leadership of the present Executive Board consisting of Jennifer King Rice as President, Amy Schwartz as Vice President, and Chris Roellke as Past President bring a stable and visionary view of the Association’s future. The Executive Board and the Executive Director have met on several occasions to discuss the near term and the long-term future of AEFA.

AEFA is unique in that it is the only national and international association that brings individuals and groups together for the purposes of furthering research regarding the financing of education. Thus, its membership consists of researchers, state and local policy makers, educational administrators at all levels and the most noted scholars and researchers regarding the financing of education.

The transition of AEFA from the offices of Ed Steinbrecher in Colorado to the new offices at the University of Florida has been smooth. The offices are up and running with the full support of the University. The Association is chartered under the laws of Florida and the web page is being redesigned to provide more information to the members of the Association.

The Association, under the guidance of the President, the Executive Board, and the Board of Directors is moving toward even greater quality regarding the annual meeting. The annual meeting in 2008 will be in Denver. In 2009 the annual meeting is scheduled for Nashville. It is hoped that in 2010 the Association’s annual meeting will be in the eastern urban corridor. Shortly after approval of the Executive Committee the site will be announced. The annual meeting in Baltimore proved to be our largest convention with individuals from numerous foreign nations in attendance. Once again, the national speakers were outstanding from a broad spectrum and the Association is building on its solid reputation.

As the new Executive Director, the most immediate goals for my office will be to assure fiscal growth of the Association. Our most immediate tasks are to increase membership, increase the awareness of the American Education Finance Association, and to offer more diverse publications to our members and potential members.

Carlee Poston Escue

Assistant to the Executive Director

Carlee Poston Escue is a doctoral student in Administration and Policy in the College of Education at the University of Florida. Carlee has a Bachelor of Design from the College of Architecture and a Master of Education from the Department of Educational Administration and Policy from the University of Florida. Between the earning of her B.D. and her M.Ed. Carlee taught mathematics in various Florida public high schools and subcontracts with the Florida Virtual School developing the math curriculum. Carlee's primary research focus is finance and policy of public education.