Charles Barone leads the development of DFER’s policy agenda in areas including accountability, school turnarounds, teacher preparation, and public school choice. He has been a central player in most federal education K-12 reforms of the past 25 years including President Obama’s Race to the Top initiative, No Child Left Behind, and the Every Student Succeeds Act. Barone’s work on education has spanned direct service, research, policy, and advocacy. He has authored numerous articles and book chapters in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, trade publications, and mainstream media outlets. His commentary on education policy and politics has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and National Public Radio and in trade publications such Politico, National Journal, and Education Week. Barone was a top education advisor to the late Senator Paul Simon (D-IL) and to former Chair of the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, George Miller (D-CA). Before his work on Capitol Hill, Charles was a postdoctoral fellow in the department of psychology at Yale University. He holds a Ph.D. in clinical/community psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park.