Nina Rees

Nina Rees is a leader in education reform, serving as a senior fellow at the George W. Bush Institute. Rees is known for her tenure as president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, where she contributed to expanding federal funding for charter schools and building bipartisan support for the charter school movement. Her background includes serving as the first deputy under secretary for innovation and improvement at the U.S. Department of Education, where she oversaw major grant programs and led the implementation of school choice provisions under the No Child Left Behind Act.

Rees has held senior leadership roles in the private sector, including as senior vice president for strategic initiatives at Knowledge Universe, a global education company. Earlier in her career, she was the Heritage Foundation’s senior education analyst and chief spokesperson on education policy, and she began her professional journey on Capitol Hill. Her commentary appears in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and PBS NewsHour, and she is a frequent speaker at national conferences, including the Milken Institute Global Conference.

Rees has served on advisory boards for organizations such as the PIE Network and Harvard University’s Program on Education Policy and Governance. She is a Pahara-Aspen Fellow and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Rees is recognized for her expertise in education policy, charter schools, and school choice, and is known for her ability to navigate policy landscapes and communicate to diverse audiences in the field of American education reform.