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Educational
Advisory Board

Benchmark Education Company (BEC) is honored to have an Educational Advisory Board comprised of experienced, knowledgeable, and diverse school administrator veterans from major cities across the country. These esteemed experts help guide our publishing plans and provide input that ensures we are always meeting the needs of our customers. They are a key support in our mission to produce cutting-edge literacy resources of the highest quality that advance knowledge, growth, and achievement—for learners and educators alike.

Meet the Board

Educational
Advisory Board

Benchmark Education Company (BEC) is honored to have an Educational Advisory Board comprised of experienced, knowledgeable, and diverse school administrator veterans from major cities across the country. These esteemed experts help guide our publishing plans and provide input that ensures we are always meeting the needs of our customers. They are a key support in our mission to produce cutting-edge literacy resources of the highest quality that advance knowledge, growth, and achievement—for learners and educators alike.

Meet the Board

Advisory Board Chairman

Dwight Jones

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Dwight Jones is one of a handful of education leaders to have led both a school district and a state agency. He has served as Colorado Commissioner of Education, Superintendent of Clark County School District, in Nevada, and Interim Superintendent of Denver Public Schools. A valued mentor to education leaders nationwide, he is also the founder and president of Education Practice and Policy Partners, a consulting firm advising education donors, investors, and executives.

Thomas Aurelio Davis

San Diego, CA

Thomas Aurelio Davis is a former middle and high school bilingual science teacher, coach, and administrator, as well as a businessman. As the founder of Net4EdAccess, a San Diego-based consulting firm, Tom has focused on connecting business to education. He currently serves as Director of Business Development at the Center for Educational Innovation in New York and sits on the advisory boards of several nonprofit, education-supporting organizations.

Michael Hinojosa, Ed.D.

Dallas, TX

Michael Hinojosa retired as superintendent of Dallas Independent School District at the end of the 2021-2022 school year, after serving 27 years as a superintendent/CEO of six public education systems and more than 40 years in public education. In 2020 he received the Urban Educator of the Year award from the Council of the Great City Schools, the nation's highest honor recognizing outstanding contributions in urban education.

Christina Kishimoto, Ed.D.

Honolulu, HI

Christina M. Kishimoto is the founder and CEO of Voice4Equity LLC and a Clinical Professor of Education at the USC Rossier School of Education. She previously served as State Superintendent of Education for the State of Hawaii. Christina was also District Superintendent in Hartford, Connecticut, and Gilbert, Arizona, and a member of several boards, including the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents, of which she served as president.

Marcus Newsome, Ed.D.

Owings, MD

Marcus Newsome is currently the director of the Virginia Superintendents Leadership Academy, where he provides professional development and mentoring for superintendents and executives. He is also the president of the National Bible College and Seminary in Fort Washington, Maryland. Marcus served for 16 years as a superintendent in Virginia. In 2015 his work as a national leader in digital education was celebrated at the White House.

Mike Poore

Little Rock, AR

Mike Poore retired as superintendent of Little Rock School District at the end of the 2021-2022 school year. In 2021, he was named Superintendent of the Year by the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators. Mike has been a teacher, coach, athletic director, assistant principal, and principal, and served in other top administrative roles, including superintendent of Sheridan School District in Denver, Colorado, and Bentonville Public Schools in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Alicia Thompson, Ed.D.

Wichita, KS

Alicia Thompson is the first woman and first person of color to serve as superintendent of Wichita Public Schools, Kansas’s largest school district. Her major achievements include guiding the district through the COVID-19 pandemic, raising graduation rates, and expanding the district’s career technology programs. Alicia started out as an elementary-school teacher and went on to building-level and district-level leadership. She retired at the end of the 2022-2023 school year.