America’s Next Wave of Opportunity is Taking Flight.
Innovation Rising, from the Heartland to D.C.,
IICYMI — Innovation Rising in Oklahoma
Earlier this week — fittingly, on Veterans Day — I looked down at the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial, a powerful reminder of resilience and renewal, and a humbling testament to why we must always honor those who protect our nation and safeguard our freedoms.
That commitment to strength and purpose is woven into the DNA of the state. And nowhere was it clearer than in my conversations with FuelEd OKC’s visionary Brent Bushy and a cross-section of Oklahoma’s business and civic leadership. What’s happening there isn’t incremental change — it’s a deliberate strategy to build the human infrastructure powering the state’s next era of growth.
Across the metro, education, workforce, and industry are being aligned to meet the needs of a rapidly expanding economy — including tech, aviation, aerospace, defense, energy, and the advanced manufacturing sectors that are reshaping the region. OKC isn’t just keeping pace with national demands; it’s positioning itself to set the pace.
The Oklahoma City metro area — spanning dozens of districts and communities — is becoming a national model for how civic leadership and industry can collaborate to create opportunity. City and state leaders are working intentionally to ensure that families have a reason to stay and thrive in the urban core, rather than being pushed outward. It’s a vision of community renewal powered equally by innovation and purpose.
And at the center of it all is Governor Kevin Stitt, whose business acumen and policy instincts have helped Oklahoma evolve from a state once associated mainly with cattle and crops into a hub of entrepreneurship, aviation, workforce development, and education reform. As chair of the National Governors Association, he’s elevating workforce development as a bipartisan priority — one even the most reluctant governors can’t afford to ignore. His term may end next year, but the movement he’s catalyzed is just beginning.
I’ll share more in the months ahead, but I can’t help feeling a bit nostalgic. My earliest work in Oklahoma was alongside the formidable Dr. Janet Barresi — once “just” a parent turned activist and later State Superintendent — and Sandy Garrett, the Democratic State Superintendent at the time. Together, we persuaded legislators to enact the state’s first charter school law — the opening act in a long series of efforts to expand opportunity for students. From those early days to the forward-looking work underway now, the Sooner State has always embodied a spirit of possibility — the wind that still comes sweeping down the plains.
The Power of Innovation
It’s innovation that’s fueling Oklahoma’s progress — and innovation that’s fueling ours.
In just a few short weeks, on December 4th in Washington, D.C. CER, in partnership with Forbes, will once again host the Power of Innovation Summit and 2025 Yass Prize Award, where the nation’s leading education entrepreneurs, governors, and policy trailblazers will gather to challenge the status quo and shape the next era of opportunity.
This year’s lineup features an extraordinary mix of leaders from education, business and the administration, including Cabinet Secretary Scott Bessent and other senior figures who are bringing new energy to national education and workforce priorities.
So… are you coming?
A surprising number of friends in education reform have told me they “didn’t know when it was.” (You know who you are!) Maybe your spam filters are too good — or maybe you just need this little nudge.
Because when you can spend time face-to-face with hundreds of education trailblazers — not thousands lost in breakout rooms and hallway hunts for “Room 18B or C” — you’ll find the experience transformational.
When you walk away with two new relationships that change your work, or realize that a single, meaningful conversation replaced weeks of unanswered emails, you’ll know why this gathering matters.
We’re nearly at capacity, but we’ve extended a special Forza-reader discount for a limited time — check your email for the code — then run, don’t walk, and click here to secure your spot. It’s always the most electric gathering of the year — when Yass Prize awardees, allies, and visionaries collide in one space, creating the kind of synergy, energy, and purpose that moves entire movements forward.
Notes and Asides
Mamdami Wins NYC
Yes, Zohran Mamdani — a fierce opponent of school choice and loyal ally of the teachers unions — won. No friend to charters, he offers no real plan for students, and families are responding by walking away — from public schools and, increasingly, from the city itself.
Reports say a majority of women under 31 voted for him. (Yes, that includes the daughters of many of our friends.) That’s the same demographic that’s seen the steepest NAEP score declines in reading, history, and civics. Coincidence? Or a symptom of what happens when the teaching profession loses standards of excellence? If we don’t educate young people in the principles that sustain our republic, we shouldn’t be surprised when they vote for those who disregard them.
New Faces in the Arena
As for Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, I’m not especially alarmed by their early anti–parent power rhetoric. Both are strong, accomplished women who bring intelligence and experience to the job. Each comes from a state with stagnant education reform records and weak or average charter laws, but both could surprise us.
If advocates for educational opportunity and innovation take the time to educate and engage them, they may yet become allies for meaningful change.
I’ve always believed in the art of persuasion — and the American political system still allows for it. Politics, after all, is my favorite sport, and in this game, upsets and Hail Marys happen all the time. And parent power is indeed a powerful thing.
The Closing Word
I’m an unabashed believer in limited government, entrepreneurial solutions, and the power of conversation to change outcomes. We live in the only nation on earth where those outcomes can shift in a heartbeat — because of people willing to listen, engage, and lead.
Here’s to those brave enough to run, bold enough to serve, and wise enough to know when to change course.
And most of all — to our Veterans, whose courage and sacrifice make all of this possible.
Thank you for defending our great nation and ensuring that the rest of us — advocates, quarterbacks, and policymakers alike — can do our work in freedom.
With gratitude and faith,
Jeanne