Speakers
Mackenzie Khan
Breakout Sessions
How can authorizers move beyond a compliance-driven process to center people: the founding team, school leaders, students, families, and communities in every stage of the work? Building on recent research and guidance from the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA), this session explores how to shift the rigor of authorizing from paperwork to practice. From application to launch to ongoing oversight, we will examine how tools like capacity interviews, site visits, and relationship-driven monitoring can better surface the factors determining a school’s success: its people.
Alex Medler is Executive Director of the National Network for District Authorizing. Medler was previously the Chair of the NN4DA Governing Council and Executive Director of the Colorado Association of Charter School Authorizers (CACSA). He also served as the National Coordinator of the Tri-State Alliance to Improve District-Led Authorizing, which was a precursor to the NN4DA. This previous effort was a collaborative comprising CACSA, the Florida Association of Charter School Authorizers (FACSA), and the California Charter Authorizing Professionals (CCAP).
He previously led the National Charter School Resource Center; and directed policy, research, and technical assistance initiatives for the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA); the Colorado Children’s Campaign; the U.S. Department of Education’s Charter Schools Program; and the Education Commission of the States. He is a founding board member and former chair of the board of the Center for Learner Equity, he served on the board of NACSA, and he founded and chaired the board of the Colorado Charter School Institute.
Medler earned a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Colorado Boulder and graduated from the University of California Santa Cruz. He lives in Boulder, Colorado with wife, where he enjoys being in the mountains and playing music with friends.