JOHN KIRTLEY
VOLUNTEER CHAIRMAN, STEP UP FOR STUDENTS, TAMPA
Kirtley runs Step Up For Students, the non-profit that administers five K-12 scholarship programs for the state. The programs serve 130,000 Florida students from families with annual incomes of roughly $30,000 for a household of four, and roughly 20,000 children with unique abilities. Step Up now employs about 200. Kirtley co-founded two private equity funds in Tampa. He has never accepted a salary for his work with Step Up.
| EDUCATION | University of Virginia (BS) |
| ACCOMPLISHMENT | A recent study by the Urban League showed that Step Up students enrolled and completed college at higher rates than their public-school peers — at a time when achievement in the district schools was rapidly improving. |
| ADMIRES | Miami Dade School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. He is totally dedicated to the success of students, and he has created more choices for them than any other district in the state — over 100 magnet schools. It’s no wonder that Miami Dade is the best performing large urban district in the country. |
| READING | Reincarnation Blues, by Michael Poore |