Travelers Vice Chairman Joins CCER Board of Directors

New Haven, Connecticut – Today, September 8, 2014, the Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER) has appointed to its Board of Directors Alan Schnitzer, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Business and International Insurance at The Travelers Companies, Inc.

At Travelers, Schnitzer also oversees Field Management, Corporate Communications and Public Policy.

“It is a privilege to join an organization that is doing such terrific work for Connecticut’s kids,” said Schnitzer. “The future success of our communities rests with the opportunities we provide our children, and education is at the core.”

Schnitzer also serves on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investment Advisory Committee created under the Dodd-Frank Act and the Advisory Board for the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Urban Research, and he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He earned his undergraduate degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in finance and accounting and his J.D. from Columbia Law School.

CCER Board Chair Steven Simmons said, “I am very pleased to welcome Alan Schnitzer to the Board. His business acumen will be a huge asset to our organization.”

Mr. Schnitzer will be filling the seat formerly held by Brian MacLean, President and COO of Travelers.

Regarding Mr. MacLean’s stepping down from the Board, Mr. Simmons said, “We greatly appreciate Brian’s many contributions to CCER, and I want to take this opportunity to wish him well. We are grateful to Travelers for its continued commitment to CCER’s mission of narrowing Connecticut’s achievement gap while raising academic outcomes for all students.”

In addition to Alan Schnitzer, CCER Board Members include:

• Steve Simmons, Chairman, Chairman & CEO of Simmons/Patriot Media & Communication
• Ramani Ayer, Vice Chairman, Retired Chairman & CEO of The Hartford
• Ned Lamont, Secretary and Treasurer, Founder & Chairman of Campus TeleVideo
• Marna Borgstrom, President & CEO of Yale New Haven Hospital System
• Roxanne Coady, President & Founder of RJ Julia Booksellers
• John Crawford, President of Strategem, LLC, and Lead Director of Board of Directors, Webster Bank
• Mitchell Etess, CEO of Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority
• William Ginsberg, President & CEO of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
• Garth Graham, President of the Aetna Foundation
• Kim Jeffery, Retired Chairman & CEO of Nestle Waters North America
• David McCormick, Co-President of Bridgewater Associates
• John Rathgeber, President & CEO of Connecticut Business & Industry Association
• David Ring, Managing Director of Enterprise Banking, First Niagara
• Peter Salovey, President of Yale University
• Dudley Williams, Director of Corporate Citizenship & Diversity at GE Asset Management, Inc.

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About the Connecticut Council for Education Reform

The Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER)–a statewide, non-partisan, 501(c)(3) not- for-profit organization–works to close the achievement gap and raise academic outcomes for all students in Connecticut. The achievement gap is the disparity in academic achievement between children from low-income families and children of color, and their peers. We advocate for state policies and local practices that research shows have the best chance of raising achievement for high-need student populations.

For more information on CCER, go to www.ctedreform.org