Excelencia in Education President Sarita Brown Named to ACT's Board of Directors

April 24, 2007

IOWA CITY, Iowa—Sarita E. Brown, president and founder of Excelencia in Education, has been named to the board of directors at ACT, Inc., the non-profit education and workforce development organization based in Iowa City, Iowa.

"Sarita Brown will provide an important voice to our board," said Richard L. Ferguson, ACT's CEO. "Her years of experience in both the education and government sectors will be immensely valuable to us, but more importantly, to all the individuals we serve daily."

Ms. Brown has been president of Excelencia in Education since its inception in June 2004. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization provides data-driven analyses on the educational condition of Latino college students. While on the ACT Board, Brown hopes to share her expertise and provide ACT counsel on tactics and strategies to help close the achievement gap for Latinos while simultaneously encouraging more to attend and complete college.

Prior to launching Excelencia, Ms. Brown was executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans under President Clinton and U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley.

In 2001, she worked to increase federal support for Latinos in higher education and helped the Hispanic Scholarship Fund establish a public sector organization by serving as founding President of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Institute.

Ms. Brown began her career more than 20 years ago at the University of Texas at Austin. There, she held various posts through 1993, including assistant graduate dean and founding director of the Graduate Opportunity Program. She holds bachelor's degrees in ethnic studies and communication and a master's degree in communication from The University of Texas at Austin.

ACT's Board of Directors is composed of 14 members, including representatives from education and business. Best known for the ACT college admissions exam, the organization offers a rich array of programs and services in education and workforce development, including the Educational Planning and Assessment System (EXPLORE, PLAN and the ACT), its National Career Readiness System based on the ACT WorkKeys system, the nationwide ACT Center network, and licensure and certification services for professional organizations.