General Session – Opening Plenary

CEO
CCSA Board Chair, President & CEO of Green Dot Public Schools California

CPA
California State Treasurer
Fiona Ma is California’s 34th State Treasurer. She was first elected on November 6, 2018, with more votes (7,825,587) than any other candidate for treasurer in the state's history, and reelected in 2022. She is the first woman of color and the first woman Certified Public Accountant (CPA) elected to the position.

Keynote: "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less"
Greg McKeown has written two New York Times bestsellers: “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less,” which has been voted by Goodreads as “The #1 Leadership and Success Book to Read in a Lifetime,” and “Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most.” Together, they have been published in 37 languages.

McKeown is one of the most sought-after public speakers globally and has spoken to over 500 companies while traveling to more than 40 countries. His clients include Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Nike.

He hosts The Greg McKeown Podcast, ranked in the Top 5 of all Self Improvement podcasts (out of 11,000) and Top 10 in Educational podcasts (out of 30,000) on Apple Podcasts. Guests have included Harvard professor Arthur Brooks, Matthew McConaughey, Maria Shriver, John Hope Bryant, and Ariana Huffington.

His work has been covered in print media, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, Time, Fast Company, Fortune, Politico, Inc., and Harvard Business Review. It has also been featured on NPR, NBC, FOX, and multiple times on The Steve Harvey Show.

McKeown is an active Social Innovator, serving as a Board Member for Washington D.C. policy group Resolve for 7 years and as a mentor with 2 Seeds, a non-profit incubator for agricultural projects in Africa. He has also spoken at non-profit groups like The Kauffman Fellows, Net Impact, and Stanford University, co-creating the popular class, Designing Life, Essentially.

Previously, McKeown collaborated in researching and writing “Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter” and worked for Heidrick & Struggles’ Global Leadership Practice, assessing senior executives.

McKeown earned his Masters of Business Administration from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, completed his Global Leadership and Public Policy certificate at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and is currently conducting doctoral research at the University of Cambridge.

Chief Government and Political Affairs Officer, CCSA & Executive Director, CCSA Advocates
California Charter School Association
Gregory is Chief Government and Political Affairs Officer of CCSA, which supports the California nonprofit charter school community, and the Executive Director of CCSA Advocates. CCSA Advocates engages in efforts to provide education and resources to help more charter public schools increase civic participation, including youth civic engagement.

President and Chief Executive Officer
California Charter Schools Association
As the leader of CCSA, Myrna Castrejón has managed the membership organization representing California's public charter schools since January 2019. Prior to assuming the role of President and CEO, she served for nearly three years as the Founding Executive Director of Great Public Schools Now, leading strategy to transform public education in Los Angeles by expanding high-quality public schools of diverse governance models in the areas most in need of support. Before that assignment, Myrna worked at CCSA in various key leadership roles since its founding in late 2003, leading the government affairs, local advocacy, quality, school development, and research and evaluation portfolios at various times.

Founder & CEO
Khan Academy
Sal Khan is the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, a nonprofit educational organization that offers free lessons in math, science and humanities, as well as tools for parents, teachers and districts to track student progress. Khan Academy is piloting an AI guide called Khanmigo that is a tutor and teaching assistant. The organization partners with more than 500 public school districts and schools across the United States. Worldwide, Khan Academy has more than 150 million registered users in 190 countries, with free lessons available in more than 50 languages.