Principals

James W. Guthrie, Chairman

Mr. Guthrie founded MAP as a sole proprietorship in 1985. He has been a public school teacher, state education department official, federal government cabinet special assistant, education specialist for the United States Senate, and an elected local school board member. He has been a professor for the past 27 years and is the founding director of the Peabody Center for Education Policy at Vanderbilt University. He has published ten books, hundreds of professional and scholarly articles, and has garnered numerous academic distinctions. He specializes in school finance, education administration and leadership, policy analysis, and education and government. Dr. Guthrie has personally served as a consultant to the governments of Armenia, Chile, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Romania, and South Africa, as well as international organizations such as AID, The World Bank, OECD, and OAS. His e-mail address is jguthrie@edconsultants.com.

James R. Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Smith holds an MBA and Ph.D. He has been a public school teacher and high level executive in both public and private sectors. He has served as Deputy Superintendent of the California Department of Education and Senior Vice President of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. Dr. Smith specializes in school finance, governance, organizational dynamics, teacher and student assessment, and curriculum and instructional policy. He has directed MAP projects for state agencies and school districts in no fewer than 15 states and has served as an expert witness and provided litigation support in school finance cases in Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, New York and Wyoming. For his efforts in education reform, he was accorded the highest civilian award given by the government of Spain. His email address is jrsmith@edconsultants.com.

Gerald C. Hayward, Treasurer

Mr. Hayward has served as the chief education and finance consultant to the California State Senate, statewide Chancellor of the California Community College system, Deputy Director of the National Center for Research in Vocational Education, and Director of Policy Analysis for California Education. He has served prominently on numerous national and state commissions dealing with education governance and policy matters. Mr. Hayward specializes in education finance, both K-12 and higher education, school-to-career activities, child care issues, school district organization, and education governance. Hayward is also an expert on computer applications for financial analysis and simulation. He has directed well over a dozen MAP projects. His e-mail address is jhayward@edconsultants.com.

Sally Mentor Hay, Vice President

Ms. Mentor Hay has served as the Deputy Superintendent of the California State Education Department and Deputy Director of New Standards for the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE). She directed the OERI project which produced the award-winning K-3 Primary Literacy Standards and supporting materials for parents and English language learners and created professional development designs and materials for the America's Choice School Design. She is recognized as the founder of the California School Leadership Academy and other large-scale professional development initiatives. She has worked as a teacher, reading specialist, principal, curriculum director, and associate superintendent for elementary and secondary schools in several large suburban districts. Mentor Hay specializes in school reform through improvements in curriculum and professional development for teachers and administrators. She received her B.A. from the University of California at Los Angeles and her M.A. from the United States International University in San Diego. Her email address is smentorhay@edconsultants.com.