Let’s take a look at the backgrounds of the leadership touted on NPU’s website from about January 2020 through sometime late in August when co-founder Alma Marquez vanished amidst Turmoil at the Top. NPU had four board members, a president, and secretary-treasurer. The board members were Peter Cunningham, Bibb Hubbard, Dan Weisberg, and Gerard Robinson. The officers were Keri Rodrigues as president and Ms. Marquez as secretary-treasurer, both elected to three year terms. Ms. Marquez was also a board member on one of the two boards of directors (yes, NPU has two boards) but she disappeared from that too. So here they are, from the website:
Peter Cunningham . . . “served as assistant secretary for communications and outreach in the U.S. Department of Education . . . affiliated with Whiteboard Advisors, a DC-based education policy, research and communications firm . . . founded Cunningham Communications . . . .”
Bibb Howard . . . “brings extensive experience in communications, policy, and advocacy . . . .”
And from Ms. Howard’s Linkedin profile:
“Deputy Director, US Program communications, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. . . Managing Director & SVP, Widmeyer Communications . . . .”
Dan Weisberg is CEO of Teachers of The New Teacher Program, a privatizer outfit with no communications background noted but as CEO he’d have purview over that. His Linkedin profile does not show any experience as a teacher.
Gerard Robinson also doesn’t have any direct communications background but as Secretary of Education in Virginia and Commissioner of Education in Florida, both under Republican governors, he’d be well-schooled in communications too. Robinson was the apparent board proxy for NPU investor Charles Koch. Robinson, like Ms. Marquez, has disappeared without a trace.
Let’s look at the two officers:
(Keri) “Rodrigues began her career as an award-winning journalist and continued her career in advocacy as a long-time labor activist, communicator . . .” (and one time radio host)
“Alma (Marquez) is Founder of Del Sol Group, a communications and public affairs firm.”
From its inception NPU has retained the services of Mercury LLC. “Mercury is a high-stakes public strategy firm. We provide results for the world’s most successful companies, leading advocacy groups, governments, political parties, NGOs, and prominent public and political figures.” Its “unrivaled team of experts” includes former Democratic California U.S. senator Barbara Boxer, former Democratic congressman Toby Moffett, former LA Democratic mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former Republican Louisiana U.S. senator David Vitter, and Tony Fabrizio (Republican pollster who helped elect Donald Trump in 2016).
It’s a lot of fire power so how’s the PR going? Just great! It started with the Right Wing Rollout, peddling the creation story of two Latina moms from opposite coasts starting this little parent group. (That story line has been cancelled with the disappearance of Ms. Marquez). The Right Wing Rollout played on Fox, the Heartland Institute, U.S. News & World Report, Sirius XM Patriot, etc.
NPU does a monthly poll that helps it get into the news. A poll is media catnip. NPU is all over social media too.
NPU’s communications expertise has enabled it to move into mainstream media. It has been featured in stories in the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, ABC News, HuffPost, Politico, and NPR. President Keri Rodrigues recently spoke at South by Southwest. How did that happen? The Waltons and Charles Koch (patrons of VELA Fund) purchased a panel:
Here’s an example of the coverage from the New York Times: “National Parents Union, a collection of 200 advocacy organizations across 50 states representing parents from communities of color.” But there is no publicly available evidence that NPU represents parent groups. My research shows that it is mostly comprised of charter school and associated organizations.
Nor am I aware that any of these media outlets has reported on the funding of National Parents Union, which includes not only the Walton Family Foundation and Charles Koch, but a billionaire boys club of astonishing levels of wealth. (The one outlet that consistently reports on the funders is The74.org, which also receives funding from the Walton Family Foundation. So compliments to them.)
These media outlets accept the story offered up by Mercury LLC and the NPU Comms team, that there is a battle between teachers and parents. But as I said, NPU does not represent parents. If journalists need conflict there is a big one going on: teachers unions against the corporate behemoths of the Waltons, Koch, Gates, Dell, Arnold, and on and on. It’s a good story, just not the one NPU and Mercury are peddling.
You get what you pay for; NPU’s marketing is going great.
[Full disclosure: as an educator in the UMass system, I am a union member. I write about dark money, democracy, and oligarchy.]
As someone who knows the founder, it’s interesting that this is your take – her own kids go to public school. The first was in special education and was constantly getting in trouble with the public school system in our city as a 5-year-old. We live in a city with a school system that just last year called the police on a 6-year-old for “sexual assault” due to supposedly touching another child: https://www.wcvb.com/article/family-seeks-apology-after-son-6-accused-of-sexual-harassment/35602120
She was a union organizer and is a Democrat, supporter of Ayanna Pressley, Marty Walsh, Obama, etc. The reason she started this group is because she had no power and was repeatedly failed by the system, like many POC and special needs parents. She advocates for all kinds of things, including having snacks in school so kids aren’t too hungry to concentrate.
Further, many of the same groups that are anti-charter in MA are also dark money-funded and don’t bother filing 990’s, so you can’t actually check them.
Many people have a knee-jerk reaction to anyone who appears to oppose teachers unions, but the fact is that Mass is a state where special needs parents frequently have to hire attorneys and advocates to get the schools to provide services and follow IEP’s. It’s not shocking those types of parents would eventually end up organizing, and doesn’t mean they’re “right wing”.