SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Donald Graham, one of the most respected and admired executives in media and education, will be featured in a "fireside chat" Monday evening before former Governor Jeb Bush's remarks at the 5th Annual ASU+GSV Education Innovation Summit.  Graham has unrivaled experience in the media and education industries as the CEO of Graham Holdings—owner of Kaplan Education—and the former Chairman and CEO of the Washington Post.  Graham also serves as the lead director at the world's largest social media site Facebook where he has been a director since 2009.  He has been a passionate advocate to create greater access to the American Dream through TheDream.US scholarship fund and the District of Columbia College Access Program, which will be a key focus of his conversation.

"We are proud to feature some of the biggest disrupters of our time at the ASU+GSV Summit, and this year is no exception.  Don Graham has been in the driver's seat behind some of America's leading companies in media and education as they've undergone immense change during the digital age.  We're looking forward to hearing his thoughts on the convergence of these two industries, as well as learning more about the work he's doing to break down barriers to higher education for low-income and immigrant students," said Michael Moe, the Summit's co-chair and the founder of GSV Asset Management and GSV Capital.

Graham was publisher of The Washington Post from 1979-2000 and chairman from 2000-2008, and has served on Facebook's board of directors since 2008.  He was named chief executive officer of Graham Holdings Company (formerly The Washington Post Company) in 1991 and chairman of the board in 1993, and continues to hold both positions. During his tenure, Kaplan Inc. – one of the holding company's major properties – has grown from a U.S. test prep company into an international online education provider serving elementary through post-secondary learners.

In his private life, Graham has worked to help more young people have access to college.  He co-founded Dream.US with his wife Amanda and philanthropists Henry Munoz and Carlos Gutierrez.  The organization has raised more than $25 million from organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies to provide privately-funded Pell Grant type scholarships to highly motivated, low-income U.S. residents over the course of the next decade.  The program is working with more than a dozen community colleges, four-year colleges and online institutions to give scholarships to more than 2,000 so-called "DREAMers," young people who have grown up in the United States.

Graham is also chairman of the District of Columbia College Access Program, a private foundation which, since 1999, has helped double the number of DC public high school students going on to college and has helped triple the number graduating from college. He co-founded the program along with major local businesses and foundations. Since its inception, DC-CAP has assisted over 13,000 DC students enroll in college and has provided scholarships totaling more than $18 million.

Co-hosted by Arizona State University and GSV Advisors from April 21-23, the 5^th Annual ASU+GSV Education Innovation Summit has become to education innovation what Davos is to global economics and Sun Valley is to media. Unlike other conferences that focus specifically on education policy or technology, the Summit is unique both in composition and mission.  It brings together some 1,500 key stakeholders – investors, educators, policy makers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists – in one place to collaborate and drive change, and serves as a launch pad for new ideas and ventures. 

In addition to Graham, other notables headlining this year's event are former Governor of Florida Jeb Bush; NBA legend and global social entrepreneur Earvin "Magic" Johnson; U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, and Netflix co-founder and CEO, investor and philanthropist Reed Hastings.

For more information, visit http://edinnovation.gsvadvisors.com/.   @asugsvsummit
#EISummit

SOURCE GSV Advisors