Jonah Edelman, founder and chief executive officer of Stand for Children, was the keynote speaker at an education summit hosted by the Tulsa Regional Chamber for local educators and community leaders.

"How do you help a whole system of children? Excellent leadership at every level, adequate resources and accurate information to the public about how schools are doing," Edelman said. "The challenge I put to you is to marry the effort that you're making to directly impact children one at a time with a similar fervor to impact systemic problems."

Edelman, a graduate of Yale and Oxford universities, is the son of Marian Wright Edelman, president and founder of the Children's Defense Fund, and Peter Edelman, a Georgetown law professor who worked for former Sen. Robert Kennedy and President Bill Clinton. He said he founded Stand for Children as a way to carry on his parents' legacy of service.

Named one of 2011's "Top 11 education activists" by Time.com, Edelman said Oklahoma is "having a digestion problem" with a slew of recent reform efforts passed into law.

Read Full Article

To learn more about our newest Stand affiliate, visit www.Stand.org/Oklahoma.

Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/StandOklahoma

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/OklahomaStand