Civic Nebraska is excited to have Ted McConnell be the keynote speaker for our annual Strengthening Democracy Awards this year. Ted McConnell serves as Executive Director of the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools (CMS) a coalition of over 60 national organizations committed to improving the quality and quantity of civic learning in our nation’s schools. More information about the Campaign can be found at: www.civicmissionofschools.org
Prior to joining the Campaign, McConnell directed the Campaign to Promote Civic Education, a fifty state effort to revitalize and strengthen civic education at the state and district levels, which was an initiative of the Center for Civic Education. McConnell also served as Co – Coordinator of the Congressional Conferences on Civic Education 2003-2006. McConnell was a founding member of the CMS Executive and Steering Committees.
Ted serves on boards of directors or advisory boards for Citizenship Counts, MacNeil/ Lehrer Productions’ ‘the.News,’ Rock the Vote, Special Olympics, the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Presidential Learning Center at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library (Chairman), Project Vote Smart and the Student Press Law Center.
McConnell has been involved in the political, governmental and non-profit sectors for over thirty five years. Prior positions include Congressional Affairs Assistant to the United States Secretary of Commerce; Assistant to the Chairman and Director of Marketing and Events for the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution; Transition Assistant, 1980 Presidential Transition; and Deputy Director of the Citizens Division of the Republican National Committee.
Ted has served on staff for the presidential campaigns of Presidents Gerald R. Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. He has been involved with the management of over thirty political campaigns across the country.
McConnell attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln where he majored in Political Science and Business Administration.
Ted McConnell can be contacted at: Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, NCSS, 8555 16th St., Suite 500, Silver Spring MD. 20916; phone: 301-850-7450; Email: ted@ncss.org.
