Kevin Huffman is the founding CEO of Accelerate, a national initiative that seeks to scale evidence-based practices in public schools. Prior to helping launch Accelerate, Huffman was a partner with City Fund. Huffman is the former Tennessee commissioner of education, where he managed the state department of education in its effort to advance the academic progress of nearly one million students. During Huffman’s tenure, Tennessee had the largest state gains on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Previously, he spent a decade leading Teach For America's national growth. Huffman graduated from Swarthmore College and from the New York University School of Law. He began his career as a bilingual first grade teacher in Houston with Teach For America.