Dan Proskauer: Vision and Leadership for Newton Schools!

Why am I Running for School Committee?

I have always been passionate about the things that matter to me in life, whether personal or professional. I grew up in Newton having graduated from Hyde Elementary, Meadowbrook Jr. High (before it became Brown) and Newton South High School.  I am raising my family here with two children at Franklin Elementary and one at Day Middle School (entering NNHS next year) and I believe I am typical of many others in Newton.  I think many citizens have great ideas, but stay in the background and I realize now is a time when Newton needs its citizens to come forward and give more of themselves to help the community as a whole.

Why am I Qualified?

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Obviously any citizen meets the minimum requirements to serve on the School Committee.  However, I believe some of my skills and experience will provide additional opportunities to contribute.  I have extensive experience with the Newton schools as a "customer", first as a student for ten years and now with three children of my own in the system.  I also have many family members who have been career educators including my brother who is a middle school teacher.

For the past several years I have served on the board of directors of the Burr Cooperative Nursery School which all three of my children attended.  As a parent cooperative, BCNS provides the opportunity for parents to take an active role in setting the direction of the school.  In my role as Treasurer (ending in July of 2008) I was responsible for working with the Director and the rest of the Board to set and maintain a fiscally responsible staffing level, tuition, and overall budget for the school.  I am proud that when my tenure ended the school had a healthy rainy day fund and had increased its reserves 115% during the last four years in which I was Treasurer.

Finally, I have a professional background as an engineer and executive that brings a private sector perspective including a strong appreciation of math, science, engineering and technology, organizational development, metrics and measurement and budgetary discipline.  After graduating from the College of Engineering at Cornell University with a BS in Computer Science and concentration in Electrical Engineering I worked for many years in the semiconductor manufacturing industry leading global organizations as large as 350 people.  Most recently I am in an executive management position in health care information technology and am gaining an in depth appreciation for the complex issues caused by our health care system.  I will bring this combination of background, skills and experience to bear on the challenging problems facing our school system and our city.

 

Educational Background

I attended Hyde Elementary, Meadowbrook Jr. High (before it became Brown) and Newton South High School.  While at Newton South I helped to advance the computer science curriculum, participating in the first ever computer science advanced placement test as a sophomore followed by work-study assignments within the computer and math departments.  Starting with the fourth grade instrumental program I played violin for eight years (trying hard to pick it back up now!).  I was also active in the theater program and was a member of the stage crew all four years (following two years at Meadowbrook as well).  While in High School I also worked part-time for the Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Division in Waltham.  Upon graduation in 1986 I placed in the first decile of my class and was awarded the A. James Short Mathematics Award.

I attended the College of Engineering at Cornell University majoring in Computer Science with a concentration in Electrical Engineering.  While at Cornell I participated in the Engineering Co-Operative Program which required me to complete a semester's course load over the summer and allowed me to work at Digital Equipment Corporation for one summer and one semester.  While at Cornell I was an officer of the Association of Computer Science Undergraduates and worked as a teaching assistant for the department for seven semesters.  I graduated Cum Laude from Cornell in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree and was awarded the Jonathan Marx Memorial Prize in Computer Science.

Professional Background

My full professional profile on LinkedIn can be found here.

After graduating from Cornell University I joined Teradyne, Inc. in Boston where I worked for 16 years.  Teradyne designs and builds test equipment used by semiconductor manufacturers worldwide.  While at Teradyne I grew from an individual contributing software engineer to a product architect to a senior engineering manager responsible for an organization of 350 engineers in locations around the world.  I was granted several US and International patents and presented papers at numerous technical conferences.

In 2006 I left Teradyne and joined Axcelis in Beverly, MA (also in the semiconductor equipment industry) as Director of Software Engineering.  Following a successful turn-around of a troubled software organization at Axcelis, I joined Ingenix in Waltham, MA in 2008 to take the position of Vice President, Technology Engineering.  Ingenix is a subsidiary of United Health Group and is the leader in the field of health care information technology.  At Ingenix I am responsible for the development of a portfolio of products related to the gathering and analysis of health care quality and risk data which is the focus of the recent health care IT initiatives proposed by the Obama administration.

 

Related Experience

For the past several years I have served on the Board of Directors of the Burr Cooperative Nursery School which all three of my children attended.  As a parent cooperative, BCNS provides the opportunity for parents to take an active part in setting the direction of the school.  In my role as Treasurer (ending in July of 2008) I was responsible for working with the Director and the rest of the Board to set and maintain a fiscally responsible staffing level, tuition, and overall budget for the school.  I am proud that when my tenure ended the school had a healthy rainy day fund and had increased its reserves 115% during the last four years in which I was Treasurer.