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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release September 30, 1999

PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES JOHN GAGE, NANCY E. PFUND, AND SUSAN R. COLLINS

TO THE WEB-BASED EDUCATION COMMISSION

The President today announced his intent to appoint John Gage, Nancy E. Pfund, and Susan R. Collins to serve as members of the Web-Based Education Commission.

Mr. John Gage, of Berkeley, California, is Chief Researcher and Director of the Science Office at Sun Microsystems and has been with the company since 1982. He is responsible for Sun's relationship with world scientific and technical organizations, for international public policy and governmental relations in the areas of scientific and technical policy, and for alliances with the world's leading research institutions and laboratories. In 1995, he created NetDay, a volunteer project to bring the resources of world high-technology companies to all schools and libraries to connect them to the Internet. Since 1996, over 500,000 volunteers have wired over 50,000 schools and libraries in the U.S. Netdays are planned for over forty countries in 1999. He is the host of a worldwide satellite television program, "Sunergy", that explores frontiers of computing, networking, science, and mathematics. He serves on the Board of Regents of the United States Library of Medicine. He has been a member of scientific advisory panels for the U.S. National Research Council, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Multimedia Super Corridor project of Malaysia. Mr. Gage received a B.A. degree from the University of California at Berkeley, a M.P.A. degree from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a M.B.A. degree from the Harvard Business School. He did doctoral work in mathematics and economics at the University of California at Berkeley.

Ms. Nancy E. Pfund, of Berkeley, California, is a General Partner in the San Francisco investment firm of Hambrecht & Quist. She works in the firm's Private Equity Group and is a Partner in its Access Technology Private Equity Fund. She oversees investments in a variety of areas, including e-commerce, education, training, wireless communications, and software. Ms. Pfund also directs the firm's external affairs and charitable giving programs. She serves on the board of directors of Netschools Corporation, wTe Corporation, SERA Learning Technologies, and Perks.com. She joined Hambrecht & Quist in 1985 as a securities analyst, following the analytical and scientific instrumentation markets. She previously worked at Intel Corporation in new product marketing and public affairs and as a research associate in technology policy for various offices within the State of California and the Stanford University School of Medicine. Ms. Pfund received B.A. and M.A. degrees in anthropology from Stanford University and a M.B.A. degree from the Yale School of Management.

Ms. Susan R. Collins, of La Jolla, California, is the Senior Vice President for Marketing, Professional Development and Strategic Planning at Jostens Learning Corporation. From 1996-1998, she served as Director of the Education Division of Compaq Computer Corporation. From 1987-1996, she worked at Apple Computer, Inc. as Manager of Strategic Initiatives in the Education Division and as an education technology consultant. She previously served as Director of Instructional Services and Technology in the office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction in Olympia, Washington and as a science teacher in Corvallis, Oregon. Ms. Collins is on the Board of Directors of the Software and Information Industry Association. She has served as Vice President of the International Society for Technology in Education, as a member of the Executive Board of the Northwest Council for Computer Education, as a member of the Technology Advisory Committee of the Northwest Regional Laboratory, and as Chair of the Education Section of the Software Publishers Association. Ms. Collins received B.S. and M.S. degrees from Oregon State University.

The newly created Web-Based Education Commission will assess the appropriate federal role in identifying quality educational software. The Commission will conduct a thorough study by utilizing existing research, holding public hearings, and facilitating information exchange within and between the federal government, state governments, and educators. The Commission will issue a report to the President and the Congress recommending legislative and administrative actions within six months of convening.

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