Burck Smith is the CEO and founder of StraighterLine. Founded in 2009 and based in Baltimore, StraighterLine helps colleges offer innovative pathway programs that improve enrollment and retention by helping their prospects and students reduce the price and risk of pursuing a degree. Ten years before launching StraighterLine, he co-founded SMARTHINKING (now a Pearson company), the largest online tutoring provider for schools and colleges. Burck has written chapters for three books on education policy for the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), and is a former independent consultant and journalist. Burck also serves on the Boards Baltimore Collegiate School for Boys, a charter school for urban middle school boys, and Friends School of Baltimore. He is a Pahara/Aspen Institute Fellow, and holds a Master's Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. from Williams College.