“Educators are arc benders. Teachers and school leaders bend the arc of the lives of the children they serve upward each day, sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly, and frequently in ways that cannot be readily seen or quantified. The true impact of an educator is often best divined by conscience.”

– Duane Martin

Duane Martin

Duane is a first generation college graduate who values the critical difference public educators have made in his life. Those educators directly impacted his professional life and instilled in him a passion for public service and governmental affairs. As an undergraduate, Duane served as one of 30 students selected nationally as a Center Fellow with the Center for the Study of Presidency, publishers of Presidential Studies Quarterly. Duane was also a recipient of the George C. Marshall Award, sponsored by the Marshall Foundation in honor of one of America’s truly selfless public servants. After serving overseas as an Army officer, Duane returned home to Missouri to attend law school. In law school, he served as Editor in Chief of the ABA’s national quarterly for state and local government law, which includes scholarly works regarding public education. Following law school, Duane served as a judicial law clerk at the Missouri Court of Appeals and as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Missouri.