Summit XII Opening and Closing Speakers

David Anderson joined Hillco in January 2003 from the Texas Education Agency, where he had worked as managing director of the Division of Curriculum & Professional Development since July 1997. As managing director, David supervised the foundation and enrichment curriculum areas as well as the early childhood division, the bilingual/Spanish language arts division, and professional development initiatives. The division also manages a number of statewide grants and initiatives.

Prior to his work at TEA, David was vice president at Holt, Rinehart & Winston, a division of Harcourt Publishing. Six of his eighteen years in educational publishing were with HRW. He had prior experience in publishing as vice president of D.C. Heath, a Raytheon company, and as a regional manager for Laidlaw Brothers, a division of Doubleday. During his career in publishing David was active in the Texas Textbook Publishers Association, serving as president in 1991-92 and as a board member for three years.

David began his career in education as a fifth and sixth grade teacher in the Austin public schools. He became district’s youngest administrator at age twenty-four when he joined the AISD elementary curriculum staff in 1976. David is a member of Phi Delta Kappa, an honorary educational organization, and he served as president of the University of Texas chapter. The UT PDK chapter recognized him as one of three “Outstanding Young Educators” during PDK’s seventy-fifth anniversary celebration.

A product of the Texas public school system, David grew up in a small farming community in central Texas. Following his graduation from McGregor High School in 1969, he attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he received an undergraduate degree in 1973 and a master’s degree in 1976. He has done additional post-graduate work at UT-Austin and at Harvard University. During his graduate work at UT-Austin, David completed the nationally recognized Foundations in Educational Administration program in 1974 and the UT Residential Year in School Administration program in 1976. He is a member of the University of Texas “T” Association.

David is a member of several professional organizations, including TASA and TASCD. He sits on the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation national advisory panel for the Schools to Scholars Program. David is a member of the UT-Austin College of Education Foundation Advisory Council and the University of Texas Chancellor’s Council.

The Emmy Award winning Biscuit Brothers Television Project, now in its sixth season, has a mission to serve children and families and strengthen communities through free educational television. Using music education as a gateway, we offer children an opportunity to build and explore interpersonal and community values, and to think critically about the world around them. The goal for each season is to reach more families across the country with our television program and accessible concerts, along with supporting music curriculum in classrooms. We use music as an entry point to give children everywhere a head-start on all aspects of learning and exploration.

The Creative Staff of The Biscuit Brothers

Jerome Schoolar

Jerome has spent his entire career working with children, most notably as a City of Austin Fine Arts Coordinator for Children, where he helped conceive and implement a nationally recognized Youth at Risk Fine Arts Program called Totally Cool, Totally Art. He has also been a lead writer and performer for Texas’ longest-running comedy show, Esther’s Follies. Schoolar is co-creator of the Biscuit Brothers, as well as a co-producer, writer, musician, set designer and prop designer for the show.

Allen Robertson

Allen is an award-winning composer, playwright, actor, director, sound designer and musician and has worked on hundreds of productions from Chicago to Japan – and just about everywhere in between. He is also a composer, with credits including the documentary Beyond Black Rock and the smash off-Broadway hit The Flaming Idiots. Robertson is co-creator of the Biscuit Brothers, as well as a co-producer, writer, educational director and composer for the show.

Damon Brown

Before the Biscuits, Damon was a documentary producer, director, and editor (Beyond Black Rock). He’s worked in front of and behind the camera as a news reporter, field producer, weather anchor, Creative Services Director at CBS affiliate KTAB TV and Executive Producer of their annual Children’s Miracle Network affiliate broadcast, where his team garnered national attention for its originality and creativity. Brown is co-creator of the Biscuit Brothers, as well as the director, a co-producer, writer and musician, editor and the source of many of the character voices for the show.