Earl Martin Phalen, Reach Out and Read's new Chief Executive Officer.      Earl Martin Phalen Named ROR's Chief Executive Officer In September, Earl Martin Phalen assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer of Reach Out and Read. With more than 16 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, he is working to bring ROR to the next level of mission and service. "Reach Out and Read is one of the finest organizations in the country," Phalen said. "Few nonprofits have the same evidence base (13 research studies), scale (3.8 million children served at 4,535 locations), and impact (significant developmental gains and higher test scores). Today, 35% of American children show up to kindergarten unprepared to learn. We will work tirelessly in the years ahead to ensure that all children enter school prepared for success." Phalen is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School who has dedicated his career to strengthening low-income families and communities. As a student at Harvard Law in 1992, Earl founded Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL), a nonprofit organization that tutors and mentors schoolchildren who have fallen behind their peers and keeps them focused on the goal of attending and graduating from college. As CEO for 15 years, Earl increased annual revenues from $12,000 to $25.5 million and grew BELL from a local community service project serving 20 students to a national nonprofit that educates more than 12,000 scholars annually. Phalen served on the education policy group for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and as co-chair of Massachusetts Governor Deval Partrick's education task force. President Bill Clinton named him as a recipient of the President's Service Award in 1997. Phalen is also the Founder and Chair of Summer Advantage USA, a nonprofit that provides scientifically-proven learning opportunities for students during summer months to combat summer learning loss.   Return