REFERENCES
“I have known Alan for over 25 years, first as a superior consumer packaged goods marketer, next as a successful real estate developer, and then as an innovative educator creating cutting-edge charter schools to help low-income children with learning disabilities. As a marketing executive, Alan developed brands, built sales and created business where none existed before. Following his corporate marketing career, I saw Alan develop real estate projects bringing value and consensus to all parties while managing the development and execution of the projects. His altruism, creativity and brilliance led him to create highly effective schools for at-risk children. He attacked this as a professional marketer, innovative educator and disciplined research scientist. He educated himself gaining not one but two doctorate degrees in education. After examining available resources worldwide and neuroscientific research on education, Alan synthesized a practical and effective approach to remediate many of the problems faced by students with learning disabilities. He created a new paradigm model for his first charter school, “built from scratch” with a new curriculum utilizing only the “best of the best” teaching elements with a professional businessman’s eye on maximizing academic success for these children. With an obsession for constantly improving the program and serving more children in the community, he grew this model into three fully operating schools serving over 600 children. Alan has worked with me directly for several clients and on special projects for my company over the years, always with great success and as a strong asset. He continues to help develop programs and presentations. I know he brings to any company, business or community problem the enthusiasm and skills needed to achieve the needed results. He is both a strategist and a person who can roll up his sleeves and get things done.”
Richard H Kullman, Principal, Raintree Group
“I have known Alan Smolowe for nearly 25 years. Alan’s blend of skill sets is rare in the business world. He has one of the keenest analytic minds I have ever encountered. Juxtaposed with his ability to assimilate and analyze a diversity of information from a wide array of sources, Alan also possesses the rare gift of being able to see how this information can be applied in novel ways to arrive at new ideas for products and services. It is unusual to find in the world of business truly original thinking, and Alan never ceases to surprise me with a unique perspective on an old problem.”
Richard Stone, StoryAnalytics Master, i.d.e.a.s. The Innovation Studio
“Alan is an innovative, dynamic businessman who created a specialized program to address the needs of children with learning disabilities. He is an amazing educational leader with progressive ideas. He pleasantly surprised the school board by opening his third school in a low-income, high needs area. Alan put his personal office on that campus to be closer to the highest risk students. His passion for the neurosciences pushed him to seek out better educational practices through continuous research. He is truly a believer in life-long education and this lent tremendous credibility to his efforts to find better ways to educate our special needs children.”
Judge “Rick” Roach, Orange Country School Board Member
“I have known Alan since 1992, having met him while in Orlando working on the acquisition of a specialty construction company. He quickly became a good sounding-board for me during the “due diligence” process, and provided me with very good and reasoned counsel. Subsequently, we worked together on new company start-ups, real estate development and construction projects, management consulting engagements, banking and financial matters, and non-profit management issues. Alan is a compelling “change agent” who can explain complex scenarios in an easy-to-understand manner, and has consistently provided considerable insightful for me into issues that need resolution. Thinking things through to a reasonable and actionable implementation are hallmarks of Alan’s proactive approach to “getting things done.” Also voracious reader, Alan can assimilate huge amounts of diverse information and fold it into the thought process necessary to deliver acceptable resolutions and quantifiable results. Even now, in my capacity as CFO of a large international freight company operating world-wide, Alan’s advice is invaluable.”
Paul Gregg, Chief Financial Officer, Commodity Forwarders, Inc.
“It has been my great pleasure to consider Alan a colleague these twenty plus years. As a consultant, he has played a significant role in helping improve my business. His strategic thinking and think-tank mentality has offered numerous otherwise unseen paths through the quagmire called business. On occasion, his creative and effective problem-solving acumen has helped untangle and restructure business puzzles. Often Alan has help restructure papers and marketing pieces to better position our advantages over current competitors products and services. As to education and his commitment to learning, there are none who I know that are more steadfast in converting knowledge into wisdom. I have, during my vast career, come upon a rare few who have an innate capacity to frame problems and solutions with polish and panache, Alan is one of those rare individuals.”
Dr. John Byrnes, Founder and CEO, Center for Aggression Management
“My contacts with Dr. Smolowe are varied. He was a student of mine in two educational programs leading to both EdD and PhD degrees. I served with him on the board of trustees of a charter school. In addition, he has provided me with information and assistance on a variety of educational topics. Throughout our relationship, I have seen Dr. Smolowe exercise exceptional leadership in a supervisory capacity, creativity and intelligence as a student at the doctoral level, and dedication to the acquisition of knowledge and expertise in such educational areas as neuroscience and school development. I strongly believe Dr. Smolowe will be an excellent, productive, trusted addition to any organization.”
Dr. Leo Browne, Professor and Mentor
“I have known Dr. Smolowe for many years and worked with him in education for twelve years. He is one of the most gifted and talented individuals I have ever had the pleasure of working with to do great things for children. His creativity is world class and his ability to see opportunity where others see problems makes him a very dynamic leader. Alan never just sees the glass half empty or half full, he figures out how to make the glass better regardless of its contents.”
Bert Carrier, President, Florida Petroleum Services, Inc.
