Tom Sawner is the CEO of Educational Options, Inc., President of Orchard Learning, Inc., and CEO of River Oak Associates, Inc. He is also Chairman of the Educational Options Foundation.

Educational Options (EdOptions) is an accredited, Web-based provider of high school and adult education curriculum and the parent company of Blue Ridge International Academy, one of the nation’s first fully accredited online high schools. Through its range of quality educational products, EdOptions meets the needs of students and teachers with unparalleled customer service and innovative approaches to the toughest learning challenges. In 2006, EdOptions was the U.S. Chamber of Commerce national “Small Business of the Year.” EdOptions won the Educational Software Review Award (EDDIE) in 2008 and the Best Educational Software Award (BESSIE) as the top online high school software in the nation in both 2008 and 2009.

In March 2009, Dr. Sawner acquired the Siboney Learning Group, now renamed Orchard Learning, Inc. Winner of numerous awards including the prestigious Golden Lamp Award for Best Technology in 2007 and five Association of Educational Publishers’ awards in 2009, Orchard Software provides targeted instruction in math, reading, writing, language arts, and science for grades K-9, combining formative and benchmark assessments, motivating instruction, and qualitative data reporting. When paired with EdOptions, this acquisition created a single-source award-winning educational software curriculum solution for the entire pre-K-12 and basic adult education markets.

River Oak Associates, Inc. provides organizational improvement, leadership development, and executive coaching, focusing on the link between an organization’s culture and its performance. As a performance consultant, Dr. Sawner is a frequent speaker and has keynoted at the National Organizational Excellence Conference, the National Dropout Prevention Conference, the National Character and Leadership Symposium, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Summit, the Venture Capital in Education Summit and many other regional and national meetings.

Additionally, Dr. Sawner and his wife, the Honorable Bettina S. Callaway, established two not-for-profit foundations. In 2003, they founded the Educational Opportunity and Research Foundation. During the past five years, the foundation provided urban schools more than $800,000 in matching scholarships, training, and support services. In 2008, Dr. Sawner founded the Educational Options Foundation which supports educational activities focused on educational grants and charter schools.

Dr. Sawner has over 20 years of operational experience as an Air Force fighter pilot and Air Staff officer. Prior to retirement, he directed the Air National Guard Center for Excellence. In this position, he built the business practice for a full range of consultant services including leadership development, executive coaching, quality improvement, and performance planning. In 1986, he was awarded the Anthony C. Shine Award as the Most Outstanding Fighter Pilot in the U.S. Air Force.

An Air Force Academy graduate with double majors in economics and management, Dr. Sawner holds a Master of Aeronautical Science and a Master of Business Administration. He received his Doctorate from the George Washington University in Human Resource Development.

Educational Options, Inc., Orchard Learning, Inc. and River Oak Associates, Inc. each meet the federal procurement criteria as a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business.