The education world lost a quiet and steely friend this week with the passing of Susan Traiman. In addition to consulting work her career included time at the Department of Education, the Business Roundtable, and the National Governors Association and she was a steady hand behind the scenes on many national school improvement moments of the past four decades. She was also a tireless advocate for the idea that American business could be involved productively in efforts to improve the quality of schools and a fun sparring partner about the limits of that idea. Most importantly she was generous with her time and expertise and patient with people coming into the field. She’ll be missed.