As Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Education, Tomalis is in the middle of several hot-button issues. He’s a trustee at Penn State and vice-chair of the investigation into the athletic department there. He’s also leading Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett’s education reform efforts, which include a contentious debate over school vouchers that has national implications. Plus, Tomalis is one of the savviest state education chiefs when it comes to navigating federal education policy — he knows where the bodies are buried and where the levers of power are, having served as a senior official in George W. Bush’s Department of Education. So look for creative ideas from Pennsylvania about No Child Left Behind modifications and flexibility for states from the federal government. Oh, and Pennsylvania is also a pivotal state in this year’s presidential election. So behind the scenes and in public, Tomalis will be putting his stamp on the education conversation in 2012.