Eloy Oakley

Eloy Ortiz Oakley is an American educator, leader, and advisor. He is considered a leading voice on improving equity in higher education and positioning institutions for the global shifts in the workforce and the future of learning. Oakley was appointed President and CEO of the College Futures Foundation on August 1, 2022, where he leads California’s premier philanthropic and post-secondary success organization focused on improving economic mobility for underserved learners through leveraging post-secondary credential attainment. Previously, he served as Chancellor of the California Community Colleges for six years, leading the nation’s largest and most diverse higher education system. Under his leadership, the California community colleges were positioned as a vital source for maintaining the global competitiveness of the California workforce. In 2021, while on a sabbatical, he served as Senior Advisor to US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and the Biden Administration. He supported the development and communication of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda for Higher Education and the America’s College Promise proposal. Oakley’s work included the establishment of the California College Promise, the design and implementation of the system’s strategic vision, the Vision for Success, the elimination of standardized testing, the reform of remedial education, the adoption of a student-centered funding formula, the reform of state-based financial aid for community college students and the design and launch of California’s first public fully online competency-based education college. Oakley serves on the boards of MDRC, Western Governors University, and the Board of Trustees for the University of California, Irvine, and is a Regent Emeritus of the University of California Board of Regents. He serves as a Commissioner for the Academy of Arts & Sciences Commission on Opportunities Beyond High School and as a member of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Commission on the American Workforce. Oakley advises various education-related companies such as Guild Education, OpenClassrooms, EdVisorly, tbh, and Certree. For his leadership, Oakley has been recognized with the 2014 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award, as a 2016 President Barack Obama White House Champion of Change, the 2018 Higher Education Dive President of the Year, the 2018 Roybal Foundation Medal of Courage in Education, and the 2021 Diverse Champions Award.