Matt Gandal

Matt Gandal founded Education Strategy Group in 2012 to support states, national organizations, and funders committed to dramatically improving the capacity and performance of the U.S. education system. He has over 30 years of experience leading policy development, advocacy and implementation work in both the K-12 and higher education sectors. He currently serves as a columnist for Forbes, covering innovations in education that increase economic competitiveness and expand economic mobility. Gandal previously served as a senior advisor to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, where he led a new division responsible for providing policy and implementation support to states. Before joining the Department of Education, he was executive vice president of Achieve. He helped found the organization and was responsible for overseeing its major initiatives, including the American Diploma Project, the Common Core State Standards Initiative and the National Education Summits that brought together governors, CEOs and education leaders from across the country to commit to ambitious reforms. Before joining Achieve, Gandal was assistant director for educational issues at the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). He also held a leadership position with the Educational Excellence Network, an education policy think tank founded by Checker Finn. Gandal, a graduate of the Maryland public school system, earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.