Dr. Janice K. Jackson serves as Executive Director of the Education & Society Program within the Center for Rising Generations at the Aspen Institute.
Janice has dedicated her career to ensuring every young person has access to a high-quality education that prepares them for a bright future. Prior to joining the Aspen Institute, she served as CEO of Hope Chicago, a two-generation scholarship organization that eliminates barriers to educational and economic equity by providing debt-free college opportunities and wraparound support services to students and their families. She also served as a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Foundation, focusing on equity issues, improving high school and college attainment nationwide, and ensuring that African American, Latinx, and Indigenous students receive exemplary education and social-emotional support.
She is perhaps best known for serving as CEO of Chicago Public Schools from 2017-2021, leading the nation’s third-largest school district with more than 355,000 students, 38,000 employees, and a $7 billion annual budget. During her tenure, CPS was nationally recognized for record-breaking improvements in academic achievement, high school graduation rates, and post-secondary completion. Under her leadership, the district implemented equity-driven reforms, expanded opportunities for students, and was regarded by education experts across the country as a national leader in improving results for young people at scale. Bill Gates noted that the data-driven approach to student success developed under her leadership served as “a model for the nation.”
Dr. Jackson’s career began as a social studies teacher and debate team coach at South Shore High School in Chicago Public Schools. She went on to expand opportunities for students through her work as founding principal of two successful high schools – Al Raby School for Community and Environment and George Westinghouse College Prep High School – before serving as District Network Chief and Chief Education Officer. She became the first CPS alumna to serve as CEO of the district.
A lifelong resident of Chicago’s South Side, Janice graduated from Chicago Public Schools. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Chicago State University, as well as a Master’s in Leadership and Administration and an Ed.D. in Policy Studies in Urban School Leadership from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her board memberships include the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), Chicago History Museum, Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center, and A Better Chicago. She is a 2007 Fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago and was selected as a 2021 Resident Fellow for the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago.