The 180 Podcast | Jim Shelton: Education Innovation: Improving Opportunity, Equity and Outcomes
Mention innovation in America, and what comes to mind? Silicon Valley? NASA? Tech firms? Not for Jim Shelton. He thinks education. In fact, he wonders why, as we learn more about the science of learning and development, shouldn’t education—like, say, the military—have a full research and development infrastructure?
That thinking has driven Shelton—in the private sector, nonprofits and government—on a singular path: Innovating our approach to learning, teaching and educating, and using that innovation to create more opportunity, greater equity, and of course, better student outcomes.
Shelton is Chief Investment and Impact Officer at Blue Meridian Partners. He previously served as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education under President Barack Obama—a role he took only after overseeing the Office of Innovation, which included managing the government’s Investing in Innovation Fund. Before joining the administration, Shelton drove education innovation in various roles, including as Program Director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. After leaving, he continued his push, serving as President of Education at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
Also listen to the Podcast here.
