Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.

Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder

Nathan Driskell

Chief Policy Officer, National Center on Education and the Economy

Nathan Driskell is the Chief Policy Officer at NCEE. He currently oversees implementation of the organization’s 10-year strategy for policy. He cultivates new policy partners across the country and designs high-level policy convenings. Nathan has spent 12 years at NCEE studying comparative policy, providing strategic advice to U.S. policymakers, and facilitating policy conversations with high-level stakeholders: legislators; governors’ policy advisors; chief state school officers; business executives; and youth leaders. He has led teams to education systems all over the world, and contributed to global studies on teacher preparation, early learning, curriculum and assessment, accountability, career-connected learning, and school choice. He has consulted and facilitated groups including the National Conference of State Legislatures’ International Education Study Groups, the Maryland, Nevada, and Montana Commissions on Innovation and Excellence in Education, the Pennsylvania Commission on Education and Economic Competitiveness, the Growing Michigan Together Council, and the Utah First Credential Oversight Committee. Nathan has over 15 years of experience in education policy. Prior to NCEE, he worked in education philanthropy, and family and community engagement at the Harvard Family Research Project and the Flamboyan Foundation in Washington D.C. He holds a Master’s in Education Policy and Management from Harvard University and a B.A. from Brown University.