IEL’s board of directors appointed Dr. Johan E. Uvin as IEL’s the sixth president. Uvin was the Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education.
IEL’s board of directors appointed Dr. Johan E. Uvin as IEL’s sixth president. Uvin was the Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) at the U.S. Department of Education. He succeeds Martin J. Blank, who served as IEL president since 2009 and remains the director of IEL’s Coalition for Community Schools.
“Building on IEL’s long-standing commitment to linking education and workforce development systems, Dr. Johan Uvin’s appointment signals IEL’s renewed commitment to cross-boundary leadership to create equitable opportunities and improve outcomes for all young people, from childhood through their transition to adulthood. Johan brings entrepreneurialism, strategy, and interdisciplinary expertise to expand the organization’s reach by strengthening ongoing IEL initiatives and creating new opportunities,” stated Dr. C. Kent McGuire, IEL board chair and president of the Southern Education Foundation.
“I am excited about the opportunity to join and lead the IEL team,” said Uvin. “I am looking forward to working together with the board, the staff, and external stakeholders to further increase the impact of IEL’s work in the lives of youth and adults in communities all across the country. I bring a deep commitment to closing opportunity and achievement gaps and view IEL’s policy and practice work as critical vehicles in pursuit of these goals.”
Uvin has served at the U.S. Department of Education in various capacities, including OCTAE acting director of the Policy Research and Evaluation Services Division, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Strategic Initiatives, and as an OCTAE senior policy advisor. While at the Department, he co-chaired the Interagency Forum on Disconnected Youth, a multi-agency federal collaboration to improve the outcomes of disconnected youth and provided oversight and direction to the multi-agency Performance Partnership Pilots.
He served as a member of the steering committee of the Domestic Policy Council’s New Americans Citizenship and Integration Initiative and the White House Task Force on New Americans to make every American feel welcome and make our communities stronger in the process. Uvin has received multiple awards for his work. Most recently, he was the recipient of the 2016 National Literacy Leadership Award and the 2016 Outstanding American by Choice Award. Uvin holds a doctorate in administration, planning, and social policy from Harvard University.
”The IEL board is grateful for Marty Blank’s leadership over the past eight years. Marty has transformed IEL into a movement-building organization, securing a strong foundation and a bright future for IEL,” noted McGuire.
Uvin builds on the legacy of prior IEL presidents: Norman Drachler, Samuel Halperin, Michael Usdan, Elizabeth Hale, and most recently, Martin Blank. He starts his presidency on February 15.
The planned transition and search for the new IEL president was led by the IEL Board Search Committee, chaired by S. Decker Anstrom and assisted by Korn Ferry, a global search and talent solutions firm.