Ulcca Joshi Hansen is an author, educational thought leader and social change advocate with a 20-year career dedicated to shifting the foundational values and approaches that underpin America’s education system. She currently serves as the Chief Program Officer for Grantmakers for Education, a partner organization for education philanthropists as they adapt to the changes impacting our world.

Ulcca began her career as an elementary school teacher in Newark Public Schools. Over the last 20 years she has gained experience across the non-profit, public, and philanthropic sectors, in the U.S. and abroad, leading programs, conducting research and crafting policy.

In her most recent roles as Chief Strategy Officer at Boundless and Vice President at Education Reimagined, she built partnerships between schools, districts, non-profits and higher education institutions committed to expanding access to relationship-based, relevant and real-world learning experiences in the K-12 and post-secondary spaces. As Vice President of the Public Education and Business Coalition she expanded the Colorado Teacher Residency to become the first residency-based preparation program in the country to serve both urban and rural districts. She also redesigned the residency curriculum, grounding new teachers in the fields of learning science, human development and human well-being.

Ulcca’s recently released book, The Future of Smart: How Our Education System Needs…