John Danielson

John Danielson is a recognized leader in education and Chair of Alvarez & Marsal’s Educational Advisory Council.

Over his 30-year career, Mr. Danielson has held leadership positions across the education ecosystem, advising policy makers and executives on how best to improve education systems and technologies for all children. For over a decade, he has served as the Chairman and CEO of the Chartwell Hamilton Group, an international education-consulting firm focused on global education projects.

Mr. Danielson’s foray into education began when he served in several different senior roles for former United States Secretary of Education and former United States Senator Lamar Alexander, including as his national political director when Alexander ran for President in 1996. Mr. Danielson was appointed Chief of Staff at the United States Department of Education by President George W. Bush in 2001 and earned a reputation for his ability to adapt innovative business strategies and tactics to resolve issues faced by the public education sector as well as playing a lead role in expanding the Department’s international profile. He later returned to help U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan by serving as a peer reviewer in all four of the landmark Race to the Top state and district competitions.

Mr. Danielson co-founded an education company that partnered with many of the nation’s largest urban school systems to serve the academic and behavioral needs of at-risk middle and high school students. The company’s innovative schools demonstrated substantial student academic growth, considerable reductions in district-wide crime rates, and enjoyed endorsements from teachers’ unions as well as from Dr. Dorothy Height and the National Council for Negro Women.

Mr. Danielson earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas. He has served on numerous corporate and non-profit boards, presently including USC-Schwarzenegger Institute for Global Policy, the National Afterschool Alliance, StandardsWork, and the University of the Potomac. Previously he was elected by private equity owners KKR and Oaktree Capital as Chairman on the nation’s second largest private university system, educating over 100,000 students, and was also appointed Vice President of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards-USA by HRH The Prince Edward.