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James Cole is the Senior Director, Partnership Activation at the National Academy Foundation. Prior to their current position, they were with Suited, Cole | Alex | Miles LLC, The Jasco Group, and U.S. Department of Education.

At the U.S. Department of Education, Cole served as the US Deputy Secretary of Education (Delegated) from August 2014 to January 2017. In this role, they were the second highest ranking official at the Department of Education and advised President Barack Obama and other senior White House officials on matters relating to early childhood education though college, as well as other matters of national significance. Cole also served as the Chief Operating Officer for ED’s 4200 employees, annual budget of $45.6B, and assets of $1.1T.

Some notable accomplishments during their time at the U.S. Department of Education include developing a strategic plan for the continuation and institutionalization of “My Brother’s Keeper” policy development agenda, convening federal, state and local stakeholders to create a cross-agency strategy to better support under-resourced colleges and universities, and leading a team that resolved Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) audit findings.

In their current role at the National Academy Foundation, Cole is responsible for overseeing the foundation’s corporate engagement and relations initiatives.

James Cole has a Doctor of Law (J.D.) from the University of Chicago Law School, a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and certification from the Supreme Court of the United States, New York State Bar Association, and United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

James Cole works with Soley Gonzalez - Director, Corporate Engagement & Relations, Melanie Newell - Assistant Director, Corporate Engagement & Relations, and Natasha Orbis - Manager, Corporate Engagement & Relations. James Cole reports to Patricia Brown, VP, Corporate Engagement & Relations.