William D. “Bill” Hansen has more than 30 years of experience in education at the kindergarten-12th grade and postsecondary levels. As CEO of Strada Education Network, Mr. Hansen oversees a nonprofit organization that promotes Completion With a Purpose®, enhancing student success in college — and other postsecondary programs — and connecting graduates to rewarding careers and fulfilling lives.
Strada Education is building on its previous 56 years as USA Funds®, which supported $250 billion in financing to help more than 22 million students and parents pay for college.
Prior to assuming his current role in July 2013, Mr. Hansen worked for 15 years in the public sector and 20 years in the corporate and nonprofit sectors.
Recognized as a national leader in the education sector, Mr. Hansen served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education from 2001-2003, acting as the department’s chief operating officer and managing 5,000 employees and a $100 billion annual budget. He played a key role in developing and implementing landmark legislation that enhanced accountability in education and helped the Education Department earn its first-ever independent clean financial audit. Prior to serving as Deputy Secretary, he held other key leadership positions at the Department of Education, including assistant secretary for management and budget and chief financial officer.
Mr. Hansen’s private sector experience includes service as president and chairman of both Scantron Corporation and Global Scholar, providers of assessment and survey solutions to education, commercial and government organizations internationally. He also co-founded, with former U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige, an education-related consulting firm.
Additionally, he was senior vice president and managing director of the state and local solutions education services business for Affiliated Computer Services, a Fortune 500 company, and was president of the Education Finance Council, a trade association representing state-based student loan finance organizations.
He was a member of four state education commissions in the Commonwealth of Virginia, helping to improve education and workforce opportunities for students. He also was appointed as a commissioner on the National Commission on the Cost of Education and served as an advisory board member both for the University of Virginia Curry School of Education and Southern Virginia University.
Nonprofit organizations on which boards he has served include The Education Sector, Reading Is Fundamental, the National Guard Youth Foundation, and ThanksUSA.
Mr. Hansen currently serves on the board of the Forum for the Future of Higher Education, which hosts the Aspen Symposium. In addition to the Jackie Robinson Foundation, he is on the boards of: The National Urban League; Million Meal Movement (formerly Kids Against Hunger); United Way of Central Indiana; and the George W. Romney Institute of Public Management at BYU.
A graduate of George Mason University, Mr. Hansen also attended Idaho State University, which recognized him as a distinguished alumnus in 2003.
