John Danielson

Over his 30-year career, Mr. Danielson has held leadership positions across the education ecosystem, advising policy makers and senior 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 serves as a mentor to dozens of K12 superintendents, university presidents and political leaders of both parties.

Along with former United States Secretary of Education Rod Paige, John co-founded the Chartwell Education Group, LLC in 2005, an international education-consulting firm initially headquartered in New York.  Chartwell has successfully executed a variety of global education projects in Europe, China, India and Latin America with a particular focus on university design and education. In 2009 Chartwell was restructured into the Chartwell Hamilton Group, LLC; John serves as its Chairman and CEO. 

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 US 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 in 1995 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 particularly among African American and Hispanic students, 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.

A sixth-generation Texan, Mr. Danielson earned a bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas. He has served on numerous corporate and non-profit boards, at present including as Chairman of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards – USA, and on the boards of the USC-Schwarzenegger Institute for Global Public Policy, National Afterschool Alliance, US Supreme Court Historical Society, and StandardsWork.  Mr. Danielson also serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the University of the Potomac in Washington, DC. Previously he was elected by private equity owners KKR and Oaktree Capital as Chairman of the nation’s second largest private university system, educating over 100,000 students. He also previously served on boards for the Carlyle Group and TA Associates.  Mr. Danielson currently serves as a Senior Advisor to four leading K12 education companies in the Owl Ventures portfolio.