Ash Vasudeva, a mission-driven educational executive with 25 years of experience across local and national nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, has been named as the next director of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s Education Program. He will begin the role in August.
“I’m delighted that Ash Vasudeva, a longtime partner to our program, will be joining the Hewlett Foundation,” said foundation President Amber D. Miller. “His wide range of experience — from classroom teaching, to local and national nonprofits, to philanthropy — strongly positions him to guide the next phase of Hewlett’s Education Program.”
“I’m honored to join the outstanding team at the Hewlett Foundation’s Education Program and continue the critical work of ensuring access to relevant, engaging, and effective learning experiences for every child,” Vasudeva said. “I am thrilled to join a philanthropy that respectfully collaborates with educators, families, and communities to provide all students the tools they need to succeed in college, careers, and life.”
“Congratulations to Ash, who I know will help carry forward our work to ensure that the promise of public education is realized for all students,” said current Program Director Kent McGuire, who completes his eight-year term at Hewlett in June. “This program’s work is predicated on the belief that a rigorous education prepares all learners to fulfill their own aspirations and become engaged members of their communities and contributors to our democracy.”
Hewlett’s Education Program makes grants that help foster mobility and help students contribute to the future of their communities and the nation. Under McGuire’s leadership, it has focused on strengthening K-12 teaching and learning so that every student has meaningful learning opportunities and on providing high-quality open educational resources that are free for educators and students to use, adapt, and share. In 2024, more than $65 million in grants were awarded across the country, building school and district capacity, supporting research on best practices for student success, and helping educators, students, and families engage in making improvements in education.
Vasudeva currently serves as President and CEO of ConnectED: The National Center for College and Career, where he has led the organization’s strategy for improving social and economic mobility via high-quality college and career pathways. Previously, he was senior vice president at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, where he led strategy development and policy and communications efforts, especially related to research and networks focused on educational improvement. He previously was lead senior program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, leading grantmaking teams focused on school districts, instructional improvement, and research, and investment in a district-network initiative in California that reached over 20,000 teachers. He has also served as co-executive director of Stanford’s School Redesign Network and taught science at Pasadena High School.
All Hewlett grantmaking staff have term limits. With McGuire stepping down in June, current Education Program Officer Angela DeBarger will serve as an interim program director this summer before Vasudeva joins and begins his eight-year term.