Christian Rhodes

For the past 17 years, Christian has served as a trusted advisor to education leaders across the country. Most recently, Christian served as Senior Advisor to the U.S Secretary of Education, Dr. Miguel Cardona, advising him on all matters of K-12, strategic partnerships, and special initiatives. Appointed by President Biden, he also served as the Chief of Staff for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, leading the department’s efforts to increase the access and availability of summer learning and enrichment programs and establishing a practitioner-focused repository of district and state responses to safely reopening America’s schools. In addition, his office was responsible for all the significant discretionary grants in K-12, namely the 21st Century Learning Centers, Full-Service Community Schools, and Promise Neighborhoods. Lastly, his team led the distribution of over $122 billion through the historic American Rescue Plan, the most significant single investment in public education in our nation’s history. Before his appointment to the Biden Administration, Christian served as Chief of Staff for a large urban school district and policy advisor to multiple superintendents, mayors, governors, and state and municipal leaders on education.Christian is a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and American University in Washington D.C.