Eric Waldo

About Eric

• Born in Birmingham, AL, to a Jewish father and Puerto Rican mother—he describes himself as a “Jewish Puerto Rican guy who was born in Alabama and grew up in Cleveland.”
• Growing up, he says he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life because he was interested in so many things.
• In college, he was on the pre-med track until he took a class called “The History of American Education,” which he says sparked his passion for education reform.
• Participated in a program called Summer Bridge, where college students teach underserved high school students—says he fell in love with teaching and working with young people.
• Moved to Boston right out of college; he worked as a market researcher, which he hated, but it paid enough for him to take acting classes at night and pursue his interest in theater.
• When 9/11 happened, it changed his perspective and forced him to rethink how he wanted to make a difference—he decided to pursue his master’s in education policy and go to law school.
• Worked on the presidential campaign of one of his former law professors, Barack Obama, serving as an attorney on his transition team and later as Deputy Chief of Staff for the Department of Education.
• He is now the executive director of Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher initiative at Civic Nation, working to inspire every student in the U.S. to complete their post-secondary education.