President, CEO, College Futures Foundation
Eloy Ortiz Oakley is an American educator, leader and advisor. He is considered a leading voice on improving equity in higher education and for positioning institutions for the global shifts in the workforce and the future of learning.
Oakley is President and CEO of the College Futures Foundation where he leads California’s premiere philanthropic and advocacy organization focused on improving college credential attainment for Californians of all backgrounds. Previously he served as Chancellor of the California Community Colleges for six years where he led the nation’s largest and most diverse system of higher education. In 2021, while on a sabbatical, he served as Senior Advisor to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and the Biden Administration where he supported the development and communication of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda for Higher Education and the America’s College Promise proposal. Under his leadership the California community colleges were positioned as a vital source for maintaining global competitiveness of the California workforce. Oakley’s work included the establishment of the California College Promise, the design and implementation of the systems’ strategic vision, the Vision for Success, the elimination of standardized testing, the reform of remedial education, the adoption of a student-centered funding formula, the reform of state-based financial aid for community college students and the design and launch of California’s first public fully online competency-based education college.
Oakley serves on the boards of the University of California Board of Regents and MDRC. He advises various education related companies such as Guild Education, OpenClassrooms, Handshake and Certree.
For his leadership, Oakley has been recognized with the 2014 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award, as a 2016 President Barack Obama White House Champion of Change, the 2018 Higher Education Dive President of the Year, the 2018 Roybal Foundation Medal of Courage in Education and the 2021 Diverse Champions Award.
