Curry School of Education | University of Virginia

William Hansen joined the Curry School Foundation Board in 2006.

Bill is the president and CEO of the Chartwell Education Group, LLC. He has 15 years of corporate and private sector executive leadership experience in the field of education. In the fall of 2005, Hansen joined former Education Secretary Rod Paige as a founding partner of Chartwell, which creates proven, comprehensive, results oriented solutions for the pre-k, primary, secondary, and postsecondary sectors.

He served in the U.S. Department of Education for 12 years, eventually taking the second-in-command position as deputy secretary. There, he managed 5,000 employees and administered a $100 billion annual budget. While deputy secretary, Hansen played a key leadership role in the development and implementation of the landmark No Child Left Behind Act.

Before accepting the deputy secretary post, Hansen was president and executive director of the Education Finance Council, which works to expand educational opportunities for students to pursue their dreams of a postsecondary education. He also served on several state and national boards and commissions on reforming elementary and secondary schools and increasing access to higher education, including the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education.

Bill previously served in the Education Department under President George H.W. Bush as chief financial officer and assistant secretary for management and budget.

Bill serves on several corporate boards including, the University of Phoenix, CollegeNet, First Marblehead Corporation, and the Student Loan Finance Corporation.  He also serves on the advisory boards of Mondo Publishing, Educational Directories Unlimited, and the George W. Romney Institute of Public Management at Brigham Young University.  Hansen is a board member of the National Guard Youth Foundation, Reading is Fundamental (RIF), and the Education Financing Foundation of California.

He is a native of Pocatello, Idaho.  He attended Idaho State University and earned a B.S. degree in economics from George Mason University.  In 2003, Bill received the Distinguished Alumni Award from ISU.  He currently resides in McLean, Virginia.