Eric Waldo is the President and CEO of Washington, DC’s largest scholarship foundation, the District of Columbia College Access Program. Waldo has over two decades of experience at the intersection of education, law, politics, technology, and government.
A senior policy advisor at the Obama White House (WH), Waldo served as founding Executive Director of First Lady Michelle Obama’s college access and success initiative, Reach Higher. While at the WH, Waldo helped lead efforts to create a college going movement, including convenings such as College Signing Day, the WH College Opportunity Summit, the Beating the Odds Summit, and spotlighting school counselors by bringing the School Counselor of the Year ceremony to the WH.
In 2017, Waldo transitioned Reach Higher to Civic Nation (CN). At CN, he built out the inaugural advisory board and negotiated a merger with an edtech nonprofit, Common App (CA), to create an impact, success, and sustainability model. In less than 3 years he built out a 28 person Access and Success team and a $10M grants portfolio supporting Data, Achievement, and Student Advancement. This work led to removing the school discipline question from CA, over $1M in emergency scholarships, and AI Chatbot support to students during COVID19.
Before joining the WH, Waldo served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy & Programs at the U.S. Department of Education (ED), working as part of the senior leadership team for Secretary Arne Duncan. He helped oversee the 3K person, $100B agency. While at ED, Waldo was appointed to several interagency Task Forces, including: President Obama’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status, as well on the Interagency Working Group For Military Connected Families, which led to the creation of Joining Forces. He also co-chaired the Advisory Council for Dependents’ Education, which oversaw the DoDEA school system.
Waldo returned to public service in the Biden-Harris Administration as Chief Engagement Officer for the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, where he spearheaded public health campaigns around youth mental health, clinician mental health, health misinformation, and workplace well-being.
He has appeared on TV, radio, and in print for numerous publications, including NPR, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, among others. And he helped produce the Emmy Award winning YouTube Original “Dear Class of 2020” college graduation experience.
Waldo earned a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, an M.Ed. from Harvard University, and an A.B. from Brown University. He resides in Washington, D.C.
