Arne Duncan is secretary of the US Department of Education. Prior to his appointment by President Obama, Duncan served as CEO of Chicago Public Schools. Before joining CPS, Duncan ran the nonprofit education foundation Ariel Education Initiative, which helped fund college educations for a class of inner-city children under the I Have A Dream program. He was part of a team that later started a new public elementary school built around a financial literacy curriculum, the Ariel Community Academy, which today ranks among the top elementary schools in Chicago. Duncan has served on numerous boards including Chicago Cares, the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, and the Visiting Committees for Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. He has received many awards and honors including recognition from the Civic Federation of Chicago and the Anti-Defamation League. Duncan was an Aspen Institute Henry Crown fellow in 2002.