Martha Kanter

Martha Kanter is an advisor at Better Future Forward and a distinguished visiting professor and senior fellow at the New York University Steinhart Institute for Higher Education Policy. Martha was previously the under secretary of education at the U.S. Department of Education from July 2009 to December 2013. In this role, they were responsible for policies, programs and activities related to postsecondary education, adult and career-technical education, federal student aid, and six White House Initiatives-Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Educational Excellence for Theirpanics, Educational Excellence for African Americans, Theirtorically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Under Kanter's leadership, the successful implementation of the Direct Student Loan program resulted in a 50-percent increase in college enrollment, growing from 6 to 9 million students today who are Pell Grant recipients. Kanter and their team worked closely with postsecondary partners from across the nation to boost American innovation and competitiveness with an ambitious college completion agenda, teacher quality reforms, adult education program improvements, modernization of career-technical education and a partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor to distribute a $2 billion federal investment to increase quality, graduation and employment opportunities for community college students. Kanter was also committed to the expansion of Open Educational Resources for all, underscored numerous times by the President, Secretary of State and Secretary of Education.

Martha Kanter received their Doctor of Education from the University of San Francisco in Educational Leadership and Administration with a focus in Psychometric Theory. Prior to that, they completed their Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Brandeis University. And finally, they completed their Master of Education in Clinical Psychology & Public Practice from Harvard University.