Arne Duncan

Arne Duncan is a former U.S. Secretary of Education. Arne Duncan returned to Chicago and joined Emerson Collective to lead a comprehensive effort to improve opportunities for young people in the city.

Duncan and Emerson Collective focus first on Chicago residents between the ages of 17 and 24 who are neither working nor in school, many of whom have criminal records and lack high school degrees. Their work will explore factors in schools, homes and communities that contribute to crime, joblessness and social breakdown. The immediate goal is to provide job opportunities for young people today in Chicago and to help forge a safer, surer path from home to school to work for at-risk kids.