Dakota Pawlicki now leads the Talent Hubs work from CivicLab. He was previously a strategy officer at Lumina Foundation leading efforts focused on workforce education, particularly at community colleges.
Pawlicki’s prior work in designing and operating collaborative efforts to solve social challenges guides his work at Lumina. Serving in a dual role as director of strategic partnerships and projects, and as director of college access at Chicago Public Schools, he was responsible for developing and driving a city-wide vision of college access, support, and success for over 400,000 students. He also led the creation of the Chicago Higher Education Compact, an initiative with the expressed goal of increasing Chicago Public Schools’ four-year college graduation rate to 60% by 2025. Prior to that, he designed and implemented award-winning urban teacher preparation programs that place communities at the center, cultivating education talent through community partnership and immersion.
Pawlicki holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Illinois State University and professional education license in K-12 music.
