Lunch with Arne Duncan '87, Former Secretary of Education

This once-in-a-lifetime experience is a must for anyone passionate about the state of education in our nation or any Harvard basketball junkie! Enjoy lunch with Arne Duncan '87, former Secretary of Education under President Barack Obama, in Washington, D.C.,  Chicago, or Palo Alto.

*Date and location (Palo Alto, Washington, D.C., or Chicago) to be mutually agreed upon*
*Lunch expense, transportation, and lodging is NOT included*
*Winning bidder is responsible for the lunch expense in addition to the winning bid.*

Arne's twin career passions are education and basketball. At Harvard, he was co-captain of the basketball team, a first team Academic All-American, and 1,000-point scorer. From there, he went on to play professional basketball from 1987 to 1991 in Australia, where he also tutored children who were wards of the state. In subsequent years, he has been the MVP of the 2014 NBA Celebrity All-Star Basketball game and a member of the 3-on-3 national champions Hoop it Up team.

Arne is the co-founder and managing partner of Chicago CRED - Create Real Economic Destiny. Chicago CRED works with community leaders, like-minded organizations, and hundreds of young men and women to radically reduce gun violence and bring hope back to Arne's native Chicago. CRED?s holistic approach brings together proven models -street outreach, life coaching, and counseling, violence prevention, workforce development, advocacy and prevention - to create transformative change in the South and West side communities of Chicago.

Arne also serves as managing partner at Emerson Collective. Through partnerships with local business leaders, community organizers, and nonprofit groups, the Emerson Collective aims to create job and life opportunities for disconnected youth between the ages of 17 and 24. Emerson Collective is dedicated to removing barriers to opportunity so people can live to their full potential, and centers its work on education, immigration reform, the environment and other social justice initiatives.

In 2018, Arne published a book which took an honest look at the current state of education in America entitled "How Schools Work: An Inside Account of Failure and Success from One of the Nation's Longest-Serving Secretaries of Education."

Prior to his appointment as Secretary of Education, Arne served as the chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) for eight years. Before taking the CEO helm at CPS, Arne ran the nonprofit education foundation Ariel Education Initiative from 1992 to 1998, which helped fund a college education for a class of inner-city children under the "I Have A Dream" program.

Arne serves on the boards of: Ariel Capital Management, Aspen Institute, Communities in Schools, Lucas Museum, My Brother's Keeper Alliance, National Association of Basketball Coaches, Pluralsight, Revolution Foods, Thrive-Chicago and Turn It In. He also serves as Co-chair of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics.

*Date and location (Palo Alto, Washington, D.C., or Chicago) to be mutually agreed upon.*

*Lunch expense, transportation, and lodging is NOT included.*

*Winning bidder is responsible for the lunch expense in addition to the winning bid.*