Charles Hokanson

Charles Hokanson is Senior Vice President – Florida Community Engagement for Helios Education Foundation, where he leads the Foundation’s staff engagement with the community and stakeholders to improve quality, access, and achievement across Florida’s birth-16 education continuum. Hokanson’s career has bridged the worlds of nonprofit, private sector, and government policy development and executive management. Prior to joining Helios, as President and CEO of Hokanson Consulting Group LLC, he provided strategic and public policy advice to nonprofit, think tank, trade association, and federal and state agency clients. Hokanson has held appointments at the U.S. Department of Education as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, Chief of Staff and Senior Counsel to the General Counsel, and Chief of Staff for the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Program Development. He has also served as president or executive vice president of several national education reform nonprofits and as professional staff to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University, where he earned a B.A. in History and American Studies and an M.A. in History, Hokanson earned his J.D. and Master of Public Policy degrees at the Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He currently sits on the Boards of the Florida Chamber Foundation, Florida Education Foundation, and Florida Philanthropic Network and serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hostelling International USA. Hokanson is also a member of the advisory boards for the Florida College Access Network (serving as Chairman), Florida TaxWatch Center for Educational Performance and Accountability, Center for Postsecondary Success at Florida State University, and Future Plans USA, LLC.