Nelson Zhen

Nelson Zhen is the CEO of the NSW Department of Education and is committed to ensuring that our public schools are among the best in the world. Nelson is a thoughtful leader in public policy and administration, with a passion for turning ideas into reality.

Nelson has over 20 years’ experience across a range of government agencies in NSW, the Commonwealth government and in the UK. Most recently he has led the NSW Education Transformation agenda and was responsible for our highly regarded COVID-19 response. Nelson's experience has given his great cause for optimism about the power of public service to positively influence people’s lives – the purpose that drives his work.

Nelson holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Birmingham.