
FELLOW
ORVILLE JACKSON
DIRECTORY | FELLOW PROFILE

ORVILLE JACKSON
TITLE
Senior Program Officer, Data, US Programs
ORGANIZATION
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
BIOGRAPHY
Orville Jackson (OJ) is an education leader with a wide-range of experience managing diverse teams and complex projects to advance equity in education, nonprofit, and philanthropic settings. He joined the Gates Foundation in 2023 after 5 years as Vice President, Data Strategy at Greatschools. As a Senior Program Officer on the US Program Data team he leads the foundation's efforts to support use of postsecondary outcomes data to equitably improve HS to college transitions and postsecondary completion. He has been using his leadership, strategy, research, and analytic skills for over 20 years to improve outcomes and close opportunity gaps affecting students of color and students living in poverty. OJ is a first-generation college graduate and earned his A.A. from Cypress College, a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. He likes reading and watching Sci-Fi/Fantasy and lives in Berkeley, California with his partner, 2 children, and a goldendoodle.