Scott Hartl is a lifelong educator and President & CEO of EL Education, a national nonprofit committed to whole-child learning and development. For 30 years, EL Education has partnered with K–12 educators to transform schools into hubs of equitable opportunity for all students, guided by a mission to prepare young people to thrive in school, at work, and in their communities, with the commitment and capacity to create a better world. A founding staff member of EL Education, Hartl was the organization’s first coach, and he became President & CEO in 2009.

Under Hartl’s leadership, EL Education has grown to serve more than 1.1 million students annually, with students in EL Education schools outperforming their district and state peers in ELA and math. Hartl has driven several major initiatives for the organization, including the creation of its groundbreaking K–8 Language Arts Curriculum: a nationally acclaimed, standards-based comprehensive literacy program based on the science of reading that has been adopted by schools and districts in nearly every state. Hartl has led the organization’s expansion by partnering with districts to transform teaching and learning system-wide. He also initiated a robust credentialing process for exceptional public schools that adopt EL Education’s school model, setting their sights on a broad view of student success. As President & CEO, Hartl has secured and deployed more than $100 million in philanthropic support and public funding. In 2013, EL Education won an Investing in Innovation (i3) grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

Hartl serves on the National Advisory Committee of the Science of Learning and Development Alliance and supports the Equitable Learning & Development Project. He has been named a Pahara-Aspen Fellow, Ashoka Fellow, and Governor’s Appointee to the Massachusetts Creativity Commission.

Hartl was a high school teacher and the founding principal of a high-performing middle school in Boston. As an Outward Bound leadership instructor for 14 years, he led major expeditions in the mountains of Nepal, Alaska, and other areas of the United States. Hartl has a Bachelor of Arts in Science from Marlboro College and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Union University.