John Fischer

John Fischer is currently a Senior Advisor with Education Strategy Group and Principal at Education Solutions, LLC providing consulting and technical assistance in education and workforce issues to states, municipalities and organizations. John provides strategic direction and counsel in various pathways to employment initiatives for youth and adults with the goal to increase postsecondary credential attainment in upwardly mobile careers for underserved learners. Recent projects include development of information technology pathways across K12 and higher education, incarcerated and justice-impacted pathways to employment, state level credentials of value framework, philanthropic approaches to early postsecondary pathways, strategic planning for non-profit organizations, community college adult education pathways and non-credit to credit alignment.

Prior to establishing Education Solutions in 2020, John was a senior program officer in Global Policy and Advocacy for U.S. Programs with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In this role, he was responsible for national strategies supporting federal and state education and workforce policy, education to employment pathways, economic mobility, state assessments, school improvement and accountability systems.

In addition to his work in philanthropy, John worked at the Vermont Agency of Education where he served as the Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Transformation. Prior to that, John served as Provost/Vice President in the NH Community College System. His career began at Plymouth State University in residential life and student activities. He is a graduate of Plymouth State University where he received his bachelor’s degree in social studies education and master’s degree in education, guidance and counseling.