Chris Gabrieli is an American education policy and innovation leader. He currently serves as CEO of the non-profit Empower Schools, Chairman of the Board of the
Massachusetts Department of Higher Education and part-time Lecturer at the
Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Early life
Chris Gabrieli was born in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
on February 5, 1960, and graduated with an A.B. in 1981 from
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
. He also attended two years of the Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons before leaving to co-found a healthcare software company. His parents were both immigrants and his brother is John Gabrieli, PhD, a Professor of Brain and Cognitive Scientists at
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
with whom he has collaborated on research in education in recent years
Career
Chris Gabrieli began his first career in entrepreneurship as the co-founder of and CEO of a healthcare informatics company called GMIS which was eventually purchased by industry leader
McKesson HBO where its products continue to be sold and used.
Gabrieli spent the majority of his business career with
Bessemer Venture Partners where he started as an associate in 1986 and made his way to Partner in 18 months. As Partner he led the life sciences practice for nearly twenty years, investing in over fifty healthcare and biotechnology companies. He was twice named to Forbes list of the top 100 venture capitalists in America. In 2000, he left Bessemer to focus on education policy and innovation but remained affiliated as Partner Emeritus with the firm until 2015 when he fully retired.
Gabrieli began his second career in education policy and innovation when he was selected in 1999 by then Boston Mayor
Thomas Menino
Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 53rd mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three ...
to Chair of a Task Force on After School in Boston which led to major expansion and field building of the after school domain in Boston. He went on to co-found Massachusetts 2020 and the
National Center on Time & Learning which helped define and expand the field of expanded learning time (ELT) for schooling in America.
In 2008 he authored (with co-author Warren Goldstein) the boo
Time to Learn: How a New School Schedule is Making Smarter Kids, Happier Parents and Safer Neighborhoods published by
Jossey-Bass
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, in ...
. He continues to write research and policy articles and opinion pieces on education policy and issues in various publications.
In 2011, Gabrieli co-founded Empower Schools, a new nonprofit focused on empowering district school educators to make the key decisions that drive the success of their schools. As part of that effort, he helped design and launch and became the chairman of the board of th
Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership a unique partnership among the state's Department of Elementary & Secondary Education and Springfield Public Schools and the Springfield Education Association aimed at accelerating success for over 5,000 of Springfield's students. That work led to what is now 14 Empowerment Zones in five states (MA, CO, TX, IN and MO) and a burgeoning field of district-partnered schools and zones of schools.
In 2015, Chris Gabrieli was selected by Governor Charlie Baker for chairman of the board of the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. His tenure has included the launch o
Massachusetts’ Early College Initiativewhich has grown to include 23 partnerships of high schools and colleges approved by the state to offer well structured and supported opportunities to gain significant amounts of college success and credit while still in high school. As of 2020, these partnerships serve an estimated 3,500 students, the large majority of whom are Black or Latinx, the majority of whom are low-income and many of whom are first generation college goers.
He is also a part-time lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where he has taught for a decade, focusing on the political science of education policy change in America.
Political experience
Gabrieli became involved in politics with a 1998 campaign for the Democratic primary in the
Massachusetts's 8th congressional district
Massachusetts's 8th congressional district is located in eastern Massachusetts, including part of Boston. It is represented by Democrat Stephen Lynch. For one congressional term (1791–1793), it served as the home district of the District of Ma ...
, ultimately won by
Mike Capuano
Michael Everett Capuano ( ; born January 9, 1952) is an American politician and attorney who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts from 1999 to 2019. A Democrat, his district included the northern three-fourths of Boston, as well ...
.
In 2002, he won the
Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor but the overall ticket lost to Mitt Romney in the general election.
In 2006 he ran for Governor of Massachusetts, coming in second place in the gubernatorial primary behind eventual winner
Deval Patrick. Patrick subsequently appointed him Chair of the Finance Control Board of Springfield, MA which resulted in the sustained fiscal recovery of Springfield following the completion of its role in 2010.
Personal life
Chris Gabrieli lives in Boston with his wife Hilary where they raised their five, now young adult children.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabrieli, Chris
Living people
Massachusetts Democrats
Harvard College alumni
Businesspeople from Buffalo, New York
1960 births
Harvard Graduate School of Education faculty