John Ackerly

John joined the Board in 2006, and has focused on Hope Street Group's strategic direction, organizational model, and impact model.

John is a member of the Corporate Advisory practice of the Blackstone Group, a leading international investment firm. John's passion for Opportunity Economics stems from his years as a member of the Bush Administration most recently as the Assistant to the Secretary and the Director of the Office of Policy and Strategic Planning at the U.S. Commerce Department. In this capacity, John was the principal policy advisor to Commerce Secretary Donald Evans from 2002-2004, and was at the center of numerous debates regarding the appropriate government response to the opportunities and dislocations created by globalization.

Before joining the Commerce Department, John was Associate Director at the National Economic Council (NEC), where he was responsible for developing the Administration's Entrepreneurship and Innovation agenda and was a policy adviser on the 2000 Bush for President Campaign in Austin, Texas.

John received his MBA from the Harvard Business School as a George F. Baker scholar. He graduated summa cum laude from Williams College and attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.