Pat O'Donnell co-founded Ridgeline on a belief that every young person has extraordinary potential and deserves the opportunity to discover who they are, pursue their purpose, and thrive. As CEO, he brings together employers and schools to design pathways into high-wage careers.
An unwavering optimist, Pat has spent his career taking action to make the system work for everyone. As CEO of Making Waves Education Foundation, he led the organization to support students from high school through first jobs. In leadership roles at Teach For America, he expanded educational opportunity and built talent pipelines. He began as a teacher, where his students showed him what young people are capable of when given the right conditions – and inspired him to spend his career building the systems that allow them to thrive.
Pat is a Pahara Fellow and a Teach For America alumnus with degrees from Georgetown, Loyola Marymount, and Boston College.
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