Hanna Skandera

Hanna Skandera is a national leader known for turning bold vision into transformative impact. With a career spanning classrooms, boardrooms, state capitols and the White House, Hanna brings a unique blend of strategy and execution, consistently connecting big ideas to scalable outcomes.

As President and CEO of the Daniels Fund, one of the largest foundations in the Rocky Mountain region, Hanna stewards the $1.7 billion endowment. Over 25 years, the Daniels Fund has improved countless lives through more than 1 billion dollars of giving. Its signature college scholarship program fuels opportunity for the next generation of leaders. Through grants to highly effective nonprofits, Daniels Fund shapes American life and equips people to reach their fullest potential.

Hanna is rewriting the playbook for philanthropy, and Daniels Fund is modeling how courageous ideas and bold action can drive transformative impact. She has overseen the launch of the National Civics Bee, Youth Sports Giving Day, and the National Ethics Case Competition. Additionally, she has catalyzed over $375 million in funding partnerships and introduced a “Big Bets” strategy to address our world’s most complex challenges.

Hanna’s influence extends far beyond the Fund. She is one of the nation’s most accomplished education leaders. As Secretary of Education in New Mexico under Governor Susana Martinez, Hanna led landmark accountability and school choice reforms. Students benefitted from record-high graduation rates, dramatic increases in college and career readiness, and a doubling of access to early learning. She created an ecosystem that has expanded school choice and provided quality options for families across the state.

Earlier in her career, Hanna held senior roles in both state and federal government. She served as Undersecretary for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and as Deputy Commissioner for Florida Governor Jeb Bush, as well as Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of Education.

Hanna is a trusted advisor and speaker on leadership, education, and philanthropy. She served as Editor-in-Chief of The Line, a national education publication, taught at Harvard and Pepperdine as Visiting Professor of Education Policy and Impact, co-founded several leadership initiatives for women leaders, and been named a Fellow at both the Hoover Institution and the Aspen Pahara Institute.

She serves on several national boards including Daniels Fund, MGT, Perdoceo, Philanthropy Roundtable, and Risepoint, and serves on the Denver Metro Chamber board. Hanna holds a B.S. in Business from Sonoma State and a Master of Public Policy from Pepperdine, where she graduated as valedictorian.