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Bernard McCune, Secretary

Senior Executive Director for Career and College Success, Denver Public Schools 

Dr. Bernard McCune is the current Senior Executive Director for Career and College Success for Denver Public Schools (DPS). In this role, he oversees all college and career readiness initiatives, including dual enrollment, counseling, career technical education (CTE), Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), AVID, and student engagement. He also provides oversight for the Emily Griffith Technical College in downtown Denver, which serves 10,000 students.

Before coming into his current role at DPS, Dr. McCune was a founding partner for RootED, a philanthropic organization in Denver committed to building an “equitable, accountable, responsive Denver Public School system.” He also served as RootED’s chief portfolio and talent officer. Prior to making these strides at RootED, he served as the deputy chief of post-secondary readiness at the Oakland Unified School District.

Dr. McCune has also served almost 10 years at Chicago Public Schools, where he collaborated with then-Superintendent Arne Duncan and Greg Darnieder to create a successful national model for increasing college access and success among low-income students. He has also worked with then-Senator Barack Obama to increase federal funding for district initiatives that would increase post-secondary readiness and success.

Dr. McCune holds a bachelor’s degree in economic and business administration from Knox College, a master’s in educational administration from Concordia University Chicago, and an Ed.D in educational leadership and administration from the National Louis University – Chicago.