UMass Donahue Institute

From 2017 to 2020 Dr. Johan Uvin was president of the Institute for Educational Leadership in Washington, DC. There he facilitated and implemented Rise Up for Equity, the Institute’s five-year strategic plan.  He also founded Strategy Advising, a consulting practice that provides strategic advising services in education, workforce development, educational technology start-ups, and non-profit organizations.

Dr. Johan Uvin served at the U.S. Department of Education from 2009-2017 as senior policy advisor, then deputy assistant secretary, and later assistant secretary (acting).  He coordinated all strategy development for the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) with a staff of 80 and over $1.7 billion in resources. He also led policy development and implementation for adult education, career and technical education, community colleges, immigrant integration, and government-wide efforts focused on youth not in education, training, or employment.

Uvin earlier held various leadership positions with the Rhode Island Department of Education and with the Commonwealth Corporation in Boston. He has also managed projects and programs in the Massachusetts Department of Education, and a number of non-profit organizations in Boston, Belgium, and Sierra Leone.

Uvin received the prestigious Outstanding American by Choice award from Homeland Security when he was Assistant Secretary of Education under the Obama Administration and most recently was the recipient of the Harvard Alumni Council Award for outstanding contributions to education in the U.S.

He earned the Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the School of International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont.  He received both his master’s of education in international education and doctor of education in administration, planning, and social policy from Harvard University.  

Carol Anne McGowan, M.A., M.B.A. works closely with the executive director to develop and implement management strategies, systems, and practices across the Institute. She is directly responsible for overseeing all fiscal and human resource functions. Previously, she served as the organization’s director of administration and finance. Ms. McGowan first joined the Institute in 2000 as a member of the Financial Management, Education and Training (FMET) team. She spent over 10 years with FMET developing curriculum and instructing in the areas of government finance and accounting for the U.S. Department of Defense. In addition to her role as associate director, Ms. McGowan has developed a credited course on post award management of grants and contracts, which she will teach on occasion through UMass Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management.

Ms. McGowan received her master's of arts in human resources and organizational development from Webster University and a master's in business administration from UMass Isenberg School of Management.