David Soo is vice president of strategic engagements and policy at Jobs for the Future. He leads key initiatives across JFF and JFFLabs as part of the executive team, with a particular focus on building external engagement and influence, including through the JFF Horizons summit and leadership of the Policy & Advocacy team. Previously Soo served as chief of staff to JFF CEO Maria Flynn. Before joining JFF, he was senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of the Under Secretary and Office of Educational Technology. He was a key architect of the higher education innovation agenda for the Education Department and White House during the Obama administration.

Soo earned a PhD in education from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA and MA from Boston College. He serves on the board of One Million Degrees and is a Fellow at the Futures Project at Stanford University, as well as a Pahara Fellow. Soo is from Newton, Massachusetts and lives in Washington, DC with his husband and their twins. He also recently bought a farm on Kent Island in Maryland.