Aurora Institute CEO Virgel Hammonds is a nationally recognized leader in education innovation, bringing over two decades of experience working alongside young people, educators, communities, districts, and policymakers to the LCC Board. 

Prior to joining the Aurora Institute as CEO, Virgel served as Chief Learning Officer at KnowledgeWorks, where he forged partnerships with national policymakers and local learning communities across the country to redesign learning systems to become more learner-centered. 

Before his time at KnowledgeWorks, Virgel served as Superintendent of the RSU 2 School District in Maine, where he collaborated with five communities to develop and implement a curriculum designed to ensure mastery of standards by all students. Before serving as Superintendent, Virgel was a high school principal at Lindsay Unified School District in California. There, Virgel helped implement a personalized learning model where learners didn’t earn letter grades but rather were awarded mastery for subjects they had proven to be proficient.

Currently, Virgel serves on multiple boards and leadership councils in addition to the LCC Board: PBLWorks Board; and Jobs for Maine Graduates Executive Board. Additionally, Virgel is Board Chair Emeritus of the Aurora Institute and a former member of the CompetencyWorks Advisory Board.

Virgel holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and a Master of Education from Fresno Pacific University.