Nationally recognized for cross-sector successes in philanthropy, education and technology; currently leading the Aspen Institute Socrates Program, a values/ethics-based global education forum for leaders. Previous to the Aspen Institute, Cordell held leadership roles with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Business Roundtable, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the IBM Corporation.

Honors include: an Eisenhower Fellowship to China; designation as a White House Champion of Change for Computer Science Education; designation as a “40 under 40” by business and civic organizations in Washington State and Tennessee; University of Notre Dame Law School alumni of the year awardee; selections as a Robert Bosch Foundation Fellow for Young American Leaders and a Broad Foundation Resident in Urban Education. Current board service includes the Advisory Council for the Center for Democracy and Technology, Alumni Council for Cultural Vistas, AIPAC National Council and the Blockchain start-up Injii (Puerto Rico). He previously served on the boards of the United Way of Greater Chattanooga, United Way of King County, Downtown Seattle YMCA and the Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation (Chattanooga, TN).

Mr. Carter writes and speaks on topics such as philanthropy, education and social impact on panels, conferences and seminars, speaking and moderator appearances include: 2019 Spark Innovation Festival (Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina); 2019 Concordia Summit (Bogota, Colombia); 2019 Young Leaders Academy of Macedonia (Skopje, Macedonia); 2018 Blockchain Trends Summit (Seoul, South Korea); 2018 The Wright (Golden, CO); 2018 SXSW Festival (Austin, TX); 2017 YSEALI Summit (Manila, Philippines); Confluence ROME (Rome, GA); Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank District's Reinventing Community Conference (Philadelphia, PA); US News STEM Solutions Leadership Summit (Dallas, TX); ACT Board of Directors Annual Meeting (Washington, DC); Council of Chief State Schools Officers Legislative Conference (Washington, DC); and the Association for Career and Technical Education's National Policy Seminar (Washington, DC).

Cordell earned a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School, a M.Sc. in Public Policy and Management Studies from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Washington.