Dr. Lorén Cox

Dr. Lorén Cox is the Chief Development Officer at Chapin Hall. In this position, Cox leads strategic fundraising initiatives, builds and maintains relationships with key funders and partners, and works with Chapin Hall’s Board of Directors to develop comprehensive resource mobilization strategies to advance Chapin Hall’s mission of improving the lives of children, youth, and families through research and policy innovation.

Cox brings over two decades of experience in education policy, civil rights advocacy, and organizational leadership to her role at Chapin Hall. Most recently, she served as Policy Director for the Aspen Institute’s Education and Society Program, where she led diverse coalitions of policymakers, educators, and community leaders to forge practical solutions for America’s most pressing education challenges. She previously served as Practitioner in Residence at NYU Law’s Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law, bridging academic insight with real-world policy implementation.

Cox has held senior leadership positions including Vice President of Policy and Impact at the KIPP Foundation, Senior Policy Advisor at UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights organization. She also held key positions in the Obama Administration, including roles at the Office of Management and Budget and the Community Solutions team, where she managed $4.2 billion in discretionary education funds.

Cox began her career as a practicing attorney before transitioning to policy work driven by her commitment to civil rights and educational equity. Throughout her career, she has built consensus across ideological lines, secured substantial funding for mission-driven organizations, and translated research into actionable policy solutions that create systemic change.

Cox serves on the Board of Directors of the United Planning Organization and the English Learner Success Forum. She holds a Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina School of Law and a PhD in Public Policy from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is a first-generation college graduate whose personal and professional experiences fuel her commitment to creating systems that serve all families and communities.