Current Position and Past Experience
Former Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift is the President of Education at Work, the premiere work-based learning non-profit serving higher education in the country. Swift has served in leadership roles in the public, private, political, and non-profit sectors for over three decades fueled by a passionate belief in the power of education to transform lives.
Governor Swift began her career in public service as a Massachusetts State Senator at the age of 25, the youngest woman to ever serve in that role. As a member of the Education Reform Conference Committee in 1993 she worked to ensure that all students in Massachusetts public schools would have access to excellence in education, regardless of where they lived. As Lieutenant Governor and Governor from 1999-2003 she oversaw many of the most controversial implementation items in the Act and took pride in Massachusetts being named a national model by the United States Department of Education in 2003. For many years, Massachusetts’ approach resulted in its students scoring at the highest level in math and English on the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests, or “Our Nation’s Report Card.” In October 2023, Swift was honored to be appointed by Secretary Cardona to serve on the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) as the National Governor Association’s Republican designee. NAGB oversees the NAEP tests and is widely recognized as the premiere federal education governing board for education excellence in K-12.
Education, Honors and Achievements
Swift is a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, has received six honorary doctorates, and has held fellowships at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, Boston College School of Law, and at Williams College.
Personal Details and Community Involvement
In 2022, after the death of her husband, Swift founded the non-profit Cobble Hill Farm Education & Rescue Center on their family farm. She is a sought-after speaker on issues of education, working mothers & women’s leadership, and more recently, the topic of gratitude, grief and loss. Swift earned national attention when she became the first Governor in United States History to give birth while serving in office, to twins. She continues to proudly claim the title of working mother even as her three daughters, Elizabeth, Lauren and Sarah, have graduated from college and are pursuing their careers with passion, integrity and confidence. She is an avid sports fan with unquestioned Boston loyalties.
