Chip Slaven is the Chief Advocacy Officer at the National School Boards Association (NSBA), bringing two decades of experience public education advocacy, grassroots campaigns implementation, and bipartisan support building to the NSBA team.

Prior to his role at NSBA, Chip was counsel to the president and senior advocacy advisor for the Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed). He provided strategic and legal advice and lead special projects for Alliance President Bob Wise, a former West Virginia Governor. Working directly with Governor Wise, Mr. Slaven co-originated and developed Digital Learning Day, a major grassroots education campaign that includes participation in all fifty states and the District of Columbia. He also coordinated All4Ed’s data and privacy portfolio, worked on broadband access and closing the digital gap, and specialized in personalized learning issues. He authored “Understanding Student Learning: The Need for Education Data,” “Federal Student Privacy Protections: What Is FERPA and Who Does It Protect?,” and “The Each Child Learns Act,” which is model legislation for states on personalized and digital learning. Additionally, he handled many of All4Ed’s legal issues such as contract negotiation and intellectual property.

Before joining All4Ed, Mr. Slaven was engaged in private legal practice representing complex business organizations in the areas of government contracts, government affairs, and white-collar compliance and defense. Some of his legal experience includes working on matters involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, economic espionage, preparing witnesses for Grand Jury testimony, and numerous internal investigations.

Prior to his legal career, Mr. Slaven was a senior level state government official, congressional employee, and political campaign worker for more than twelve years in the employ of Governor Wise. He served on Governor Wise’s senior staff as director of federal policy and intergovernmental affairs and was his chief point of contact with the White House and federal executive branch—including the U.S. Department of Education, Congress, and other governor offices. Mr. Slaven served as chair of the National Governors Association’s Natural Resources Staff Advisory Council (SAC) and the Southern Governors’ Association’s SAC. When Governor Wise was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mr. Slaven served as his district director. Mr. Slaven also has considerable experience in federal and state political campaigns and fundraising.

Mr. Slaven earned his JD and BA degrees from West Virginia University (WVU). He served on the WVU College of Law Visiting Committee from 2007-2016 and is currently a member of the board of directors for both the West Virginia State Society which is based in Washington, DC and the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training. Mr. Slaven is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia and West Virginia.

Mr. Slaven is a member of the Remake Learning Council.