Education Office names new Director for Rural Inititiaves

Andy Mink will serve as the new Director for the Rural Initiatives in the Office of the Under Secretary for Education, effective November 6, 2023. He is a career educator and non-profit professional with over more than 20 years of experience creating and implementing community- and school-based programs.

Andy Mink

Mink’s prior positions include serving as the executive director of LEARN NC at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and as director of outreach and education for the Virginia Center for Digital History at the University of Virginia. Most recently, he was the Vice President of Education Programs at the National Humanities Center. Under his direction, NHC outreach programs supported nearly 4 million K-12 and post-secondary educators annually with virtual and face-to-face curriculum and leadership programs. With a deep background in experiential education, his place-based program designs emphasized the role of schools and teachers as the hub of communities across the United States.

Mink has been named National K-12 Educator of the Year by the National Society of Experiential Education and Outstanding Support for Geography Education by the National Council for Geography Education. Mink is currently listed as a Distinguished Lecturer by the Organization of American Historians. He also currently serves in his fourth term on the board of directors for the National Council for History Education.

A native of rural eastern Virginia, he lives in Durham, North Carolina, with his partner, Monica, and two children.

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