Veeko Lucas serves as an Associate working in the Center for Postsecondary Innovation focused on the Carnegie Classifications. In his role Veeko works with partner organizations including colleges and universities to hold learning communities focused on supporting schools in their pursuit of increasing students’ social and economic mobility.  Prior to Carnegie, Veeko served in numerous education non-profits on projects focused on improving outcomes for historically underserved student populations in Advanced Placement (AP) courses, supporting school districts in their journeys to increase equity for students, and serving schools in need of comprehensive support and improvement. Veeko’s passion for addressing the needs of the most vulnerable students at a system-level started in his role as a science teacher in the most diverse school in Jefferson County Public Schools and the Commonwealth of Kentucky where he served for 5 years. This pursuit of excellence for all drove Veeko to write blogs on the need for understanding students’ cultural context, to lead conference sessions on tools for increasing academic participation and success in AP, to hold demonstrations that led the roll-out of new education standards nationally, and to participate on teacher advisory boards at the state-level. Veeko earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Berea College (KY) his Master of Science in Secondary Education from Indiana University, and his Master of Education in School Leadership from the Summer Principals Academy at Teachers College: Columbia University.