Cordell Carter IIA former chief of staff for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will be the CEO of TechTown Global, the network of youth-focused technology and entrepreneurial learning centers.
Cordell Carter II will oversee efforts to grow the centers nationwide.
TechTown's first location, its headquarters, is slated to open next summer in the Chattanooga Lifestyle Center on Market Street. The facility is expected to host up to 400 people at a time, mostly youths focused on learning coding, robotics and other tech-related pursuits.
Plans calls for more centers to open by mid-2016. Possible locations include Seattle, where Carter is located, Norfolk, New Orleans, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
"The combined leadership experience in both technology and education that Cordell brings to the team is incredible," said Paul Cummings, co-founder of TechTown Chattanooga, in a prepared statement, Thursday.
Carter was chief of staff and director of operations for U.S. programs at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from August 2013 to August 2014.
According to TechTown, Carter has served as the vice president of operations for the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools and was director of school support services for the Seattle Public Schools District. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School, has a masters degree in public policy and management studies from Carnegie Mellon University and earned a bachelors degree from University of Washington.
Contact staff writer Mitra Malek at mmalek@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6406.