Joe Nathan – Director Emeritus

Joe Nathan has dedicated his 50+ career to advocacy for, and empowerment of youth, families, educators and community members - especially those representing under-served communities. He has served as a K-12 district public school teacher, project director at the National Governors Association, senior fellow at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute, and newspaper columnist, In 1988, he founded and began serving as director of Center for School Change.

Priorities included

• Expanding programs that combine classroom work and community service,

• Increasing opportunities for high school students to earn free college credit, either in their high schools, on line or on college campuses, and

• creating policies and programs that expand public school choice for students, families and educators

• Helping young people to use their interests, priorities, creativity and energy to help solve community problems

• Encouraging local, state and national policy-makers to listen to and learn from young people.

Nathan helped create, research, defend and refine transformative solutions addressing systemic challenges.

Lighting the Torch, Building a New Chapter

As of January 2025, Khalique Rogers and Joe Nathan have worked side by side for 13 years. Their journey began when Joe visited a St. Paul district school and met Khalique — then the only student taking a Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) class, earning free college credit while still in high school. At the time, Center for School Change (CSC) was working to expand access to PSEO and other dual enrollment programs, and Joe saw Khalique’s potential immediately. He invited Khalique, then just 17, to speak with students, families, and educators about the value of earning college credit in high school.

That partnership grew into co-mentorship. Joe provided guidance rooted in decades of experience, while Khalique brought lived experience and a vision for where the work could go. Over the years, they advocated together, built statewide coalitions, and shaped policy wins that improved access to education, workforce training, and housing opportunities for young people and families.

In 2025, this shared journey entered a new chapter. Khalique reimagined the organization as Catalyst for Systems Change, building on the legacy of Center for School Change but expanding its mission to meet the holistic needs of today’s youth. Catalyst works at the intersection of housing, workforce, and education, equipping young people not just to navigate systems, but to change them — creating the next generation of leaders who will thrive and help their communities thrive with them.

Joe’s foundational work lit the torch. Khalique now carries it forward, taking this mission to new heights and honoring the belief they’ve shared for more than a decade: real change happens when the people most impacted lead the way.