Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.
Barack Obama
About Me
My Background
Dr. Kelvin Roldán is a visionary leader with extensive experience in managing change within the education and government sectors. His career has been dedicated to public service and education. Currently, he serves as the Commissioner in Residence at Amira Learning.
Before joining Amira, Dr. Roldán was the Deputy Commissioner for System Transformation at the Rhode Island Department of Education, where he oversaw various departments, including district and school improvement, special education, multilingual learners, legal affairs, and other departments and key policy areas. He also served as the oversight officer for the Providence Public Schools. Dr. Roldán also held numerous roles in the City of Hartford and the Hartford Public Schools. He is a former State Representative and Deputy Majority Leader of the Connecticut House of Representatives.
Dr. Roldán holds a B.A. in Chinese and political science from Middlebury College, an M.A. in public policy from Trinity College, a Sixth-Year Diploma in educational leadership from the University of Connecticut, and a doctorate in education leadership (Ed.L.D.) from Harvard University. He also attended Avon Old Farms School as a WALKS Scholar and Giggleswick School in England as an English-Speaking Union Scholar. He studied advanced Chinese at the Middlebury Chinese School and the Harbin Institute of Technology in China.
He is currently a Visiting Lecturer in Education at Brown University and has also held teaching appointments at American University and Harvard University. He was born in Gurabo, Puerto Rico and raised in Hartford, Connecticut.
My Hobbies and Teaching
When I'm not at work, I enjoy traveling, golf, music, and spending time with family and friends. I also volunteer with various community organizations.
I teach university level courses in governance, PK-12 public policy, public policy analysis, managing change in education and improvement science, and reform.
A Few Stories and Reports
R.I. students have recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic faster than the rest of New England, Boston Globe, 2025
Big Changes At the Rhode Island Department of Education, Boston Globe, 2024
Improving Attendance: Levers Within Your District’s Locus of Control, Panorama Education, 2024
Former legislator Kelvin Roldan takes big education job in Rhode Island, Hartford Courant, 2019
Education chief adds two new deputies and a director to build support for schools, Providence Journal, 2019
Kelvin Roldan, Heading To Harvard, Resigns From Hartford Schools, Hartford Courant, 2016
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Pivoting from Pandemic Recovery to Long-Term Reform: A District Analysis Level, Harvard Center for Education Policy Research, The Education Opportunity Project at Stanford University, 2025
Providence Public Schools: Interim Report on Student Achievement, Harvard Center for Education Policy Research, 2024
Rhode Island's COVID-19 Recovery Strategy, 2021
Providence Public Schools Turnaround Action Plan, 2020