Nathan C. Hoffman serves as Director of Policy and Research for Empower Illinois. Nathan joins Empower Illinois from the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd) where he worked as a Regional Advocacy Director across a 6 state region including Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Nathan notched major legislative victories including an incentive program for students earning credentials recognized by industry, and a comprehensive early literacy program in Alabama. As part of his work, he was named to Alabama's inaugural Campaign for Grade-level Reading Executive Team. A native Illinoisan, Nathan was born and raised in Springfield, IL, graduating from the University of Illinois-Springfield in 2017 with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science, where he was elected as the student member to the University of Illinois-System Board of Trustees.