Director

Managing Director, School-Age Children, Robin Hood

Christopher Caruso has dedicated his career to advancing equity and improving educational outcomes for young people by working at the intersection of schools and communities. Currently serving as the managing director for school-age at Robin Hood, New York City’s largest poverty-fighting philanthropy, Caruso leads the team responsible for K-12 education and public benefits access strategies.

Prior to this role, Caruso was the founding senior executive director of the NYC Department of Education’s Office of Community Schools, where he built a citywide system of 300 community schools serving 150,000 students and families. This initiative integrated academics, health, and social services, with an independent evaluation by the RAND Corporation showing increased graduation rates and academic achievement, as well as decreased chronic absenteeism and disciplinary incidents. Caruso was also an architect of Summer Rising, NYC’s free summer learning and enrichment program launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. Additionally, he oversaw policy and support for students experiencing homelessness and student attendance policy.

Caruso’s previous experience also includes serving as the senior vice president of ExpandED Schools and the first assistant commissioner for out-of-school time programs at the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development. Earlier in his career, he was a community school program director at an elementary school in Washington Heights for Children’s Aid. Chris holds degrees from Providence College and Columbia University and is an alumnus of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Children and Families Fellowship.