Curtis Valentine is Founding President of the Male Educator Network & Policy Institute and a Fellow at the American Institute for Boys and Men.
Previously, Curtis served as Co-Director of the Reinventing America’s School Project at the Progressive Policy Institute.
The founder of Real Men Teach, Curtis has been fighting for diversity in teaching for over 20 years as a classroom teacher and eventually a School Board Member in the 20th largest school district in America.
An adjunct professor at the University of Maryland, College Park and Johns Hopkins University, Curtis is writing a book entitled “Real Men Teach: The Future of Education” that will be published in the fall of 2026.
Curtis has addressed audiences at SXSW, ASU-GSV, AMPLIFY, Educators Rising, ESSENCE Fest, the National Black Caucus on State Legislators, and the National Convening on Registered Apprenticeships in Teaching.
A graduate of Morehouse College and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, serves on the boards of the American Institutes for Research’s (AIR) Opportunity Fund and the Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Park Campaign.
Curtis is the proud husband of a lifelong educator and father to two amazing children.