Dan Futrell

Dan Futrell is a veteran, nonprofit leader, and education innovator whose career spans military service, elected office, and national nonprofit leadership. Futrell is the founder of Polymath University, a nonprofit institution offering an interdisciplinary, apprenticeship-based, and debt-free approach to higher education. A first-generation college graduate and Army veteran, Futrell transitioned from his role as CEO of the Pat Tillman Foundation to establish Polymath University. He also serves as a veteran fellow at the Hoover Institution.

After graduating from Gonzaga University on an ROTC scholarship, Futrell served 27 months in Baghdad, Iraq, and Fort Lewis, Washington, as a Ranger-qualified infantry officer. His leadership roles included platoon leader and company commander in a Stryker Brigade, and he served as an aide-de-camp in a deployed Corps Headquarters in Iraq. For his service, he received the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Ranger Tab, and two Bronze Star Medals. Futrell was later selected in the third class of Tillman Scholars while completing a master's in public policy from Harvard University. In Somerville, Massachusetts, he served for six years as an elected official on the school board in a 5,000-student urban school district, focusing on social and emotional education and financial management of the district's $70 million budget.

Futrell was named chief executive officer of the Pat Tillman Foundation, leading the organization's mission to unite and empower military veterans and spouses as the next generation of public and private sector leaders committed to service beyond self. During his tenure, the community of Tillman Scholars grew to nearly 900, and the Tillman Leadership Institute was launched. Futrell ultimately transitioned out of his CEO role to focus on a new university model for higher education and his continued role as a Tillman Scholar.

As founder of Polymath University, Futrell advocates for a university model that addresses accessibility and effectiveness challenges in higher education. The institution enables students to pursue three non-adjacent majors while working as apprentices with employer partners. Students earn a bachelor's degree in three years through a year-round program with eight-week course blocks, developing breadth, depth, and integration across disciplines. Polymath University features an ROTC-inspired model for the private sector, where students work as paid apprentices with employers who cover annual tuition, helping fill high-vacancy, high-demand roles while providing students with applied learning experiences and career pathways without debt.

Futrell gained international attention when he and Isaac Stoner led Operation Thonapa, an expedition to recover the missing black boxes of a 1985 plane crash high in the Bolivian Andes at 20,000 feet. The expedition was later featured in the documentary, "Black Box: Two Adventurers Search for Truth in 30-Year-Old High Altitude Plane Crash Mystery." Drawing on a wide range of leadership experiences, Futrell regularly speaks to groups about team leadership, education reform, military service, and purpose-driven leadership.