Aarti Dhupelia

Dr. Aarti Dhupelia is passionately committed to advancing equity and economic mobility across communities. In her current role as Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Student Experience Officer at City Colleges of Chicago (CCC), Aarti is responsible for overseeing CCC’s student services citywide. Focused on driving growth and equity in student enrollment and outcomes across City Colleges, Aarti is responsible for ensuring a seamless, supportive, empowering experience for every student from their enrollment through their transition to their next educational and/or career steps after CCC.

Prior to joining CCC, Aarti served as Vice President for Undergraduate Education and Founding Dean of the Undergraduate College at National Louis University (NLU), where for nearly eight years she led the start-up and rapid scaling of NLU’s innovative efforts to drive equity in bachelor’s degree attainment and employment. The college under Aarti’s leadership grew to serve nearly 4,000 students annually by offering affordability, strong holistic support, and a personalized and professionally focused academic experience, and in 2022 it was ranked #4 nationally for driving students’ social mobility and as #2 bang for the buck in the Midwest.

Prior to joining NLU, Aarti served in several senior leadership roles at Chicago Public Schools, most recently as CPS’ Chief Officer for the Office of College and Career Success, where she oversaw districtwide student wraparound support and college and career preparation programming and services. Before joining CPS, Aarti worked as a management consultant to Fortune 500 companies at Marakon Associates.

Aarti has served on a number of nonprofit boards over the past decade, including as Board Vice Chair at Noble Schools and as a Board Member of Civic Consulting Alliance, OneGoal, iMentor Chicago, Genesys Works Chicago, and Distinctive Schools. In 2019, she served as Co-Chair of the Mayor of Chicago’s Education Transition Committee. In prior years, she participated in the US DOE’s employability skills expert working group and as a Judge in First Lady Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Career App Challenge.

Aarti holds a Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership from National Louis University, a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, and a Bachelor of Arts with honors in Economics and Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences from Northwestern University. She is an alumna of the Broad Residency in Urban Education, Leadership Greater Chicago, and Aspen Presidential Fellowship programs, and she is a member of Northwestern University’s Council of 100. The Center for Digital Education named Aarti to its 2017 Top 30 Technologists, Transformers, and Trailblazers nationwide, Bottom Line Chicago recognized Aarti as its 2023 Champion for College Completion, and Aarti was named to the 2025 Chicago Titan 100.