Nicholas Kukucka

Executive Director, The Ganas Network

Nicholas Kukucka is passionate about equipping diverse students with the critical skills they need to build successful careers and lead a positive impact in their communities. 

Before coming to The Ganas Network, Nicholas served as the Director of Programs for the Watson Institute at Lynn University, where he cultivated innovators, leaders, and entrepreneurs from across the globe as they pursued their undergraduate degrees in Social Entrepreneurship. 

Nicholas began his career in education teaching American History and Spanish at DSST Public Schools: Green Valley Ranch. However, it was his work as the Assistant Director of Entrepreneurial Studies (E-Ship) at DSST Public Schools that really resonated with him. In this position, he is proud to have helped build out the E-Ship program from a small class of 15 students in 2016 to a robust educational experience serving 600 students from 6th-12th grades at DSST Public School’s campuses all across Denver in just three years.

Before becoming an educator, charter schools played a pivotal role in Nicholas’ learning and development. Nicholas attended The Odyssey School for elementary and middle school – the first expeditionary learning charter school in the U.S.

Nicholas is also a proud alum of DSST Public School’s third graduating class. It was the rigorous education he received at DSST that propelled him to graduate from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a double major in International Affairs and Spanish Language & Literature with a minor in Education. In 2019, he also earned his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. 

Having played witness to some of the disparities in our education system as he watched those with less privilege systematically excluded from the same opportunities he was afforded, Nicholas is dedicated to promoting diversity and equity in the school to career pipeline.