This is a profile image of Jimmy Sarakatsannis

Jimmy Sarakatsannis

Senior PartnerWashington DC

Offers expertise across government, the social sector, and the private sector, advising leaders on education, economic mobility, and sustainability

Jimmy is a senior partner in McKinsey’s Washington, DC, office and a leader in the firm’s Social Sector, Healthcare, & Public Sector Entities Practice. He helps lead the firm’s work at the intersection of government, the social sector, and the private sector, advising leaders across education, economic mobility, and sustainability on strategies that create opportunity, strengthen communities, and build more resilient institutions and ecosystems.

Much of Jimmy’s work focuses on how communities can expand prosperity while also supporting long-term sustainability. In education, he has helped school systems, universities, and investors improve outcomes through digital learning, instructional innovation, and organizational transformation. He also works with governments and nonprofits on pathways to economic mobility through healthcare, workforce, infrastructure, and social services. His conservation and climate work connects directly to these themes, helping leaders link biodiversity and climate goals with growth and resilience through national conservation plans, ecosystem restoration, sustainable agriculture, ecotourism, and climate adaptation.

Jimmy is a frequent author on education, opportunity, and sustainability. His work includes reports on youth mental health in schools, post-COVID learning recovery, and the role of HBCUs in accelerating economic mobility.

Before joining McKinsey, Jimmy taught middle school science in the District of Columbia Public Schools. He holds an M.A. in teaching from American University, an M.A. in physics and philosophy from Columbia University, and a B.S. in biochemistry from the University of Delaware.

Published work

Addressing youth mental health through school-based services,” McKinsey & Company, June 2025

Spark & Sustain: How all of the world’s school systems can improve learning at scale,” McKinsey & Company, February 2024

What it would take for US schools to fully recover from COVID-19,” McKinsey & Company, August 2023

What do higher education students want from online learning?,” McKinsey & Company, June 2023

Expanding publicly funded pre-K: How to do it and do it well,” McKinsey & Company, January 2023

COVID-19 learning delay and recovery: Where do US states stand?,” McKinsey & Company, January 2023

How COVID-19 caused a global learning crisis,” McKinsey & Company, April 2022

COVID-19 and education: An emerging K-shaped recovery,” McKinsey & Company, December 2021

Setting a new bar for online higher education,” McKinsey & Company, October 2021

How HBCUs can accelerate Black economic mobility,” McKinsey & Company, July 30, 2021

COVID-19 and education: The lingering effects of unfinished learning,” McKinsey & Company, July 2021

How to transform higher-education institutions for the long term,” McKinsey & Company, March 2021

Teacher survey: Learning loss is global—and significant,” McKinsey & Company, March 2021

COVID-19 and learning loss—disparities grow and students need help,” McKinsey & Company, December 2020

Back to school: A framework for remote and hybrid learning amid COVID-19,” McKinsey & Company, August 2020

Best practices for an unusual US admissions cycle amid coronavirus,” McKinsey & Company, April 2020

Getting the next phase of remote learning right in higher education,” McKinsey & Company, April 2020

Coronavirus and US education: What investors need to know,” McKinsey & Company, April 2020

Coronavirus and the campus: How can US higher education organize to respond?,” McKinsey & Company, March 2020

How states can improve well-being for all children, from birth to age five,” McKinsey & Company, October 2018

Drivers of student performance: Insights from North America,” McKinsey & Company, December 2017

How states can improve well-being for all children, from birth to age five,” McKinsey & Company, November 2017

Why US education is ready for investment,” McKinsey on Investing, Number 2, Summer 2015

Protecting student data in a digital world,” McKinsey & Company, April 2015

The future of textbooks,” McKinsey on Society, August 2014

Wiring students for success,” McKinsey on Society, June 2014

Experience

District of Columbia Public Schools
Teacher

Education

American University
MA, teaching

Columbia University
MA, physics and philosophy

University of Delaware
BS, biochemistry