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Dr. Miguel Cardona serves as the U.S. Secretary of Education. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 1, 2021 after being nominated by President Biden. Dr. Miguel Cardona served as the Connecticut State Superintendent of Education from 2019 to March 2021.In 2020, President Joe Biden nominated him to serve as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education prior to his inauguration, and on 1 March 2021 he was confirmed by the Senate. Cardona was born in Meriden, Connecticut, and graduated from Central Connecticut State University and the University of Connecticut.

Miguel Angel Cardona (born July 11, 1975) is an American educator and is currently serving as the twelfth United States secretary of education under President Joe Biden since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 64–33 on March 1, 2021. Cardona previously served as commissioner of the Connecticut State Department of Education from 2019 to 2021.

A native of Meriden, Connecticut, Cardona began his career as a fourth-grade teacher at Israel Putnam Elementary School in Meriden. In 2003, at the age of twenty-seven, he was named principal of Meriden's Hanover School, making him the youngest principal in the state. Secretary Cardona was the designated survivor for President Biden's State of the Union address on March 7, 2024.

Cardona was born on July 11, 1975, in Meriden, Connecticut, to Puerto Rican parents. Cardona grew up speaking Spanish as his first language and started to learn English when entering kindergarten. His father is a retired police officer in Meriden. Cardona was raised in a housing project in Meriden and graduated from the H.C. Wilcox Technical High School, where he was a part of the automotive studies program.

Cardona earned a bachelor of science degree in education from Central Connecticut State University in 1997. He obtained a master of science in bilingual and bicultural education at University of Connecticut (UConn) in 2001. In 2004, he completed a professional sixth year certification at UConn where he earned a doctor of education in 2011.

Cardona's dissertation, titled Sharpening the Focus of Political Will to Address Achievement Disparities, studied the gaps between English-language learners and their classmates. His doctoral major advisor was Barry G. Sheckley and his associate advisor was Casey D. Cobb

Cardona began his career as a fourth-grade teacher at Israel Putnam Elementary School in Meriden, Connecticut. In 2003, at Hanover Elementary School, he was promoted and made the youngest principal in the state's history for ten years. From 2015 to 2019, Cardona served as assistant superintendent for teaching and learning in his home town.

Cardona was also an adjunct professor of education in the University of Connecticut's Department of Educational Leadership. During his career, he has focused on closing gaps between English-language learners and their peers.

In August 2019, Governor Ned Lamont appointed Cardona as commissioner of education; Cardona was the first Latino to hold the position. During his tenure, Cardona helped oversee state schools' response to the COVID-19 pandemic, where he expressed concerns over the long-term mental health impacts of remote education on students.