About Us

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Our Story

Dalio Education began with a simple quest: Barbara Dalio spending time with educators, listening, asking questions, and showing up again and again. Over years of conversations with teachers, counselors, and school leaders across Connecticut, one pattern kept coming up: when young people start to fall off track, the ripple effects show up everywhere, classrooms, families, local employers, and entire communities.

Those conversations helped clarify something bigger. At-risk youth isn’t a “side issue.” It’s often the root of challenges communities are trying to solve, lower graduation rates, workforce gaps, increased strain on social services, and cycles that are hard to break. And the earlier we act, the more lives (and communities) can change course.

That’s why our work is built the way it is today: we listen first, invest in independent research, and partner across sectors to turn evidence into practical action—so more young people can reconnect to school, career, and community.

Our Founder

Barbara Dalio is the Founder and CEO of Dalio Education. She is passionate about working alongside educators, schools, non-profits, employers, and community leaders across Connecticut to build trust and long-term partnerships that improve outcomes for young people.

Barbara’s vision is grounded in listening first, especially to those closest to the challenge, and then using research and data to scale what works. Under her leadership, Dalio Education brings people together across sectors to turn insight into action and expand opportunities for youth who are struggling to stay connected to school, career, and community.

How we work

Our work is grounded in a simple idea: lasting change happens when listening, evidence, and collaboration come together.

Listen first

We start with the people closest to the challenge, young people, educators, and community partners, and we keep listening as conditions change.

Lead with evidence

We commission independent research, elevate the data behind disconnection, and use what we learn to guide decisions and investments.

Partner to act

We work alongside schools, youth-serving organizations, employers, and communities to turn insights into practical, on-the-ground solutions.

Focus on what works

We prioritize strategies that show real results and help strengthen them through shared learning and support.

Measure and improve

We track progress, learn openly, and adapt, because doing the work is not enough; improving the work is part of the work.

Scale impact responsibly

When something works, we help grow it thoughtfully—so more young people can reconnect to school, career, and community.

Signature initiatives

Connecticut RISE network

Together with the RISE Network, we help districts build educator capacity and strengthen data systems, with RISE facilitating school improvement networks where high schools share what works to improve graduation rates and reconnect more young people to school, career, and community.

Workforce initiatives

We collaborate with employers, training providers, and community partners to help young people build real-world skills and connect to meaningful career pathways. This includes supporting programs that create access to job readiness training, paid experiences where possible, and clear routes into stable employment, especially for young people who have been off track or disconnected. We recently engaged in partnerships with both MATCH in New Haven and Nuvance/Northwell Health in pursuit of strengthening these pathways to gainful employment.

Connecticut opportunity project

Through the Connecticut Opportunity Project (CTOP), we support young people who are struggling the most by investing in and building the capacity of non-profit organizations and their teams. CTOP strengthens the organizations doing frontline work, so they can expand what they offer, deepen their impact, and serve more young people with consistency and care.

To learn more, read RISE’s Annual Report and CTOP’s Annual Report.

Research and learning

Our work is grounded in research and data. We commission independent studies to better understand disconnection and what helps young people re-engage. We then share what we learn with partners across Connecticut to strengthen strategies, guide investment, and scale approaches that show promise.

The core beliefs that
guide our work

Every young person has tremendous potential

Young people who are off track or disconnected from school and opportunity are often overlooked and underserved. But with the right individualized support, they can often re-engage in high school, succeed in post-secondary education and training, and build meaningful futures.

We focus on removing barriers, rebuilding momentum, and creating pathways that make success feel possible and achievable.

The power and passion of educators is limitless

Educators work tirelessly every day to support and engage young people. Connecticut’s educators deserve recognition, celebration, and access to opportunities that continually enrich their practice and impact.

We believe in supporting educators not only through resources and professional learning, but also through partnership, treating educators as essential experts whose insight should shape solutions.

Student success requires a holistic approach

At Dalio Education, offering holistic approaches often means providing wrap around services for young people so all their diverse needs are met simultaneously. Focusing too strongly on one barrier might cause you to miss the bigger picture of what these young people are facing. Young people are also more likely to thrive when they have mentors they trust and when the systems around them respond to their full lived reality, not just their grades."

Elevate the voices closest to the work

Those most impacted by the biggest challenges in education understand them best. Their perspectives and lived experience are essential for generating solutions that actually work.

We aim to elevate these voices,listen, learn, and then respond with action that reflects what we hear.

Collaboration drives results

Individual educators and youth development professionals know how to help their students succeed. But real change accelerates when people work together across roles and sectors.

By collaborating, we draw on collective expertise to turn success for one student into strategies, practices, and systems that can support many more. This focus on collaboration is a core belief and a throughline in our approach and strategies.  