TIMOTHY “TIM’ DURA - COO AT POLK INSTITUTE FOUNDATION

Tim received two Bachelor of Science degrees from North Dakota State University. The first was in 1974 and the second in 1982. He served as a command fighter pilot in the United States Air Force and, after 22 years of service, retired due to medical issues. In the meantime, Tim started and operated three diverse businesses in entertainment, food service, and aviation. He then began a 20-year teaching career and became involved with teaching entrepreneurship. Tim’s program was extremely successful, sending five businesses to the NFTE National Business Plan Competition in New York City in the six years his NFTE kids were eligible. Dura recently received an Outstanding Leadership Award from Education 2.0 in recognition of his contributions to the field of education and learning Currently, Tim is semi-retired doing consulting work, coaching girls’ softball, and acting as the COO of the Polk Institute Foundation, based in Los Angeles, CA.

About the Polk Institute:

Will the window to apply to the free social entrepreneurship training at the Polk Institute Foundation be open, the emphasis on diversity has expanded to include veterans. Uniformed service members deal with the difficulties of transitioning back to civilian life after years of service to their country. I have been there, done that, and have the tee-shirt retiring from the USAF after giving Uncle Sugar 22 years of my life and sacrificing my body that is in as bad of shape as any ex-NFL player. It’s a tough, lonely struggle because when you are cut loose, the service didn’t exactly arm you with the tools to make the transition,” says Tim Dura, Major, USAF (ret) who currently serves as the COO of the Polk Institute Foundation (PI). The tuition is free to veterans as a huge thank you for their service.