When every reviewer on a panel independently lands on the same candidate, that is not luck. That is what a disciplined search should produce. We were proud to bring KIPP a leader with a genuinely national track record.
KIPP Foundation needed one national leader to unify two functions that had grown up separately: regional college counseling, run through KIPP Forward and MATCH, and strategic college partnerships. Without a single accountable owner, postsecondary outcomes risked becoming inconsistent from region to region, a real risk for the nearly 190,000 students and alumni across the network.
Regional college counseling and national college partnerships had developed independently, with no one accountable for both.
Without one national leader, postsecondary outcomes risked drifting from region to region across nearly 190,000 students and alumni.
Internal conversations about consolidating the functions had not yet identified someone with both the national reach and the campus relationships the role demanded.
Launched the search while senior leadership seats above this function sat vacant, needing someone who could own postsecondary strategy nationally right away.
Brought forward a finalist with nearly 14 years leading college access work at a large regional charter network, including national board reporting on outcomes and partnership strategy built at scale.
Ran a rigorous panel review in which every reviewer independently ranked the same candidate as the strongest in the field, completing the full evaluation in about a month.
What stood out was how unanimous our panel was. Stronger found someone who could own postsecondary outcomes nationally, not just regionally, which is exactly what we needed.
Stronger Consulting partners with mission-driven organizations to turn complex challenges into clear, practical action, from strategy through implementation.
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