June 24, 2025
Dear Matriculate community,
It is with great enthusiasm that we announce, on behalf of Matriculate’s Board of Directors, the appointment of Lisa Chick as Matriculate’s next Chief Executive Officer, effective July 21, 2025. After an extensive and thoughtful search process, we are confident that we have identified the ideal leader to guide Matriculate into its next chapter of growth and impact.
Lisa brings a wealth of experience as a nonprofit executive focused on educational equity and a deep commitment to college access and student success. Her passion for advancing opportunity and driving strategic impact at organizations such as the Alliance for Education and City Year will be instrumental as we continue to deepen and expand our programming to serve more high-achieving high school students from low-income and underrepresented communities. Lisa started her career as a public school teacher, making her uniquely qualified to understand the experiences of the students we serve at Matriculate.
Lisa’s appointment coincides with a new period of growth for Matriculate as we complete ten years of impact, having reached over 20,000 high school students since inception. Under her leadership, Matriculate will focus on serving more students, improving outcomes, and strengthening our partnerships. Additionally, we have tremendous confidence in Matriculate’s talented staff, whose expertise and dedication will be pivotal in advancing our mission in the months and years ahead. Our Co-Founder and Interim CEO, Bryden Sweeney-Taylor, will resume his former position on the Board of Directors and will continue to support Lisa and the organization in an advisorial capacity.
The education landscape, including college access and higher education broadly, is more uncertain today than ever before, and unprecedented challenges are affecting the lives and futures of the students we serve. Under Lisa’s leadership, we are confident we will continue to deliver on our mission to empower high-achieving high school students from low-income backgrounds to make the leap to our nation’s top colleges and universities and ensure that no student, regardless of their background, is denied the opportunity to pursue the college of their dreams.
Please join us in warmly welcoming Lisa Chick to the Matriculate community.
Best regards,
Greg Spivy, Chair, Matriculate Board of Directors (outgoing)
Jim Larimore, Incoming Chair, Matriculate Board of Directors