Chad Wick is driven by a desire to create equity of educational opportunity in order to effectively prepare students for college, work, and citizenship. Recognized by former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley as "one of the outstanding education leaders in the country," Chad leads KnowledgeWorks Foundation in its mission to increase the number and diversity of people who value and access public education. As the founding president and CEO, he has led the Foundation to achieve this mission by providing not only seed grants and operating funds, but extensive technical assistance and training that promotes and supports sustainable, system-wide changes.
Chad believes that relationships provide the best hope we have for making necessary changes to our educational system so it can respond to the needs of students in the 21st century. As such, the Foundation has worked actively to create partnerships with other funders and community organizations, often opening dialogue and enabling collaboration among entities that have not traditionally worked together. KnowledgeWorks Foundation is one of the nation's leading partners with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundations are collaborating in Ohio to implement the most comprehensive statewide high school transformation initiative in the country aimed at converting large, urban "factory model" schools into student-centered small schools. The initiative will lead to the creation of over 70 new autonomous small schools from 17 existing high schools in 10 urban districts.
Under Chad's visionary leadership, the Foundation has had a profound impact on the educational experiences of over 165,000 students of all ages throughout Ohio every year. Early in its establishment, the Foundation led the development of a network of 38 college access programs that continue to serve students and adults in all types of communities throughout the state. Two more recent Foundation initiatives under his leadership have included efforts to establish 12 regional career pathways in Ohio to provide low-wage workers easier access to training designed to increase earning potential and improve their overall quality of life, as well as the convening of a regular forum for Ohio's school district superintendents and teachers union presidents with an end to establishing a common framework aimed at meeting the needs of students.
Most recently Chad chaired the education transition for Governor Strickland.
As a dedicated community leader, Chad has worked to achieve equity and respect for diversity inside and outside the education arena. He played a key leadership role in amending the Ohio constitution to make housing a 'public purpose,' which permitted the government to provide funding support to residents and developers for low-income housing. Chad also serves on the boards of numerous organizations that work in education, the arts, and public health, including the Public Education Network, Operation Respect and the National College Access Network. He has been recognized by multiple organizations since the Foundation's inception including, the Merlin G. Pope, Jr. Award for Promoting Acceptance of Diversity from the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, and the Peace of the City award from the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. He was recognized with the Friend of Education Award from the following organizations: the National Association of School Boards of Education, Ohio Education Association, and the Ohio Federation of Teachers. Chad was awarded the Ohio Philanthropy Award from the Ohio Grantmakers Forum and was honored with the Visionary Award by the Contemporary Arts Center of Cincinnati. Most recently, Civic Ventures, a think tank and program incubator helping society achieve the greatest return on experience, named Chad as a Purpose Prize Fellow and a national leader in a new age of social innovation. The Purpose Prize is a major new initiative that recognizes Americans over 60 who are inventing new ways to meet society's toughest challenges.
Chad is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. In the summer of 2006, Chad was invited to participate in the Army War College's Strategic Leadership Forum at Columbia University. Prior to leading KnowledgeWorks Foundation, he was president and CEO of Rise Learning Solutions. He has also served as president of Mayerson Company, CEO of Southern Ohio Bank and Executive Vice President of the PNC Bank.
