StriveTogether2023
StriveTogether Appoints Chief Program Officer
Named the organization's first Chief Program Officer, leading national program strategy for a movement reaching more than 14 million young people.
READ →PRESS & RECOGNITION
Recognized for building organizations that outlast the founder.
Dr. Paris Woods has been trusted to build, lead, and scale ambitious work across education and economic mobility. The coverage, appointments, and honors below trace that record.
WWL-TVWWNO / New Orleans Public RadioThe Hechinger ReportNew Orleans CityBusinessStriveTogetherWorld Economic Forum
FEATURED COVERAGE
Leadership, on the record.
Selected coverage of the appointments, ventures, and work that trace a career built inside the organizations she now advises.
WWL-TVMAY 2019
Helping Students Succeed in College
On air as Executive Director of College Beyond, on what it takes to get students through college, not just into it.
WATCH →WWNO / New Orleans Public RadioNOV 2015
In New Orleans, School Reform and Entrepreneurship Come Together
A public radio feature on the education venture that became College Beyond.
LISTEN →New Orleans CityBusinessDEC 2015
Startup Closeup: College Bridge Advances New Orleans Public School Students
An early profile connecting the work to college enrollment, persistence, and fundraising.
READ →The Hechinger ReportAUG 2014
Getting Kids Into College Is One Thing. Getting Them Through Is Another.
National education journalism on the completion gap College Beyond was built to close.
READ →Education PioneersJAN 2016
From Underserved Schools to CEO: How Paris Woods Thrived Against Steep Odds
A founder profile tracing the path from first-generation student to nonprofit CEO.
READ →Executive profiles: World Economic Forum · Education Leaders of Color
HONORS
Recognized for innovation, leadership, and impact.
Pahara NextGen Fellow
2018Tulane Hometown Hero
2018YLC Role Model
2018Millennial Award in Education
2017Alliance Innovation Award
2017Gambit 40 Under 40
2016First Place, PitchNOLA Education
2015Selected fellowships and accelerators: 4.0 Schools · Propeller · Education Pioneers
THE THROUGHLINE
From founder to national executive.
Paris's leadership journey spans the full arc of organizational growth. She co-founded College Beyond to close the college completion gap facing first-generation students, raised the organization's first million, and drove unprecedented gains in first-year college retention, including a 26-point increase at the University of New Orleans and a 33-point increase at Loyola University New Orleans. She went on to lead programs at Good Reason Houston and Youth Force NOLA, and became the first Chief Program Officer of StriveTogether, translating national strategy into action across a movement reaching more than 14 million young people.
First million raised. Fourteen million young people reached. One throughline: building work that lasts.
ALSO FEATURED IN
Paris's ideas on education, economic mobility, and financial freedom have also reached national audiences through leading media platforms.
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