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Matt Strauss

A social entrepreneur helping overlooked job seekers... at scale

Matt Strauss is the Founder and former CEO of RiseKit, a software company that connects overlooked job seekers to career opportunities and supportive services.13 He founded RiseKit in December 2017 with the mission of providing all job seekers access to a career path, regardless of their zip code.3 Matt has over 5 years of experience in social entrepreneurship and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.1

Matt's passion for solving social problems stems from his volunteer work mentoring young people from under-resourced communities in Chicago.1 He created RiseKit to break down barriers in workforce development and empower job candidates to access resources and networks they need to thrive.13

In addition to his role at RiseKit, Matt is a Forbes Human Resources Council Influencer and a Guest Contributor for Spiceworks News & Insights, where he writes about topics such as talent acquisition, DEI, social entrepreneurship, and mental health.3

As of May 2024, Matt has transitioned to the role of President and Chairman of the Board at RiseKit, while Josh Glantz has joined as the new CEO.2 This leadership transition allows Matt to focus on building out local, regional, and national employer partnerships while continuing to drive RiseKit's strategic initiatives and long-term growth.2

Matt holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from West Virginia University.3 He has been recognized as one of Crain's Chicago 20 in their 20s in May 2019.3

Highlights

Jul 24 · linkedin

RiseKit received our first review from Howard Brown Health's Michael Reynolds on G2 and UKG's marketplace! This only took 3 months after going live on UKG to go from pilot to a 5-star review! Incredible!

We are just getting started with #ATSIntegrations to make community hiring seamless, effective, and scalable! We have found that companies of all sizes cannot efficiently manage or scale community hiring initiatives!

What's next for #RiseKit? The goal is to help all customers who use UKG be able to create untapped hiring pipelines (first generation college students, veterans, people of color, immigrants, opportunity youth, ex-offenders, and more) from the community! Together, we will revolutionize community hiring.

A big thank you to:

GitLab Foundation - Matt Zieger Spencer MacColl

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation- Aras Jizan Jenna Clifford Matthew Gee

Lastly, want to shout out all the people behind the scenes who helped make this happen:

RiseKit - 🤖 Nathan Jones Zach Thompson Jack Murphy Edgar Wharton and many more!

UKG - Miriam A. - you are the best! I can't thank you enough for your follow-through, communication, and more!

Chris Connolly Jerry Nepon-Sixt, Brian Reaves Matt Hammack Chris Todd Patrick Lannon Mike May David Polchopek Jody Kaminsky

City of Chicago Chicago Dept. of Family & Support Services - Mark L. Sanders, II Trenity K. Dobbey, M.S. Brandie Knazze, CPPO, thank you for the amazing partnership and pilot to get to be able to partner with GitLab and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation! Our work on the ground has gotten us to learn so many powerful insights that we cannot wait to share with you in the next report about the biggest barriers to employment for priority populations of DFSS.

Can't wait to reconnect Le'Ann Duran Matthew Bruce Daniel O. Ash Matthew Muench Opportunity@Work Mollie Dougherty Andy Tonsing!

Link to our UKG Marketplace: https://bit.ly/3WgHoxS

#LetsRise

May 28 · linkedin

I’m honored to share that I’m starting a new position as President & Board Member at RiseKit!

Yes, there is a big announcement post to follow! I cannot wait for you to meet our new CEO and leader of RiseKit! Stay tuned!

#talentacquisition #missiondriven #leadership

Related Questions

What inspired Matt Strauss to start RiseKit?
How has Matt Strauss' background in social entrepreneurship influenced his leadership at RiseKit?
What are some of the key achievements Matt Strauss has accomplished at RiseKit?
How does RiseKit's software specifically help job seekers from under-resourced communities?
What are Matt Strauss' future plans for RiseKit now that he has transitioned to President?
Matt Strauss
Matt Strauss, photo 1
Matt Strauss, photo 2
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Location

Greater Chicago Area