Brittany Carlson Named Executive Director

ANN ARBOR, MI, December 1, 2017 – The Joyce Ivy Foundation announced today that Brittany Carlson has been named Executive Director, effective January, 2018. Carlson previously served as Director of the Joyce Ivy College Admissions Symposium and Senior Fellow. As Executive Director, Carlson’s responsibilities will include advancement and development, managing the Summer Scholars Program, and expanding partnerships with schools, foundations, and community-based organizations.

“We are delighted that Brittany will be joining the leadership team,” said Greg Lewis, a member of the Joyce Ivy Foundation Board of Directors. “Brittany has a clear passion for our mission and brings a wealth of experience and ideas about how to create opportunities for lower-income and first-generation students.”

Carlson is a native of the Midwest and has called Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan home. She is a graduate of Middlebury College and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she received an EdM in Higher Education, completed coursework on critical race theory, and authored white papers on support for first-generation college students at highly selective universities.

“A leadership position with the Joyce Ivy Foundation represents an exciting extension of my commitment to college access, both academically and professionally,” said Brittany Carlson. “The mission of Joyce Ivy resonates with my own pathway to higher education, and I am honored to serve a population of students who I am personally passionate about. I look forward to deploying my experience in highly selective undergraduate admissions to increase access and opportunity for future Joyce Ivy Scholars through programming, advocacy, and network building.”

Carlson previously worked in undergraduate admissions at Middlebury College and currently serves as Assistant Director of Admissions and Coordinator of Diversity Recruitment at Lafayette College where she coordinates the recruitment, evaluation, and selection of traditionally underrepresented student populations, while also managing partnerships with community-based organizations, such as The Opportunity Network, Philadelphia Futures, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, and POSSE.

“Brittany brings outstanding energy, and a thoughtful, deliberate approach to our work,” said S. Caroline Kerr, Chief Executive Officer. “Brittany will be a valuable addition to the team as we look to the future and grow our impact.”

Carlson will relocate to Michigan where she she will join her fiancé, Hunter Knight, a surgical resident at Western Michigan University.