S. Caroline Kerr Steps Down as CEO After Six Years

ANN ARBOR, MI, July 1, 2018 – The Joyce Ivy Foundation announced today that S. Caroline Kerr is stepping down as CEO after six years in the role. Kerr will continue to serve on the Joyce Ivy Board of Directors.

Kerr joined the Foundation in 2007, serving on the Foundation’s Counselor Advisory Board, and later as the Executive Vice President for Program Development, before becoming the Foundation’s inaugural CEO in 2012. With a background in college admissions, Kerr grew the reputation and operations of the Joyce Ivy Foundation significantly.

During Kerr’s tenure, fundraising doubled and an endowment for the Foundation was established. The volunteer and professional leadership team expanded, as did the Midwest territory that Joyce Ivy serves, which currently includes ​Michigan, Ohio, Nebraska, Missouri, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Kerr established partnerships with other education organizations, including Minds Matter and Morehead-Cain, and expanded the set of Joyce Ivy summer program partners, including the addition of Stanford and Yale. She also led initiatives to refine the brand and identity of the Foundation.

Kerr’s expansion of Joyce Ivy programs includes record numbers of Summer Scholars and the founding of the Joyce Ivy College Admissions Symposium (JCAS), now entering its eighth year. Kerr placed emphasis on female leadership and worked closely with current Vice President, Allison Jegla, JIF ’10, to establish the Joyce Ivy Fellows Program through which Joyce Ivy alumnae engage in projects and service and support an Alumnae Pay It Forward Scholarship; and former Executive Vice President, Sherryl Fletcher, in developing the Mentoring Program to include mentoring circles and peer mentoring. In 2017, the Foundation launched the Women of Impact Award, which honors female leaders early in their careers, and celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Mary Vandewiele Leadership Award.

”There is no one who has had more impact on young women in college admissions in the middle of the country than Caroline Kerr,” said Mike Pritula, member of the Joyce Ivy Board. “She is widely respected among leading colleges and universities in the U.S., deeply appreciated by scores of high school counselors and administrators, and most importantly revered by the hundreds of young Joyce Ivy Scholars she has stewarded and mentored over the past six years. She has built a great platform for even more impact.”

Going forward, the Joyce Ivy Foundation will be led by Brittany Carlson, who joined the leadership team as Executive Director in January, having previously served as Senior Fellow and Director of JCAS. Carlson’s professional background includes working in undergraduate admissions at Lafayette College and Middlebury College.

“It has been an honor to serve as Joyce Ivy’s first CEO,” said S. Caroline Kerr. “The mission to help talented young women be bold and ambitious in their educations and careers is as relevant as ever. I am eager to keep collaborating with the dedicated group of volunteers and professionals who power Joyce Ivy. We have exceptionally strong leadership in place and great momentum. I look forward to supporting Brittany and the rest of the team in taking our work to new heights.”

Kerr serves as an education strategist, especially on topics of college access and admissions, and on multiple boards, including the Joyce Ivy Foundation Board of Directors, Dartmouth Board of Trustees, William Jewett Tucker Center Board of Advisors, and DGALA Board of Advisors. She is a graduate of Greenhills School (Ann Arbor, MI), the Mountain School of Milton Academy, Dartmouth College, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Kerr, and her spouse, Dr. Darcy A. Kerr, will be relocating to New Hampshire with their three young children.