As Chief Impact Officer, Dr. Kiko Suarez will lead Reach’s Impact Group to deepen high-touch employer partnerships, expand candidate lifecycle offerings, and scale Apprenticeship Degrees across high-need industries.
(INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana) – July 1, 2024 – Today, Dr. Kiko Suarez, an esteemed academic, industry executive, and philanthropic leader, joins Reach University as Chief Impact Officer. In this role, Dr. Suarez will oversee Reach’s Impact Group to further expand the adoption, implementation, and efficacy of Apprenticeship Degree offerings for employers and adult learners within Reach’s growing states of operation and industry sectors.
“In partnership with forward-looking employers, Reach’s Apprenticeship Degrees are creating integrated career, college, and economic mobility opportunities in communities across the nation,” said Dr. Kiko Suarez, Reach University’s Chief Impact Officer. “It’s an honor to join this accomplished team and build upon each deeply-rooted partnership to further expand the fidelity of Reach’s job-embedded programs. Together, in close partnership with employer and industry partners, we’ll ensure Apprenticeship Degrees can effectively serve adult learners and solve continued labor shortages. Ultimately that's what impact means: creating positive, aligned, and lasting change for all within the communities we serve and our greater society."
With a passion for fostering educational innovation and supporting individuals in their personal growth, Dr. Suarez brings a wealth of academic, industry, and nonprofit leadership experience to Reach. Kiko most recently served as the Chief Academic Officer at Huntington Junior College, where he played a pivotal role in shaping the academic landscape, ensuring that students received an education that was not only comprehensive but also transformative. Suarez has also served in global leadership positions in Fortune 500 companies such as DuPont and Cemex, and previously supported the United Way of Central Indiana and the Lumina Foundation in their efforts to advance postsecondary degree attainment and address critical community needs.
“As Reach continues to expand the possibilities of who an Apprenticeship Degree can serve and the value it can bring to both employers and learners, we must deploy a two-way dialogue between Reach and its industry partners to achieve effective program design at scale,” said Joe E. Ross, President of Reach University. “This leader is Dr. Suarez. Kiko will help us achieve our highest goals of enabling high-touch workplace and industry partnerships, creating lifetime value for a Reach learner, and building nationwide access to an Apprenticeship Degree. We are thrilled to leverage Dr. Suarez’s expertise as we forge a new pathway in higher education with our employer partners.”
Reach University’s Apprenticeship Degree programs are available in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, and Louisiana, and regionally in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. To learn more about partnership and impact opportunities with Reach’s Impact Group, please visit
https://www.reach.edu/ or contact Dr. Suarez at
KSuarez@Reach.Edu.
ABOUT REACH UNIVERSITY
Reach University is the nation's only nonprofit accredited university fully dedicated to championing the Apprenticeship Degree — an affordable path for working adults to gain a university education and degree. Reach is actively solving America's teacher shortage by creating fully-embedded pathways for high-potential individuals to earn degrees, credentials, and jobs as teachers within their own communities. By focusing on low-income, urban, and rural regions, offering online tutorials and classes, and rendering academic credit for on-the-job experience, Reach University is eliminating barriers to entry in high-need professions, and building untapped pipelines of locally representative talent. Reach University currently operates in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas.