Richard Buery to Join the KIPP Foundation as Chief of Policy & Public Affairs

-Buery was formerly Deputy Mayor under New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio-

NEW YORK CITY, NY, March 5, 2018 –The KIPP Foundation announced today that Richard Buery will join KIPP as the KIPP Foundation’s Chief of Policy & Public Affairs. He will begin his role at the end of March.

In this new position with KIPP, Buery will sit on KIPP’s Senior Leadership Team and Operating Committee. He will oversee KIPP’s government affairs, advocacy, marketing, and communications, fostering the growth of the KIPP network while addressing specific barriers that impact KIPP students’ abilities to lead choice-filled lives. Buery will also lead efforts to help KIPP maintain and build partnerships nationwide with nonprofits, community-based organizations, and school districts that share KIPP’s interest in increasing college and career readiness for students from low-income backgrounds.

“We could not be more thrilled to have Rich join the KIPP team and family,” said KIPP Foundation CEO Richard Barth. “He has dedicated his life to working to create a better world for young people across New York City. He will help KIPP develop the policy changes and partnerships needed to increase opportunities for students at KIPP and the broader community.”

Buery brings a wealth of government, nonprofit, and policy experience to KIPP. Most recently, he served in New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s senior cabinet as Deputy Mayor. There, Buery was the architect of the groundbreaking Pre-K for All initiative, which for the first time offers free, full-day Pre-K to every 4-year old in New York City and is now being expanded to 3-year olds. He spearheaded projects for the Mayor focusing on in-school health and social services, improving mental healthcare, providing afterschool programs to all middle school students, and recruiting and retaining male teachers of color. Buery also led several agencies and departments, including the Mayor’s Offices of Immigrant Affairs and People with Disabilities, the Departments of Youth and Community Development, Probation, and the Aging, and launched the City’s first ever Children’s Cabinet, Department of Veterans Services, and Office of Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs).  He also led the City’s work with the City University of New York.

“Richard Buery has helped transform the way that the City serves New Yorkers,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “He spearheaded the launch of Pre-K, 3-K and Thrive NYC, which has lifted up so many families across the five boroughs and will continue to do so in the years to come. Chirlane and I are thankful for his four years of service, and we look forward to working together in his new role.”

KIPP – the Knowledge Is Power Program – is a national network of 209 college-preparatory public charter schools enrolling nearly 90,000 students and supporting 11,000 alumni in college. KIPP’s goal is to help students develop the knowledge, skills, and character strengths they need to succeed in college and the competitive world beyond. To support students on their journey to and through college, KIPP has established official partnerships with more than 90 colleges and universities nationwide.  KIPP’s national college completion rate is above the national average for all students, and nearly four times the national average for students from low-income families.

“I have long admired KIPP’s work and its track record of creating opportunity for students across the country,” said Buery. “I am excited to help expand KIPP’s impact so we can put even more young people on a path to meaningful, successful futures. I also hope to play a role in finding more common ground between charters and traditional public schools for the benefit of all students.”

Before working in the Mayor’s administration, Buery was President and CEO of the Children’s Aid Society, one of New York City’s oldest and largest social service organizations. There, he focused on supporting children from “cradle to college graduation.” He also founded the Children’s Aid College Prep Charter School, a community school with rigorous academics and comprehensive social services for high-need families. Prior to this, Buery served as a law clerk to Judge John M. Walker, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and was a staff attorney at the Brennan Center for Justice. He also co-founded and directed iMentor, a national youth mentoring and college-success program, and Groundwork, serving public housing residents in the East New York, Brooklyn neighborhood where he grew up.  The child of immigrants from Panama, he graduated from Stuyvesant High School, Harvard College, and Yale Law School.

About KIPP

KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, is a national network of public charter schools that are dedicated to preparing students in educationally underserved communities for success in college and life. KIPP schools are part of the free public school system and enrollment is open to all students. Started in 1994 as a middle school program, KIPP has since expanded to enroll students in all grades from pre-K through high school. After high school, KIPP counselors help alumni navigate the academic, social, and financial challenges as they persist to and through college graduation.