Michael Carter is revolutionizingthe socio-educational landscape by using technology to foster human connections in education spaces.

Michael founded Strive for College from his freshman dorm room at Washington University in St. Louis. He created a pilot that matches college students with high school students at a local failing high school. The school’s rate of graduating seniors going onto a four-year college or university grew from 3% to 89%, and Strive was born. In the early 2010s, Michael led Strive in a transition from in-person mentoring to a completely virtual mentoring model.By 2019, over 1,000,000 students had opted in for a Strive mentor.

Michael’s work with Strive has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, TIME, Education Week, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. He was named a 2011 Echoing Green Fellow, a 2012 Bluhm Helfand Social Innovation Fellow, a 2013 CNN Hero, Forbes 30 Under 30, and one of The Gentry Top 50 Philanthropists, a list which also included Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Ellison.

Michael enjoys spending time with his family. He is based in Austin, Texas.