Lynsey Wood Jeffries is the CEO of Higher Achievement, which serves middle school scholars in four states with yearround expanded learning and mentoring. After five years as a Higher Achievement volunteer mentor, Ms. Jeffries joined the professional staff in 2005 as Director of Grants. From 2008-2012, she served as Executive Director for Higher Achievement – DC Metro, and was promoted to CEO in 2012. Prior to joining Higher Achievement, Ms. Jeffries served as a program officer for the Fannie Mae Foundation, and a congressional liaison and special assistant to the CEO at NeighborWorks. Her commitment to equity extends from education to affordable housing and full communities.

Ms. Jeffries holds a B.A. in English and sociology from Wake Forest University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh, with a concentration in nonprofit management. She is committed to continual learning and growth, serving as a Fellow with the Kellogg Foundation focused on racial equity and healing, a Cross-Sector Leadership Fellow with the Presidio Institute, an NGen Fellow by the Independent Sector and American Express, and a member of the Leadership Greater Washington Class of 2011. Ms. Jeffries is a founding board member of Mundo Verde Public Charter School and a board member for the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. When she is not immersed in Higher Achievement or the nonprofit sector, Lynsey can usually be found in her Adams Morgan DC neighborhood with her beloved husband, son, and cat.