Dr. Samaad Wes Keys is an experiential educator, coach, facilitator, connector, and fierce advocate for education equity. In his current role as Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Samaad manages a portfolio of over $50 million of investments that seek to scale institutional transformation to eradicate race, ethnicity, and income as predictors of success on the Foundation’s postsecondary success team.
Before joining the Foundation, Samaad has worked in several capacities, both in the philanthropic sector and at a number of higher education intermediary organizations.
One notable accomplishment was the work Samaad did while at the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) as the strategist at UNCF’s Institute for Capacity; Samaad advances cutting edge research and innovative approaches in support of UNCF’s Career Pathways Initiative, a $50 million grant-funded initiative by the Lilly Endowment, and leads a grant portfolio of $20M to improve post-graduate success for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominately Black Institutions (PBIs).
Samaad helped develop and implement core competencies across UNCF’s network of institutions by guiding capacity development, human capital, leadership, governance, educational innovation, and student success.
Samaad has contributed to the success of 100’s of multi-disciplinary projects included working with the Southern Education Foundation, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education, and Achieving the Dream. Samaad earned a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Georgia, a Master of Arts in education from Central Michigan University, and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Morehouse College.
