We are pleased to announce that Matt Glazer will begin work with Urban Roots as interim executive director on July 20, 2023. Matt is an experienced leader specializing in executive management and change management and was part of the team that worked with Urban Roots to develop our current strategic plan. He will jump in to support our teams who are already planning a robust fall with new cohorts of youth leaders and a promising growing season on the farms.
More about Matt:
Matt has had a diverse career focused on launching new ventures, executive management, and change management. He served as the community director (regional general manager) for WeWork in Central Texas where he managed 11 buildings, two retail storefronts, and the go-to-market strategy for San Antonio. Additionally, he is a two time executive director, leading local nonprofits Austin Young Chamber of Commerce and Progress Texas. Matt was the founder of Progress Texas and created the largest multi-issue advocacy organization in Texas. He was the turnaround executive director at Austin Young Chamber of Commerce and shifted the organization from a young professional networking group to one of the largest chambers in central Texas.
Matt has led strategic planning for over 50 organizations. Working with Mission Capital, Matt has also redeveloped general audience training – Board Essentials, Strategy and Sustainability Intensive, and Revenue Generator – to include a racial equity perspective. He has consulted with Mission Capital during the organization’s racial equity journey to help redevelop the Interim-Executive Director program, Merger and Acquisition process, and reconstructing consulting engagements to integrate justice, equity, diversity and inclusion into the process and outcomes.
Matt has had a long history of working with Urban Roots. He supported the leadership team in developing organizational values and led professional development workshops with the organization’s founder/first executive director. Matt was also a part of the strategic planning team leading the process, developing the organization’s strategic priorities, and supporting the design and implementation after it was adopted by the board and staff.
He is the two-time Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Trinity University where he continues to teach human-centered design. He volunteers his time at a number of nonprofits and serves as the chair of the Governance Committee for The Other Ones Foundation, a nonprofit that offers humanitarian aid, case management, and extremely low-barrier work opportunities to people experiencing homelessness in Central Texas.
