About Us
Inspire Success is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit whose vision is that ALL students are empowered for success.We strive to reach this vision by working with teachers, school counselors, administrators, organizations, and communities to advance what works in removing barriers to student learning, enhancing student well-being, and elevating student readiness for success in postsecondary education and a career.
A copy of our 990 tax form is available upon request by contacting us at info@inspiresuccess.org.
Our Staff
Chris Guidry
Chris Guidry is the Executive Director of Inspire Success. In this role, Chris hopes to grow the reach of Inspire Success products and services, assisting schools to institute school improvement plans, comprehensive school counseling, and career and technical education (CTE).
Previously, Chris was vice president of community affairs at Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), where his work focused on strategic partnerships with organizations supporting adult learners. He has also worked for Strada Education Foundation, Pearson, Inc., ACT, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, and Chicago Public Schools.
Chris is an expert in education and workforce transitions, cultivating diverse collaboration among industry, education, training, and government partners and executing changes for regional, state, and federal initiatives.
He graduated from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law with a doctor of Jurisprudence degree (JD) and Northern Illinois University with a bachelor’s degree of science (BS). Chris resides in Indianapolis, Ind. with his wife and two sons.
Matt Fleck
Matt is the Director of Development for Inspire Success. He brings over 20 years of education, career, and counseling experience to multiple projects around the country. Matt has served as a high school counselor, a state school counseling specialist, and Indiana’s state director of Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. He is respected among school counselors, administrators and CTE directors for developing innovative, practical solutions that improve connections between education and the needs of business and industry. As president of Fleck Education, Matt developed an online professional development series that has prepared school counselors in Indiana and South Dakota to receive a College and Career Readiness Certification.
Aimee Portteus
Debbie Howell
Debbie is the Director of the School Improvement Institute (SI2). She has worked in outcome-based initiatives and training for more than a decade. Previously, Debbie worked in the contract world leading individuals on new system implementation for local governments in multiple states. She was also a part of the the American Student Achievement Institute (Inspire Success’ predecessor) working with Redesigning School Counseling (RSC) and the College Success Coalition (CSC). Debbie has held multiple roles working in the education realm. She was a substitute teacher, student services advisor, and facilitated Student Success classes for Ivy Tech. She has specialized in bringing communities and schools together to affect student success by tracking school data, identifying needs, and creating implementable plans. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University.
Ben Carter
Ben is the Director of Career Readiness Initiatives. Prior to joining the team Ben served as the Executive Director of Career Coaching and Employer Connections at Ivy Tech Community College. Previously, Ben was the Director of Workforce and Innovation at the Department of Education leading Graduation Pathways, Work Based Learning, and STEM. Prior to coming to the Department, Ben led career education in Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) as the Career and Technical Education Director. Ben earned his undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Michigan, a Master of Arts in Teaching from Marian University, and a Master in Education Leadership from Columbia University.
Amy Seigle
Amy is the Director of Digital Programs & School Supports. She has worked with school data for 25+ years. As the Director of Enrollment, Data, and Communications for Indiana’s 21st Century Scholars Program, she developed tools to help school counselors know which students had applied and been accepted to the program so they could identify students and families still needing encouragement. Amy was the first School Support Specialist hired by the American Student Achievement Institute. In that role, she saw the need for online tools to better facilitate school improvement planning. She transitioned to leading ASAI’s development of online tools. Amy began her career in education teaching eighth grade English / Language Arts.
Our Board
Catisha Coates-Toney
Catisha Toney is the Founder and Executive Director of Coates, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to educational equity for young adults. Catisha is a first generation college graduate who worked at the Indiana Commission for Higher Education before forming Coates, Inc. She has more than 15 years of experience working in education and education consulting.
Cheryl Orr Dixon
Cheryl Orr Dixon, President Orr Dixon Consulting, LLC., brings more than 30 years of experience in education reform, public policy and leading initiatives to improve college preparation, access and success. Cheryl was a co-founder of Complete College America, Inc. and served as CCA’s Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff. She brings years of non-profit leadership experience, as well as, lessons learned from leading statewide efforts to improve student achievement for four Indiana governors.
Jon Snyder
Jon Snyder recently retired as the Executive Director of the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE). He began his career as a primary grades school teacher in Vancouver, Washington before moving to curriculum and staff development.
Jon has worked as a researcher and a teacher/educator at Teachers College; the National Center for the Restructuring of Education, Schools, and Teaching; the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future; the University of California, Santa Barbara, and immediately prior to his tenure at SCOPE, Jon served as Chief Academic Officer/Dean of the College at Bank Street College of Education. He remains engaged in researching teacher learning, conditions that support teacher learning, and the relationships between teacher and student learning.
Domy Raymond
Dominique (Domy) Raymond is strategy director for partnerships at Lumina Foundation, Indianapolis. She has over 20 years of policy experience in higher education, state policy, and workforce development. Domy has held positions in state government, on college campuses and advocacy organizations in Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. In addition to Inspire Success, she serves on the board of Grantmakers for Immigrants and Refugees. A native of Chicago, she resides in Indianapolis.
Carol Lincoln
Carol Lincoln is Senior Vice President for Achieving the Dream, Inc. and brings to this role more than 50 years of experience working on issues of educational access, workforce development, and rural community development. In addition to being a founding staff member for Achieving the Dream, Inc, she was Senior Program Director at MDC where she directed MDC’s Rural Community College Initiative’s (RCCI) national demonstration program to increase educational access and economic opportunity in distressed rural communities. From 1998-2004, she co-led MDC’s international work in Namibia and South Africa, where lessons from RCCI were used to help four-year institutions become catalysts for development in impoverished rural regions. project to raise public awareness of the large numbers of youth leaving school unprepared for postsecondary education or careers.