CEOKepler
Chris Hedrick is the CEO of Kepler, is a nonprofit university program based in Africa and designed for the developing world. Our students get the best of online learning paired with in-person seminars — all while students work toward a U.S.-accredited degree and a great job after graduation. Results from our first two years of operations are outstanding: student learning outcomes dramatically exceed those at traditional universities in Rwanda; 98% of our first group of students are earning degrees on time; more than 80% of that group has received great job offers, even before graduating. Our goal is to create a global network of universities, beginning in Rwanda, that deliver the skills that emerging economies need for a price that all talented students can afford.
Hedrick is an expert in international development, learning, and technology. Before joining Kepler, Chris was the Country Director for the Peace Corps in Senegal, the largest Peace Corps program in the world, where he led their efforts to fight malaria across Africa. Previously, Chris was founder and CEO of a venture capital-backed corporate training outsourcing and technology business, Intrepid Learning, and was also an early leader of the Gates Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation, Hedrick led Microsoft's first national philanthropic initiatives. A graduate of Stanford University and a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, Chris has been Science and Technology Adviser to the Governor of the state of Washington, an elected public school board director, a university Board Chair, and Board Treasurer of PATH, the global health non-profit.