Honoring Amy Kerwin
With profound sadness, we share the news of the passing of Amy Kerwin. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Amy’s family, friends, and all who knew her. We know this loss will be deeply felt.
Amy was a passionate and effective leader, with boundless energy and ideas. Her legacy at Ascendium will continue to live on in her absence. One of her greatest contributions was creating Ascendium’s education philanthropy program, which started as a small regional giving program and grew to a national one. Alongside many, Amy laid the foundation for Ascendium’s grantmaking team to work toward improving postsecondary education and workforce training systems so that more learners from low-income backgrounds can build better futures.
Amy was immensely grateful to the people she worked with and formed friendships with over the years. She developed strong connections and friendships across the education philanthropy field, which informed and inspired her. Her peers could always count on Amy for her vast knowledge, principled stance, and support for a common cause. When she retired, she continued to support the work she was so passionate about from afar, inspiring those around her in so many ways.
We will always hold Amy in our thoughts and path forward in this important work.
Here are a few memories from others around the field about Amy.
Amy Kerwin made a profound impact on higher education policy and research. She led with her heart as well as with her head, first by being a powerful advocate of students and institutions that do not get the support that they should from government and philanthropy; and second by asking tough questions about the implementation, effectiveness, and scaling of effective programs and practices. Amy played an instrumental role in building the Ascendium Education Philanthropy and making it the influential organization that it is today. And she was gracious: always welcoming, always ready to listen, and always interested in how others were doing. She was a treasure.
- Thomas Brock, Ph.D.,
Director and Research Professor at Community College Research Center
Everyone I know who interacted with Amy personally or professionally was struck by her kindness, humility, and grace. She collaborated enthusiastically with other funders, served as a respected board member for several organizations in our field, and her grantees treasured her as a champion of their work. She always asked thoughtful questions but respected the expertise of grantee partners and actively sought to find ways to resource and uplift their work. She did it all with a beautiful smile, a kind gesture, and a steadfast work ethic. She will be missed by so many.
- Caroline Altman Smith,
Deputy Director at The Kresge Foundation
I got to know Amy professionally during my leadership years at MDRC, and we remained close friends after I retired in 2018. She was a beloved and highly respected giant in the higher education field and the gold standard in philanthropic leadership. Amy cared deeply about strengthening postsecondary institutions, making college more affordable, and improving the academic success and labor market outcomes of low-income and first-generation college students; and she helped moved the needle on all these goals. Amy was both evidence-driven in her grantmaking and open to fresh ideas that addressed the field’s most intractable problems. One of her trademarks was the proactive way she engaged grantees and potential grantees believing that lively discourse and the exchange of ideas led to stronger projects. And she was generally right. This also led to enduring partnerships which she valued. We will miss, but can embrace as part of Amy’s legacy, her graciousness, humility, positive spirit, and zest for life.
- Robert Ivry, former Senior Vice President at MDRC
Amy Kerwin's visionary leadership at Ascendium Education Group transformed countless lives through her unwavering commitment to educational equity. She understood that education is the great equalizer, and through her strategic guidance, Ascendium and its many partners, built bridges of opportunity for first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students.
She was a tremendous mentor, and I was blessed to work alongside Amy for nine years, as a grantee, co-funder, and colleague. I am confident that her legacy lives on in the strengthened colleges, universities, and nonprofit organizations and empowered learners who continue to benefit from her dedication to removing barriers to economic mobility. The ripple effect of her work will continue to expand educational and workforce pathways for generations to come.
- Rebecca C. Villarreal, Ph.D., Senior Director at Jobs for the Future’s Center for Justice & Economic Advancement
