Matt Grimes

Why I Got In the Game:

“I often say that it is the game of baseball that got me into the field of education, and education that got me into the world of professional baseball. As a realist, I know our students are growing up in a world that needs healing. From entrenched institutional racism at a national level to a viral pandemic at a global level, it is too easy to lose hope. Programs like Get In the Game remind us of the power of youth advocacy helping us develop the future leaders we need to build a world that is more peaceful, just, and humane.”

Matt Grimes (he/him) is a multiracial-millennial, functional poverty survivor, education evangelist, and DEI scholar-practitioner whose work centers on helping organizations develop a highly-skilled, culturally proficient, & racially diverse workforce at all levels. A former classroom teacher and school systems leader, Matt’s work and lived experiences center on inclusive leadership and cultivating psychological safety and belonging for marginalized identities. He has spent the last decade providing culturally responsive leadership, consultancy, thought partnership, training, and executive coaching to schools, non-profits, cities, and corporate organizations in New York, Ohio, Massachusetts, Arizona, Utah, Spain, and various countries in Latin America.

Currently, Matt serves as the Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Cleveland Guardians Baseball Organization, where he is charged with developing and implementing an organization-wide strategy to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Prior to joining the Guardians, Matt served as the Senior Director of Talent & Diversity Development for the second-largest public school district in all of New England and began his teaching career in Cleveland, Ohio. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Spanish & Multicultural Studies from Siena College and earned his Master’s Degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and is currently a Doctoral student at the University of Illinois studying leadership and equity. Matt is also a former United States Fulbright Scholar, Teach For America Alumnus, Harvard Equity & Inclusion Fellow, and recently received the Siena College Alumni Award for Excellence.