How They Do It Series: Alicia Winckler & Alan Mather

About Alan Mather

Alan Mather is the President of the Golden Apple Foundation. In partnership with Alicia Winckler, the CEO, Alan leads the education work of the Foundation. Prior to coming to Golden Apple, Alan served in the Chicago Public Schools for more than 32 years, from classroom teacher to principal to a key member of the CEO and Chief Education Officer’s cabinet--leading College and Career Success for the district. Born and raised in rural Southern Indiana, Alan hitchhiked up to Chicago after graduating from the University of Evansville in 1986 and has been working in the Chicago public schools ever since. Alan worked for 12 years as an English teacher, track and cross country coach before moving into administration after joining LAUNCH (Leadership and Urban Network for Chicago), the first principal preparation program in Chicago. His first administrative position was as the assistant principal at a new high school, Northside College Prep, which--in three years--became the top ranked high school in Illinois. In 2005, Alan was given the opportunity, as principal, to open Lindblom Math & Science Academy, a school that had once been top-tier but had declined. With the freedom, flexibility and support to create a high school, Alan hired all teachers, built a culture of excellence, and created an empowering climate. Since Alan opened Lindblom, it has become, according to the Sun-Times rankings, the top-performing majority AfricanAmerican school in Illinois and the only top 20-ranked school that has over 60% of its students on free/reduced lunch. He built the district’s largest Mandarin program, the largest non-heritage Arabic program in the United States, and the district’s first Biotechnology program in partnership with Baxter International and Northwestern University. Alan represented the Chicago Public Schools at Harvard University’s PELP (Public Education Leadership Program), was an inaugural member of the College Board’s Leadership Institute for Principals, has been part of Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management’s “Leading Successful Schools” program, and was selected as one of two Chicago principals to participate in Columbia University’s Cahn Fellows Distinguished Principals Program for the 2012-2013 school year at Teachers College. He was the first recipient of the Golden Apple Foundation's Stanley C. Golder Excellence in Leadership Award for Principals or Heads of School.

About Alicia Winckler

Alicia Winckler, Chief Executive Officer, began consulting with senior leadership and the Board of The Golden Apple Foundation in late 2014; was selected as its first President and Chief Operating Officer in January of 2017; and was selected as its President and Chief Executive Officer in October of 2017. In 2018, she welcomed Alan Mather to join her in coleading the Foundation - with Alicia as CEO and Alan becoming President. Her professional experience reflects a unique combination of private, public and nonprofit sector expertise at both the executive and board level, as well as a demonstrated passion for serving others. Alicia led several substantial strategic initiatives at the Cabinet level of the nation’s third largest K-12 District - in Chicago Public Schools - and has been working in depth in education for more than a decade. She earned her M.A. in Industrial / Organizational Psychology from the University of Colorado at Denver and B.S. in Psychology and Alcohol and Drug Abuse Studies from the University of South Dakota.

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