After an extensive search, Rainier Scholars has selected education leader Eddie Lincoln as our new Chief Executive Officer. In this position, he will work closely with the Board of Trustees and the Executive Leadership Team to lead the organization as it grows to empower the next generation of diverse leaders.
Eddie comes to Rainier Scholars with a long history in the Seattle/Tacoma area and an impressive depth of educational experience. A local of south Seattle, he also spent much of his youth in Tacoma, where his grandparents resided. “Joining Rainier Scholars is a homecoming for me. It’s focused on students from my old neighborhoods — kids who look like me, have the same backgrounds, and whose families I know in many cases,” he says.
Eddie graduated from O’Dea High School and earned his undergraduate degree at Seattle University where he also played basketball. He then graduated from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University in 2009. After law school, Eddie helped launch the Seattle University Youth Initiative and was the Assistant Director of K-12 programming. In 2014, Eddie joined Equal Opportunity Schools, a national nonprofit focused on equitable enrollment for underserved and underrepresented students in advanced coursework, where he began as a Partnership Director and was named the organization’s CEO in 2021.
“I value excellence, and Rainier Scholars has a 24-year history of excellence in serving the community and helping young people access life-changing opportunities. I look forward to continuing and expanding that impressive tradition.”
Eddie will join Rainier Scholars in October 2024.