USA Funds Staff Profile: Career, Community Help Shape Access and Outreach Endeavors
As USA Fund® manager of access and outreach, Kyle Malone focuses on a broad range of issues in promoting higher-education preparation, access and success. Luckily, he has a diverse background in working to bolster student achievement and community involvement.
“I enjoy being able to integrate my experiences in our access and outreach efforts,” says Malone.
Prior to joining the USA Funds access and outreach team in April 2005, Malone was vice president of programs for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana, in Indianapolis. He also has worked in adult-education testing for the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C., and in student admissions at Kalamazoo College in Michigan and Earlham College in Richmond, Ind.
At USA Funds many of the projects that Malone manages are those that advance early awareness of the importance of postsecondary education — including USA Funds Consejos, a new curriculum designed to provide Latino students and their families more-complete information about the value of higher education, the education options available to them, and the availability of financial aid.
Additionally, Malone oversees the implementation of USA Funds Unlock the Future®, a presentation that introduces middle-school students and their families to their educational opportunities.
Also under his direction are the national USA Funds Access to Education Scholarships® program and USA Funds’ placement of EduCatTM mobile classrooms in children’s hospitals. Another endeavor in which Malone is involved is the awarding of grants; USA Funds invests more than $16 million annually in scholarships and outreach programs that advance its mission of support to higher education.
“It’s extremely rewarding to be part of a group that assists and empowers organizations and institutions in their ability to expand access to students,” Malone says.
Getting community input
In a career focused on student achievement and supporting the community, Malone says he has become passionate about staying in direct contact with the students, families and organizations that need support. The Learning Communities initiative, which USA Funds helped to spearhead, allows him to do just that.
The Learning Communities initiative involves a coalition of organizations that are focusing services on six pilot communities in a bid to improve access to postsecondary education for low-income students.
Malone also gauges concerns in the community when attending EduCat presentations or delivering the USA Funds Unlock the Future program.
“It’s satisfying to get to know people in the communities and learn their issues,” Malone says. “That’s the best way to understand people’s concerns, issues and — in some cases — fears about postsecondary education and to use our resources to help alleviate those concerns.”
Outside of work Malone enjoys international travel, music, and spending time with his wife — whom he married in Jamaica — and five-year-old son. A native of Gary, Ind., he holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Indianapolis and a master’s degree in administration from the University of Notre Dame.