Title: Executive Director
Company: StandStrong
Location: Highland Park, Illinois, United States
Matthew Travers, Executive Director at StandStrong, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Executives for dedication, achievements and leadership in Nonprofit Services.
Mr. Travers has established himself in the nonprofit and sports sectors, with nearly two decades of leadership and innovation across the United Kingdom and the United States. As the executive director of StandStrong since 2023, he has been instrumental in driving the organization’s mission to empower communities through self-defense training. StandStrong, founded in 2020, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering confidence and personal growth, particularly among young people, through programs that promote safety and mental health. It also serves to change the narrative surrounding anti-Semitism and religious bullying.
In his current capacity, Mr. Travers oversees a team of coaches and staff based in Chicago, Illinois, Boston, Massachusetts, and Miami, Florida, ensuring that programming aligns with organizational goals and delivers measurable impact. His responsibilities include managing operations, fundraising, accounting, stakeholder communication, and inspiring engagement among both staff and participants.
Before his tenure at StandStrong, Mr. Travers served as an assistant director of sports and recreation at JCC Chicago from 2016 to 2019. In this role, he contributed to the development and management of recreational programs for a diverse community while upholding the institution’s long-standing reputation for excellence. Mr. Travers’s work at JCC Chicago provided valuable experience in organizational leadership within a well-established nonprofit environment.
Between 2008 and 2015, Mr. Travers was the head of sports at Maccabi GB in London, the largest Anglo-Jewish sports organization in the United Kingdom. During his tenure, he oversaw a range of athletic initiatives and events that promoted inclusion and achievement within the Jewish community. Earlier in his career, Mr. Travers worked as a coach for elite development at Arsenal from 2005 to 2008. He began his professional journey as a development coach at Extracurricular Sports Activities, gaining foundational experience in youth sports instruction.
Mr. Travers’ academic background includes a Bachelor of Arts in sports and business management from the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom, earned in 2006. His education provided him with a strong foundation in both athletic administration and business principles, skills that have proven essential throughout his career as he bridges the gap between nonprofit missions and sound business practices.
Throughout his career, Mr. Travers has remained active in industry organizations, including the English Football Association, reflecting his ongoing commitment to professional development and physical fitness. In addition to his professional achievements, he has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to civic engagement and volunteerism. He has served on the young leadership team at Bushey United Synagogue in the United Kingdom and has volunteered with various charities supporting individuals with special educational needs and other learning difficulties and disabilities. Mr. Travers’s involvement with Keshet, a partner organization of JCC, focused on fostering inclusion for youth with physical and learning disabilities within mainstream education settings.
One of Mr. Travers’ most notable accomplishments occurred early in his tenure when he coached a youth soccer team that overcame significant challenges to win a county district championship. This achievement not only defied expectations but also instilled self-belief in his players and their families, reinforcing his commitment to fostering environments where individuals can realize their potential regardless of societal perceptions.
Mr. Travers’s dedication has been recognized with several awards, including Club Player Awards, honors at national soccer tournaments, recognition as a Highlighted Employee at JCC Chicago and recognition as Employee of the Year at Maccabi GB. He credits much of his success to formative experiences growing up in an athletic environment where competition taught him resilience and the value of effort over outcome. These lessons have shaped Mr. Travers’s philosophy on leadership, risk-taking and personal growth.
Looking toward the future, Mr. Travers hopes to be remembered for his reliability, principled character and unwavering commitment to high standards, qualities that have defined both his career trajectory and personal life. He aspires for StandStrong to become a national leader in empowerment programming, an emerging field he believes will play an increasingly vital role for young people’s physical and mental well-being.
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