Jenny Rickard is the Chief Executive Officer of Common App, a non-profit membership organization committed to the pursuit of access, equity, and integrity in the college admission process. Founded in 1975, Common App serves more than 1,100 member colleges and universities worldwide and over two million students annually.

Since Jenny joined Common App in August of 2016, the organization has expanded its access initiatives, including a large-scale direct admissions program and a scholarship matching initiative. In addition, the organization launched a new application system for transfer and adult students, and thanks to a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, built an equity data warehouse to enable stakeholders, including school counselors, college admissions professionals, and external researchers, to better understand and support the students that they serve.

Under Jenny’s leadership, Common App has expanded from 700 members to over 1,100 colleges and universities worldwide and has increased the number of individual applicants submitting applications annually by nearly 70% to over 1.5 million. Importantly, during Jenny’s tenure, the percentage of low-income students applying has increased by over 150%, underrepresented minority applicants by 115%, and first-generation college students by more than 80%. In recognition of Common App’s efforts to eliminate systemic barriers in the college admission process, Jenny has been recognized by Washingtonian magazine as one of the 500 most influential people shaping policy in DC over the last three years.

Jenny’s longstanding commitment to college access is evidenced by her accomplishments as the chief enrollment officer at both the University of Puget Sound and Bryn Mawr and in admission roles at Swarthmore and New York University School of Law. Her extensive service within the national higher education community includes a wide range of roles with the College Board, Association of College Counselors in Independent Schools (ACCIS), US Department of Education, and the Common App Board of Directors — serving as Board President from 2007–2008.

Within the corporate field, Jenny was a vice president responsible for higher education product strategy at PeopleSoft. She was also a consultant for the higher education software company Datatel and started her career on Wall Street at J.P. Morgan & Co.

Jenny serves on the board of directors for the Posse Foundation. She is an advisory board member for the National Education Equity Lab, and she currently sits on the American Council on Education’s Washington Higher Education Secretariat.

Jenny received a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education; a Master of Business Administration degree from New York University, Stern School of Business; and a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Swarthmore College.