Dr. Matt Burchett
- Member
Dr. Matt Burchett is the Senior Vice President of Philanthropy & Social Impact for Thrive Restaurant Group, which owns and operates over 200 restaurants serving 20,000 guests a day including Applebee’s, Carlos O’Kelly’s, HomeGrown, Modern Market and Qdoba. Thrive is the nation’s second-largest Applebee’s franchisee with restaurants in 15 states across the Midwest, Carolinas and Appalachia. Matt guides the philanthropic, community engagement, and social impact strategy for Thrive to live out the core belief that everybody matters, wants to make a difference, and that the experience of work can enrich people and contribute to their flourishing in life.
Matt earned a BA in Theology from Baylor University (Waco, TX), M.Ed. in Human & Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN), and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership & Policy from the University of Texas at Austin where he minored in non-profit management and fundraising.
Matt previously served in higher education for the past 22 most recently as Assistant Dean of Philanthropic Engagement & Senior Director of Student Activities at Baylor.
Matt serves on numerous boards in Texas and now Kansas including LEAD Wichita, Kansas Food Policy Council, Empty Bowls Wichita, Center for School Leadership (Baylor), and Music Theatre Wichita.
He and his wife Holly (BS ‘01) have been married for 23 years and have three children.
