Matt Burchett
Board of Advocates
Matt Burchett is the Vice President of Strategic Development for Thrive Restaurant Group, which owns and operates over 170 restaurants serving 20,000 guest a day including Applebee’s, Carlos O’Kelly’s, HomeGrown, Modern Market and BakeSale. Thrive is the nation’s second-largest Applebee’s franchisee with restaurants in 15 states across the Midwest, Carolinas and Appalachia. As Vice President of Strategic Development 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 World Hunger Relief Institute, K-Life, Mayborn National History and Children’s Museum, and LEAD Wichita.
He and his wife Holly have been married for 20 years and have three children.