Corey Matthews joins Community Coalition (CoCo) as their new Chief Operating Officer (COO) effective December 3, 2018.

The Hawkins Company team recently successfully partnered with the executive and management teams at CoCo to conduct an executive search to identify dynamic, innovative and people centered candidates to become the Chief Operating Officer for the Coalition.  The search was launched in May of 2018.

The search resulted in a talented pool of local and national candidates, with eight individuals being invited to participate in on-site interviews. After several rounds of interviews, the Coalition selected Corey Matthews to become its next COO.

Corey will join the executive team of Leslie Johnson, VP Organizational Development, Aurea Montes-Rodriquez, EVP and Alberto Retana, President and CEO.

Corey brings real passion for organizing and activism to CoCo. He has deep family roots in South LA and has experienced first-hand how inequity impacts our community.

As a young student, Corey was bussed to schools in West Los Angeles. He felt the stark differences in investment and resources between his school and home community and drew on these experiences to fuel his activism at UCLA as a first-generation college student.

Corey has built an impressively diverse resume, working at foundations, think tanks, institutes of higher learning and local government in New York City and the Bay Area.

Corey is excited to come home to South LA for the next phase of his career, where he will leverage his broad experience in education, criminal justice, housing and workforce development to help strengthen Community Coalition’s commitment to leadership development and strategic planning.