Williams will grow and scale the Austin-based mission-driven communications firm focused on transforming life outcomes for children.

Anna Casey Williams, Matterlab President

Matterlab, a strategic communications firm for the education sector, announced publicly today that Anna Casey Williams has been appointed President and will lead Matterlab to double its impact and revenue in 2023. Williams, a 17-year veteran in elevating leaders in both the public and private sectors, brings with her extensive experience in effectively campaigning for social change and deep networks that drive business growth. Williams will work closely with Matterlab Founder and CEO, Searcy Morgan, to expand the organization’s impact by advancing partnerships with education-focused foundations, nonprofits, and schools.

From her time as a campaigner in the UK, where she worked to improve conditions for communities and propel policy change, through a career as a leadership trainer and spokesperson alongside philanthropists, nonprofit leaders and a secretary of state, Williams leads with humanity and transparency to advance equity and opportunity for all. She has served both in-house and as a consultant spearheading strategic communications, people development, sales training, agile leadership and values-driven culture change — each of which will directly benefit Matterlab’s growth.

“Anna is a dynamic leader with remarkable abilities in identifying and developing talent, building future-ready teams and taking on complex challenges in innovative ways. Simply put: Anna finds a way. Her commitment to our mission and to advocacy made her the unanimous choice for the role of President,” said Morgan. “Strategic communication is critical for achieving any ambition, and our team works with the most ambitious leaders in the education sector. With Anna at the helm, Matterlab will achieve even greater impact through new communications cohorts with foundation grantees, organizational identity work, expanded brand offerings, and thought leadership advisory services to top leaders.”

Searcy Morgan, Matterlab Founder and CEO, Anna Casey Williams, Matterlab President

Among her many past achievements, Williams improved retention by 25 percent and advanced the diversity ratio by 55 percent in 18 months at BibliU where she served as Global Business Partner of Human Resources. Additionally, she helped to secure the Financial News’ “New Firm of the Year” designation for a UK investment firm, where she served as Investor Relations Manager. As employee number one, she worked with her team to scale from zero to more than $450 million in assets under management in two years.

“Matterlab is a women-founded, women-led, and inclusive team set on making fundamental changes to the education sector by delivering communication that matters. I am honored to lend my unique skills and perspective to the Matterlab team as President,” said Williams. “At its core, Matterlab is a diverse group of talented, innovative and creative heavy hitters who care about doing our part — and that’s my jam, all day long.

I’m a Black Texan woman mixed with British heritage, and the diversity of this team was a big attraction for me in making the decision to join. The strength of ideas and innovation here at Matterlab impresses and inspires me every day. I’m particularly interested in seeing what we can do to move the needle on the national Teacher Recruitment Crisis, with our clients and for the sector at large.”

As a strategic communications firm, Matterlab offers services in five areas: organizational identity, communications strategies, strategic plan rollouts, and custom cohorts and convenings. The firm is recognized for its eight-week Identity Clarity Process, an original approach to diagnosing and addressing unclear organizational identity issues. This process serves as the starting point for all Matterlab clients.

“To truly transform life outcomes for children, the old ways won’t work. Instead, institutions must evolve how they reach and communicate with communities for greater impact,” explained Williams. “Clarity and intentionality are at the center of everything we do. We believe what you communicate and how you communicate it matters.”

About Matterlab

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Matterlab leads strategic communications for foundations, schools, and nonprofits transforming life outcomes for children. The team of communications experts is made up of former educators, nonprofit leaders and strategy consultants who help leaders succeed by improving the clarity of their organizational identity and the reach and resonance of their communications. Among its many recognitions, Matterlab was named to Inc.’s 2022 Best in Business list for businesses putting purpose over profit and received the Real Leaders Real Impact Award in 2023. For more information visit matterlab.org.