Randy Best

Randy Best began his business career in college and has founded or acquired more than 100 privately or publicly held companies in a broad range of fields including healthcare, defense and aerospace, publishing, agriculture, food, oil and gas, real estate and education. When Randy Best moved into the second half of his career, he began pursuing solely business initiatives with a social mission that would have an enduring and positive impact on society. This commitment led to his focus on education and the welfare of children. Randy Best’s own challenges with dyslexia made him passionate about reading and its importance on a student’s education and life. As a result, he founded Voyager Expanded Learning, a national initiative, which helps annually more than 3 million mostly inner-city children, learn to read. In 2005, Randy Best turned to higher education and founded Whitney University System, an international higher education company, which forms strategic partnerships with top universities across latin America to help them expand access to post-secondary education through technology. Subsequently, in 2007 he founded Academic Partnerships, a higher education service company, which assists leading universities in the U.S. and the around the world vastly increase access through technology and give them global reach. Randy Best serves or has served in the following capacities: James B. Hunt Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy board member; Education Commission of the States advisory board member; NEA Foundation board member; Universal Giving board member; College of Education Foundation for the University of Texas at Austin advisory council member; National Urban Alliance for Columbia University board member and University of Texas at Arlington development board member. He also served on the White House Millennium Committee. Randy Best is a benefactor of the Smithsonian Institution. He and his wife support numerous philanthropic endeavors, mostly in Africa. Randy Best is a graduate of Lamar University.