Melvin Hines is CEO of Upswing, whose Wraparound Student Services ecosystem keeps historically marginalized students on the path toward graduation. Today, Upswing supports over 800,000 students across more than 75 colleges. Melvin grew up in south Georgia, where he was one of only 68 high school students to graduate from a class of 250. This ignited his desire to make higher education more accessible for all students. After graduating from UGA, Melvin received a JD/MBA from Duke University, where he started a law journal for educational equality. Afterwards, he taught at North Carolina Central University, where he supported first-year student success.