Our Story

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Mission Statement

The MATCH Wellness Foundation empowers middle school students to lead healthier lives by expanding access to evidence-based education in nutrition, physical activity, and mental well-being. Through innovation, collaboration, and strategic support, we promote lifelong wellness habits and strengthen the impact of school-based health education.

Vision

We envision a future where every middle school student has the knowledge, tools, and encouragement to thrive physically, emotionally, and mentally—fueled by innovative, collaborative approaches to wellness education.

Values

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    Integrity

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    Collaboration

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    Innovation

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    Evidence-Based Practice

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    Sustainability

Our Story

The MATCH Wellness Foundation was established to ensure that schools have access to the resources and funding needed to make student health a lasting priority. While the Foundation is affiliated with MATCH Wellness, Inc.—a for-profit organization that develops the MATCH curriculum—it operates as an independent nonprofit with its own board, mission, and grantmaking priorities.

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Leadership

Our Board of Directors includes educators, health and nutrition experts, business leaders, and community leaders dedicated to improving student health outcomes nationwide.

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Albert Delia, Board Chair and Executive Director

After serving as interim president of Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Maryland, Al retired in June 2025...

After serving as interim president of Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Maryland, Al retired in June 2025. Prior to his time as president, Al was the inaugural vice president for regional development and engagement at Frostburg State University. He built and oversaw the university's efforts to help advance the region it serves through engagement with business, industry, community organizations, and government. Prior to his return to Maryland in 2018, Al served in a variety of positions in academe and in government in North Carolina. Positions he has held include service as Secretary of the NC Department of Health and Human Services; Senior Advisor and Policy Director to Governor Bev Perdue; CEO of North Carolina’s Eastern Region Development Commission; and East Carolina University associate vice chancellor for research, economic development, and community engagement. Immediately before coming to FSU, Al was director of health access at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University.

Since his retirement, Al has established a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable foundation—MATCH Wellness Foundation, Inc.—to create partnerships, raise funds, and provide grants and other resources to middle schools throughout the country to improve nutrition, physical activity, and mental well-being education.

Al is a political science graduate of Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. He is married to Cecelia Karas and lives in Cresaptown, Maryland. He has two adult sons, Jordan and Alex.

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Phil Gottwals, Treasurer

Phil Gottwals is an experienced entrepreneur and business strategist with...

Phil Gottwals is an experienced entrepreneur and business strategist with more than three decades leading ventures in agribusiness, food systems, and advanced materials. He currently leads Restoration Partners, a U.S.-based firm that is scaling self-healing concrete technologies from Europe to transform global construction markets. Over his career, Phil. founded and operated multiple firms, including ACDS, LLC, a management consulting company that raised more than $4 billion in project financing across agriculture, energy, and infrastructure. He built Friends & Farms, an innovative meal-kit and local food logistics venture, years ahead of today’s direct-to-consumer food delivery models. Phil designed and implemented agribusiness incubators and innovation hubs across the U.S., Europe, Middle East, and Africa. He has served as an advisor to governments, Fortune 500 companies, and nonprofits, with 200+ published studies and reports shaping policy, investment, and rural economic growth. His work integrates technology commercialization, project finance, and impact-driven growth, helping investors, governments, and entrepreneurs capture opportunities in renewable resources, infrastructure resilience, and sustainable food systems. Phil thrives at the intersection of innovation, capital, and markets—where transformative ideas become investable, scalable enterprises.

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William Walton, Secretary

William C. Walton III is a lifelong entrepreneur with a diverse background spanning operations, investment...

William C. Walton III is a lifelong entrepreneur with a diverse background spanning operations, investment, and organizational leadership. A graduate of East Carolina University with a degree in industrial technology, Billy has spent much of his career building, acquiring, and growing businesses across multiple industries.

For more than 25 years, he worked in mergers and acquisitions and general business brokerage, representing owners, buyers, and investors in a wide range of transactions. Over the course of his entrepreneurial journey, he has owned and operated companies in early childhood education, food processing, commercial printing, furniture manufacturing, and small-business consulting.

Billy is currently focused on early childhood education, where he owns and operates multiple childcare centers as well as a private K–8 school. He remains active in the investment community as an angel investor and participant in private equity opportunities.

He has served on numerous boards and commissions throughout his career, contributing strategic guidance, operational insight, and a strong commitment to long-term community and organizational growth.

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Boyce Williams, Member of the Board of Directors

Dr. Boyce Courtney Williams is currently Dean of the College of Education...

Dr. Boyce Courtney Williams is currently Dean of the College of Education, Behavioral and Health Professions (EBHP) at Frostburg State University (FSU). Prior to NAL, Williams was senior vice president and chief of staff for the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education in Washington, DC, and served for 15 years as vice president of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Additionally, she has served as a consultant for the Multicultural Markets Division of AARP.

Leadership at FSU

As FSU Dean of Education, Williams is responsible for the leadership of 13 education programs, including the master’s and doctoral programs in education, as well as kinesiology, recreation and parks and sports science, adventure sports and athletic training, psychology, social work, physician assistant medicine, and nursing.

National Recognition

Williams is an educator and visionary leader who received national acclaim for her contributions to the field of education, especially for her leadership in teacher education and accreditation. She has most recently been appointed to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) Committee on Recognition (COR) for a three-year term (January 2021–December 2024). Williams was also named a 2020 Woman of the Year by the Greater Cumberland Committee, with its work and outreach spanning the tri-state region, including Allegany and Garrett Counties in Maryland, Somerset and Bedford Counties in Pennsylvania, and Mineral County in West Virginia.

International Academic Impact

In 2012, Dr. Williams spent a year and a half in the Middle East conducting a feasibility study to determine the readiness of higher education institutions in the Middle East–North Africa (MENA) region to pursue Western accreditation. The study concluded that education in the MENA region will not sustain improvement unless and until the preparation of educators improves. In addition to officially introducing NCATE to the region, the study concluded with the signing of Letters of Intent with Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. Since 2012, she has served as an NCAAA reviewer for three universities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Publications and Scholarship

Williams served as editor of the books Reforming Teacher Education through Accreditation: Telling Our Story and Preparing Effective Teachers of Reading and has authored numerous articles and monographs on issues related to quality teacher preparation and student learning, accountability, assessment, and inclusion.

Academic Background and Licensure

Williams received a B.A. in English from The Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) and her M.A. in Urban Counseling/Psychology and Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Michigan State University. She holds a limited psychologist license, national board certification in counseling, and is licensed in nine education areas, including, but not limited to, English, psychology, counseling, superintendent, and administrator.

Honors and Recognition

The breadth and scope of her recognized excellence and leadership is reflected in the number of honorary Ph.D.s Williams has received from diverse colleges and universities: Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, Virginia Union University, University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, Stillman College, Lincoln University of Missouri, Lincoln University (Pennsylvania), and Kentucky State University, and an honorary alumni recognition from Langston University.

Community Leadership

In addition to her work in the profession, Williams is a community activist holding memberships in The Links, Incorporated, serving on the Young Masters Writers Project Committee for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Jack and Jill of America, and the Loudoun County Chapter of Girlfriends, Incorporated.

Family

Williams is a proud mother of two adult children, Lauren Courtney Williams-Berty of Arlington, VA, and Reynauld Merrimon Williams Jr. of Indiana, PA. Additionally, she is the proud Ma’Dere (grandmother) of Jackson Berty, 14, and twins Shiloh Mae and Ever Grace Berty, 4, of Arlington, VA.

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