We’re a non-profit, post-secondary readiness organization making college and career education an option for the prepared instead of a privilege for a few. Since 2008, we’ve partnered with districts, schools, and community organizations to help students improve their scores on gateway tests like the SAT®, and ACT®, and TSIA2 (Texas Success Initiative Assessment).
Over 60,000 students nationwide have benefitted from CollegeSpring’s programs and the opportunities unlocked with higher test scores. And we’re just getting started.
Why our work matters
CollegeSpring believes in the power of multiple choices; we believe that all students deserve the opportunity to have multiple pathways, and that all pathways are made smooth by a strong foundation of academic skills and confidence.
Our story
We started as an after-school tutoring program in California, later expanding to New York.
This time was devoted to developing our curriculum, building out our team, forming key partnerships, and expanding our capabilities.
Adapting to the needs of the pandemic, we converted to a fully virtual model.
We launched national partnerships with nonprofit organizations like College Track and Let’s Get Ready and our first district partnership with Detroit Public Schools Community District.
We implemented our first Learning Management System (LMS) to enhance data analysis and align with the new digital format of tests.
We expanded to Texas and piloted programs in Dallas and Houston.
We launched a new suite of programs including digital SAT, ACT, and TSIA2 (Texas Success Initiative Assessment) tests.
We implemented a hybrid model with fully virtual lessons and in-person support and launched our first multi-year district partnership with Alief ISD in Houston.
Students achieved a 137 average point gain on the SAT and 16.7 percentile growth on the ACT. We expanded across the Rio Grande Valley and secured new philanthropic funding to launch in Central Texas, driving the organization’s 5x growth since 2020.
Our leadership
CollegeSpring is one of the few women of color-led national non-profits, reflecting the diversity of our students. Led by our experienced leadership team and dynamic Board of Directors, we’re helping build student readiness.
Readiness means students are prepared for the rigor of college, career, and life. We draw from our own experiences to advance our mission.
Chief Executive Officer Dr. Yoon Choi has over a decade of leadership, management, and fundraising experience, primarily with organizations serving underrepresented youth. In 2020, Yoon was named a Presidential Leadership Scholar by the program led by the presidential centers of George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson. She has published articles about testing and college access in Inside Higher Ed, The Hechinger Report, and EdSource. She earned her doctorate in anthropology from the University of California at Irvine, her M.A. from New York University, and a B.A. from Scripps College.
Chief Operating Officer Arely Benavides began her professional journey as a management consultant for strategy, process improvement, and technology initiatives, and she later assumed pivotal leadership roles in operations and supply chain for brands like Oakley and Vans. For the past decade, she has dedicated herself to leading operations work in education. Arely worked at IDEA Public Schools, wearing different hats from Child Nutrition Director to Senior Vice President of Operations. She later became the Assistant Superintendent of Operations at McAllen ISD in Texas. Most recently, she was the Chief Operating Officer at Phalen Leadership Academies. Currently based in the Rio Grande Valley, Arely earned her BS and MBA from MIT and a M.Ed. from Harvard.
Board of Directors
Senior Vice Chairman,
AlixPartners LLP Fred Crawford is an internationally recognized strategist and operations restructuring specialist who has been involved in many of AlixPartners’ most-high-profile situations. He is the architect, board sponsor, and senior mentor of AlixPartners’ global leadership program. Fred was AlixPartners CEO from 2008 – 2015, and is now Senior Vice Chair and member of the Board of Directors. Prior to joining the firm, he held senior positions at other major consulting firms and worked in operations and brand management in industry. Prior to consulting, he was in the areas of supply chain and brand management in roles of increasing responsibility. Fred has an M.B.A. from Indiana University and is a sought-after presenter and presence in the media. He is coauthor of “The Myth of Excellence,” a BusinessWeek and New York Times best seller that details his research on consumer motivation and corporate strategic response.
Executive Director, FAFSA Aaron Lemon-Strauss has built a career leading digital product development that supports student educational outcomes. He currently serves as a consultant to educational nonprofits, mission-focused startups, and a large state educational agency. All are connected by an interest in creating systemic change that propels more students into high-quality post-secondary education and supports them as they complete their programs. Before starting his consulting work in 2021, Aaron joined College Board in 2014 to lead the development of Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy. As Vice President of College And Career Access, Aaron led digital efforts to clear a path for students to college and career success with responsibility for tools such as Big Future and ACCUPLACER. Previously, Aaron held leadership roles at Kaplan in digital product management, sales, and educator support. Aaron lives in Washington, DC with his wife and two children.
CEO, Tallo Allison Danielsen has spent two decades building the teams and products that connect people to meaningful work. She understands both sides of the talent equation: she ran large-scale operations on the employer side early in her career, and later drove the strategy to provide quality career guidance to millions of young people. Her own path from community college to CEO has shown her how much the current system relies on luck, and how many people are locked out before they can even begin. Today, Allison is the CEO of Tallo, a platform helping over 2 million young people ages 13 to 30 move from career uncertainty to confident action. Since taking the helm in early 2024, she has led the company through a period of rapid growth, with monthly active users increasing 20x and user-reported job placements climbing from single digits to hundreds in the last year. In 2026, Tallo won the EdTech Cool Tool Award and a Gold Stevie Award. Under Allison's leadership, Tallo expanded its reach to millions of students through national channel partnerships with organizations like the National Technical Honor Society and Britebound, and earned an invitation to become a national verified provider for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. She also brought Tallo into the Tear the Paper Ceiling campaign, which works to open opportunity for workers screened out by unnecessary degree requirements. The company maintains long-term state contracts, including South Carolina's in its tenth year, and has built partnerships with more than 250 employers, including GE Aerospace and Walgreens. Before Tallo, Allison built the career strategy that is now core to the College Board's business. She led the team that developed digital career navigation tools reaching 15 million students annually, directed the first-ever mapping of the SAT Suite to occupational data, and advised on the AP Career Kickstart program. She secured major funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies and managed partnerships with Khan Academy, Jobs for the Future, and Roadtrip Nation, while continuously validating product impact through rigorous research, analytics, and direct user feedback. Previously, Allison's work focused on managing scale and operational execution for major institutions, including overseeing a distributed workforce of more than 3,600 people at Kaplan and supporting the launch of AARP's BankSafe program, which has saved seniors over $100 million. A recognized workforce and education expert, she has appeared on CBS Evening News, written for Fortune, and shared the stage with industry leaders at ASU-GSV and JFF Horizons. Her insights are frequently featured in publications like Jobs that Work and Work Shift. She has been recognized as a 2025 Emerging Leader by Profiles in Leadership Journal and a 2026 EdTech Leadership Award finalist. Outside of work, Allison is a visual artist and a state champion bowler. She holds a B.A. from The George Washington University and an A.A. from Dutchess Community College.
Partner & Vice Chairman,
Edgewood Management Alex Farman-Farmaian is Vice Chairman, Partner and Portfolio Manager at Edgewood. He joined in 2006 and helped implement the current valuation approach of the Edgewood Investment Committee. Alex is an analyst on portfolio companies, served as Director of Research, and produces the “Economents™”, a periodic economic and financial markets update for clients. Prior to joining Edgewood, Alex was for 19 years a senior member of the Portfolio Management team at W.P. Stewart & Co. where he chaired the Investment Oversight Committee. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR – NY), the World Presidents’ Organization (WPO), and serves as a Trustee of the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC), an organization that promotes access to health services and fundamental human rights of women and girls around the world. Alex was formerly President of the Princeton Club of New York, is a member of the Economics Club of New York, and is on the board of Kalinat S.A., a potato chip manufacturing company in Caracas, Venezuela. He received a BA in Economics from Princeton University in 1987, and speaks fluent French, Spanish, Farsi and conversational Italian.
Co-Founder & Former CEO,
CollegeSpring Garrett Neiman is the co-founder and former CEO of CollegeSpring. Garrett incubated CollegeSpring at Stanford University, where he majored in Economics and realized that his experience could help other students prepare for college. During his time at Stanford, Garrett interned at the U.S. Department of Education, conducted research with America’s most prominent education economist, served as an advisor to Google’s Education Applications Team, and co-directed Stanford Dance Marathon, the largest student-led philanthropic event in the Bay Area. He also served as a voting member of Stanford’s Board of Trustees and Public Service Student Advisory Board and Co-Chair of the Senior Gift Committee, where he led an effort that doubled the previous class gift record. Garrett has been honored as an East Palo Alto Social Venture Fellow, Stanford Nonprofits Board Fellow, Public Service Leadership Fellow, and Young People For Fellow. His work has been profiled in the New York Times, BusinessWeek, the Orange County Register, the Stanford Daily, and the USC Trojan, and he has served as an invited speaker at events hosted by The College Board, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Stanford University, among others.
Partner and Managing Director, AlixPartners, LLP Jay Marshall is a Partner and Managing Director and Chief Learning Officer at AlixPartners, LLP and a trustee of Princeton Theological Seminary. He is currently board chair at Pinnaql, Inc., a consulting partner to life sciences companies. He was formerly board chair of TKXS, a B2B technology and solutions company, as well as a past chair of The Dallas Opera and board member of the Dallas Symphony Association, the AT&T Performing Arts Center, and Southwestern University. Jay earned a BS in chemical engineering from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Texas Graduate School of Business, where he was named a Sord Scholar and received the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence. He is currently working toward a Master of Arts in Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is a Senior Moderator at and a 1997 Henry Crown Fellow of The Aspen Institute, where he served on the Henry Crown Fellowship Program’s Board of Overseers, as well as a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Jay is married to Mary Beth Marshall, who serves in an Of Counsel position at Safe Horizon. They have two sons: Max is an author in Austin and is married to Rachael Bennett, founder/owner of Hine Fine Jewelry. Charlie is a PhD climate scientist doing post-doc work at the University of Connecticut. Jay and Mary Beth live in Wimberley, TX.
01 Advisors Joel Jones led Facebook's global Business Operations and Engineering teams from 2012 through 2022, which scaled Facebook’s businesses through planning, enablement, and operations. Prior to Facebook, Joel worked at Yahoo! for five years with roles leading the Americas Ad Marketplaces team, as the Chief of Staff to the CEO, and in the Corporate Strategy group. Prior to that, Joel spent seven years with McKinsey & Company leading digital media business growth and go-to-market strategy in high tech. Joel is currently spending his time mentoring and advising a range of leaders and organizations. Joel has an M.S. in Applied Physics from Caltech and a B.S.E. in Engineering Physics from the University of Michigan, and currently resides in San Jose, CA.
Former CEO and President, RGP Kate Duchene is a transformative C-suite executive and experienced public/private company board director with more than 25 years of leadership at Resources Connection, Inc. (RGP), a global professional services firm serving over 2,500 clients across 48 countries, including 89 of the Fortune 100. As CEO and President from 2016 until her retirement in January 2026, Kate led one of the most consequential operational and strategic transformations in RGP’s history—growing annual revenue from $583M to a record $805M peak, expanding Adjusted EBITDA margins by 440+ basis points, and repositioning the firm from a decentralized staffing model to a digitally integrated, solutions-led consulting enterprise. Earlier in her tenure at RGP, Kate served as Chief Legal Officer, Corporate Secretary and EVP of Human Resources, building these functions from the ground up and playing a foundational role in establishing RGP as a fully independent enterprise following its spin-out from Deloitte. Prior to RGP, Kate practiced Labor & Employment law at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, departing as Special Counsel. Kate brings deep expertise across enterprise transformation, digital strategy, human capital management, capital allocation, M&A, and corporate governance. She has served on the boards of Collectors Universe, Inc. (public company), Corgan (private company), and RGP (public company). Her non-profit board service includes the Orange County Community Foundation (Vice Chair), College Spring, the University of California Irvine Foundation, Human Options (President of the Board), and the California Minority Counsel Program (Co-President of the Board). A sought-after voice on the future of work, professional services in the age of AI, and board governance, Kate has been recognized among Staffing Industry Analysts’ Staffing 100 North America, SIA’s Global Power 150 Women in Staffing, and as an Outstanding Woman in Business and Outstanding General Counsel by the Orange County Business Journal. She has spoken at the USC Marshall Corporate Directors Symposium, Bloomberg Radio, and numerous NACD events, among many other forums. Kate holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.A. in Political Science from Stanford University.
Consultant and Advisor, Downshift, LLC Linda Heasley is an accomplished business leader of, and advisor to, public and private companies. With more than three decades of experience in senior leadership positions, half of which as CEO, she has developed deep expertise in evaluating business opportunities while mitigating risks. Her ability to ignite excitement through an organization while building teams has enabled her to successfully lead several turnaround and transformation efforts. She has operated in a broad range of industries and sizes of companies, with P&L responsibility from $200 million to $1.5 billion. Linda is currently an advisor to several start-ups and early-stage entities, to whom she tenders consumer-related strategies and tactics. She has recently joined the Board of Catbird NYC, a Brooklyn based premium positioned jewelry company. Linda grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, graduated from Harvard College, and has an MBA from Anderson School of Management at UCLA. In 2023, she completed the Harvard Business Analytics Program, and currently she is working toward her NACD certification. She is married and resides in Savannah, Georgia and Penobscot, Maine.
Annenberg Associate Professor
of Education Policy, Brown University Lindsay Page’s interest focuses on policy efforts to improve college access and success for students who would be first in their family to reach postsecondary education. Lindsay is the Annenberg Associate Professor of Education Policy at Brown University and is a faculty research fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research. Her work focuses on quantitative methods and their application to questions regarding the effectiveness of educational policies and programs across the pre-school to postsecondary spectrum. Much of her work has involved large-scale experimental or quasi-experimental studies to investigate the causal effects strategies for improving students’ transition to and through college. Lindsay holds a doctorate in quantitative policy analysis and master’s degrees in statistics and in education policy from Harvard University and earned her bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College.
Principal, Northview High School
Philanthropist Mindy Rogers is dedicated to her community. At Sacred Heart Preparatory Atherton, Mindy served for seven years as a member of the Board of Trustees, including four years as Board Chair. For four years, she chaired the Board, where she launched a $95 million capital campaign and led a search for a new head of school. Mindy served as a founding member of CollegeSpring’s National Board for 13 years. Currently, she is a Board Member for Stanford New Schools-a network of charter schools in East Palo Alto run by the Stanford School of Education-and an active volunteer with Project Read, the Boys and Girls’ Club of the Peninsula, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Stanford University. began her career at Bain & Company and later joined Wells Fargo Bank as Vice President where she held a variety of managerial positions in banking operations, including General Manager of Northern California check processing, a 24/7 operation with over 300 employees and an $11 million budget. After leaving Wells Fargo, she became a consultant to the bank on a range of issues, including merger integration support, cost reduction, operational management, marketing, and new product launches. Mindy earned her B.A. in Economics, with Honors and Distinction, and her M.B.A. from Stanford University. She is married to Jesse Rogers, with three children.
Chief Operating Officer,
International Scholarship and Tuition Services Munyette Moore is the Executive Vice President of Operations at International Scholarship and Tuition Services (ISTS), where she leads multiple departments to maximize the operational performance of the organization. With more than 20 years of experience in leading teams and initiatives, Munyette has demonstrated a history of success in managing a portfolio of clients to meet their goals and objectives. In this role, her strengths in problem solving, strategic planning and driving results through accountability supports the achievement of the company’s mission. Munyette’s vision in accomplishing operational excellence is to build an effective team, internally and externally to establish the ideal partnership to determine program success. Munyette’s extracurricular activities include attending fashion events, utilizing her general contractor’s license and spending time with her family.
Retired Chairman and CEO of
Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. Tom Friel retired as chairman and CEO of Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. in 2007. Tom joined Heidrick & Struggles in 1979 and played an important role in developing the firm’s leadership position in key markets. He was co-founder and then later assumed the responsibility of managing the firm’s technology practice, which he led from 1987 to 1995. From 1992 to 1999, Tom undertook the additional role of managing partner, Asia Pacific. From 1999 through 2001, he served as president of Heidrick & Struggles Ventures, the firm’s division responsible for all future initiatives, new business strategies, investments and alliances. He served as Chairman from 2003 to 2007, and CEO from 2003 to 2006. After serving as CollegeSpring’s founding Board Chair for 13 years, Tom currently serves as a Board Member of the Computer History Museum and TalentSky, and is a member of the advisory boards of Docusign Corp. and the Seraph Group. Tom is a graduate of Purdue University, where he majored in industrial engineering. He also holds a master’s degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and served on the Business School Advisory Council.
CEO, CollegeSpring Dr. Yoon Choi has over a decade of leadership, management, and fundraising experience, primarily with organizations serving underrepresented youth. In 2020, Yoon was named a Presidential Leadership Scholar by the program led by the presidential centers of George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson. She has published articles about testing and college access in Inside Higher Ed, The Hechinger Report, and EdSource. She earned her doctorate in anthropology from the University of California at Irvine, her M.A. from New York University, and a B.A. from Scripps College.
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