We’re a team of educators, social justice advocates, and lifelong learners dedicated to expanding opportunities for equitable test prep.

Across our offices in Oakland, Los Angeles, and New York City, we strive to embody the following Core Values in our work with teachers, students, and each other:

  • Excellence Is Our Standard. We believe in the potential of people, the power of ambitious goals, and supporting each other to achieve excellence.
  • Learning Drives Us. Every day we learn, improve, adapt, and make the changes that propel our progress.
  • Challenges Are Opportunities. A can-do attitude and growth mindset can move mountains.
  • Relationships Fuel Impact. Accountability, trust, and communication are the cornerstones of the relationships, internal and external, which make our impact possible.
  • Equity is Our Aim. We center historically marginalized perspectives and continuously eliminate disparities that affect us and our work.
  • Leadership Team
  • National Board
  • Staff
  • Bay Area Board
  • New York Board
  • SoCal Board
  • Young Professionals Board

Leadership Team

Yoon S. Choi, PhD

Chief Executive Officer
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Dr. Choi has over a decade of leadership, management, and fundraising experience, primarily with organizations serving underrepresented youth. In 2020, she 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, as well as a master’s degree from New York University and a bachelor’s degree from Scripps College.

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Geanette Treadway

Chief Operating Officer
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As a first generation college graduate, Geanette brings passion and enthusiasm for CollegeSpring’s mission, along with a wealth of nonprofit experience in finance, human resources, strategic planning and organizational leadership.

Prior to CollegeSpring, she served as a Chief Financial Officer in the health improvement industry, where system transformation and advancing equity was a key priority. Before that, she was the Director of Financial Planning for a $250M healthcare delivery system and also served as Board Treasurer for a national association. Over the course of her career, Geanette has led all aspects of finance and accounting, grant management, merger and acquisition activities, human resources, operations, business development, and strategic planning.

Geanette holds an MBA from Husson University and a Bachelor’s in Economics from the University of Southern Maine.

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Courtney Calfee

Chief Growth Officer
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As Chief Growth Officer, Courtney Calfee is laser focused on revenue generation by implementing a growth strategy for the sales, fundraising, and marketing and communication teams. Prior to joining College Spring, Ms. Calfee was the Senior Director, Partner Services (Global) for Florida Virtual School, focusing on licensing K-12 online curriculum to districts nationwide. In that role, she maximized a 50 member business development, sales, and operations department to grow revenue by 176% in her last year there. Ms. Calfee combines her previous experiences as a National Board Certified social studies teacher, curriculum specialist, account manager, and sales manager to consult with district leaders, funders and donors to increase the number of students College Spring serves.

Ms. Calfee has a Master of Education and a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Florida and has studied abroad at the University of Cambridge. She is also the proud coauthor of Conspiracy Code American History, a game-based course which won a 2010 CODiE award for Best Social Studies Instructional Solution.

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Lori Gully

Head of Partner Success
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As Head of Partner Success, Lori is adamant that College Spring products and services meet the needs of our partner schools and the students they serve and is accountable for making it happen! Coming to us from the public education sector, Lori recently served as the Instructional Design Manager at the University of Florida’s Lastinger Center for Learning following nearly 20 years at Florida Virtual School (FLVS). Somehow, she also sprinkled in professional experiences at Pamoja Education in Oxford England, supporting online IB; Junyo, a start-up building personalized learning experiences; customer service management for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Trade and Consumer divisions; and a year at the family business, overseeing mystery shopping operations for banks!

She enjoys wearing many hats in the service of students, and she’s done it all–online instruction and course design for secondary students and adults, teacher recruitment and supervision, student recruitment and marketing, project management for visionary initiatives, database management, LMS administration and training, product management, and years of implementation support. Lori began her career as a high school English teacher and IB Coordinator in southwest Florida.  Lori has delivered presentations and keynote addresses across the globe, focusing on organizational culture and hiring practices to support student achievement.

She earned her B.S. in Secondary English Education from University of Central Florida and a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership at University of West Florida. She also holds professional certifications as a Project Management Professional and a Registered Corporate Coach. When she’s not at work, you’ll find Lori pulling weeds in her butterfly garden or making junk journals while listening to audiobooks. 

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Nichole Gangitano

Head of Programs and Impact
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Nichole leads CollegeSpring’s work in program strategy, quality, training, and data and evaluation. Prior to CollegeSpring, Nichole worked at Reading Partners, a national elementary literacy organization, where she led the national programs team, supported organizational growth and scale, provided executive oversight of an after-school initiative, and served in direct program roles as regional director and program manager in Silicon Valley. Prior to her work at Reading Partners, Nichole worked in the early care and education field, recruiting and training college students to serve as AmeriCorps members in preschool classrooms across San Francisco. She has an MPA in nonprofit administration and a bachelor’s degree in child and adolescent development, both from San Francisco State University. Nichole is a proud AmeriCorps alumni.

With over a decade working in the non-profit educational sector, Nichole is committed to creating equitable educational opportunities for under-resourced schools and communities. A first-generation college graduate, she is honored to work alongside the CollegeSpring team to ensure that a college education becomes a reality for every student.

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National Board

Susan Goss Brown, National Board Chair

SVP, Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
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Susan is an apparel retail and operations expert with experience leading corporate social impact and philanthropy as President of Gap Foundation. In this role, Susan led the Foundation’s Board of Trustees while overseeing the Foundations overall grant-making strategies, disaster response, global employee volunteer efforts, and the operation of its signature programs, This Way Ahead and P.A.C.E. Throughout her more than 25 years at Gap, Inc., Susan held various leadership roles across North America store operations for Athleta, Banana Republic, and Gap brands. As a long-time advocate for change and community engagement, her key priorities are working to clear a pathway for women, girls, and underserved communities while supporting organizations that are working to eliminate systemic racism. Under her leadership, Gap Inc. developed and launched the ASCEND program, which was designed to help the company’s minority leaders realize their potential and achieve their career aspirations through mentorship, opportunity, and individual capacity building. Bridging her experience in the above mentioned roles, Susan most recently has parlayed her background in operations, philanthropy, and leadership to take on a Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion role with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society where she will also oversee the national field chapters.  Susan currently sits on the Advisory Board for the Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership (EGAL) at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. While with Gap, Inc., Susan was an eight-year member of the Corporate Diversity Council and an Executive Sponsor for the African American Network Group (AANG) as well as the Color Proud Council.

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Fred Crawford

Senior Vice Chairman, AlixPartners LLP
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Fred was AlixPartners CEO from 2008 – 2015, and is now Senior Vice Chair and member of the Board of Directors. Fred 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. 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 MBA from Indiana University. 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. Frequently involved with the media, he is a sought-after presenter.

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Stephanie Cohen

Global Co-Head of Consumer and Wealth Management, Goldman Sachs
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Stephanie Cohen is Goldman Sachs’ Global Co-Head of Consumer and Wealth Management. Building on a 20 year career in M&A, serving Corporate as well as Financial Sponsor clients, she is leading the firm’s commitment to client centricity, innovation and diversity. She was named partner in 2014 and an ex-officio member of management committee in 2018.

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Alex Farman-Farmaian

Partner & Vice Chairman, Edgewood Management
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3Alexander Farman-Farmaian is Vice Chairman, Partner and Portfolio Manager at Edgewood.  He joined in January 2006 and helped implement the current valuation approach of the Edgewood Investment Committee. He 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.

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Joel Jones

Vice President, Sales Planning and Operations, Facebook
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Joel joined Facebook in 2012 and leads the global Sales Planning & Operations team, which scales Facebook’s business 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 also serves as Chair of CollegeSpring’s Bay Area board of directors. He 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.

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Larry Kubal

Founder and Managing Director, Labrador Ventures
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Mr. Kubal has invested in seed and early stage information technology companies for the last 31 years, having founded Labrador Ventures in 1989. Labrador Ventures is one of the oldest, premier earliest stage funds in Silicon Valley. With over $200 million under management, Labrador has invested in more than 100 companies, helping transform the way we work, communicate and transact business. Labrador was among the founding investors in Pandora Media, where Mr. Kubal served on the board for seven years up to the IPO. He has been named one of the top 100 venture capitalists.

In addition to his investment experience, Mr. Kubal was a corporate strategy consultant with Booz, Allen & Hamilton. Prior to consulting, Mr. Kubal worked extensively in computerized database publishing for McGraw-Hill Publications Company and for the Academy for Educational Development.

Mr. Kubal has served on the boards of and consulted for a number of education nonprofits. He is currently a national board member of Achieving the Dream and Narrative, in addition to CollegeSpring. Mr. Kubal is also a long-time TEDster and a member of the NationSwell Council.

Mr. Kubal received his undergraduate degree from Duke University, cum laude with departmental distinction, and his MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

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Aaron Lemon-Strauss

Social Impact Education Technology Leader
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Aaron 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 and enter the middle class.

Before starting his consulting work in 2021, Aaron joined College Board in 2014 to lead the development of Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy, helping to launch the world’s greatest SAT practice resources that just happen to be free. With a goal of leveling the playing field and improving achievement, Official SAT Practice makes high-quality personalized practice materials available to all students. 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. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife and two children.

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Juanita Lott

Former Software Entrepreneur and Angel Investor
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Juanita Lott is the founder and former chair and CEO of Bridgestream Software, an enterprise software company that was sold to Oracle in 2007. Gartner recognized Bridgestream as one of the ‘cool vendors in security and privacy’, and Burton Group recognized Ms. Lott as ‘a pioneer’ in role based access management solutions.

Ms. Lott has extensive operational expertise in global companies, particularly those undergoing rapid growth. She served as EVP and CHRO of Epicor Software where she focused on talent, leadership development, organizational and globalization strategies for this privately held ERP software business. Ms. Lott also served as a member of Sybase’s executive team as the organization successfully transitioned from a pre-IPO company to over $1B in revenue.

Ms. Lott is an Investment Partner in the Portfolia Investment Fund and a former member of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and Executives where she received the Forum’s Trailblazer Award in 2001, 2003 and 2004. She is a trustee alumna of Springboard Enterprises, a venture catalyst organization that provides support to women led businesses.Ms. Lott continues to work as an advisor and mentor to women entrepreneurs and is currently on the advisory board of Talent Sonar Software. She has been a presenter at Stanford’s MBA program on entrepreneurship from the perspective of women and is a contributor to Inc.com.

Ms. Lott received her Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts from the University of California and her Master’s Degree from Mills College

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Garrett Neiman

Co-Founder & Former CEO, CollegeSpring
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Garrett 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.

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Lindsay Page

Annenberg Associate Professor of Education Policy, Brown University
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Lindsay Page 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. She is particularly interested in policy efforts to improve college access and success for students who would be first in their family to reach postsecondary education. She holds a doctorate in quantitative policy analysis and master’s degrees in statistics and in education policy from Harvard University. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College.

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Todd Penner

Portfolio Director, College Success, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
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Todd oversees the U.S. Education team’s College Preparation & Completion portfolio, which empowers more high-need students to graduate from high school college-ready, enroll in college, and obtain a bachelor’s degree. Prior to joining the foundation in May 2008, Todd spent 13 years at Dell Inc. in various marketing and support positions, his last being Director of Worldwide e-Support. Before Dell, he worked with Exxon Chemical Company and Deloitte Haskins & Sells. Todd has a bachelor’s in business administration in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s of business administration in finance from the University of Michigan. Todd is currently the Treasurer at Girlstart, an Austin, Texas-based nonprofit that empowers girls in science, technology, engineering and math, and serves on the board of CollegeSpring, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that helps students from low-income backgrounds boost SAT scores, navigate college admissions and financial aid, and confidently pursue college degrees.

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Brittany Skoda

Global Head of Software Banking, Morgan Stanley
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Brittany joined Workday in 2018 to lead Workday’s strategic investing and help accelerate the growth of portfolio companies.  In addition to investing, she is responsible for establishing, maintaining and growing relationships with disruptive enterprise technology companies, investment partners and industry thought leaders. Brittany is also a member of Workday’s Corporate Strategy team, responsible for developing integrated business strategies.

She joined Workday after nearly a decade at Goldman Sachs where she was a senior technology investment banker in San Francisco. Brittany brings a deep expertise in enterprise software as both an investor and advisor and was named one of the Top Women Leaders in SaaS of 2018 by The SaaS Report.

Passionate about creating opportunities for under-represented groups, Brittany sits on the National Board of Directors for College Spring and Co-Leads All Raise’s Finance and Operations team.

Brittany is a Georgetown University alum, a former NCAA Division 1 golfer, and IMG Academy / David Leadbetter Golf Academy alum.

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Olga Geroulanos Votis

Chairman of the Board, Teaching Matters
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Olga has served as the Chairman of Teaching Matters for the past ten years. During her tenure as chairman, Teaching Matters has grown its cross-disciplinary portfolio of teacher development and coaching services so that more than 1,000 schools, 30,000 teachers and 500,000 students in underserved communities have been positively impacted.

Prior to her work at Teaching Matters, she was the Director of Music Programming at the 92nd Street Y.  Ms. Votis brings creativity and know-how to the Board, along with the ability to apply an entrepreneurial spirit to her leadership. She holds a B.A. from Brown University and an MPhil from Cambridge University. Olga served as a Co-Chair of the New York Public Library and as a founding board member of the Columbia University Innovation Center.  Olga also served as Executive Producer of The Shed in New York as it opened at Hudson Yards and she has been certified by the NACD since 2018.

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Tom Friel (Emeritus)

Retired Chairman and CEO of Heidrick & Struggles International Inc.
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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. 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. 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.

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Mindy Rogers (Emeritus)

Philanthropist
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Mindy Rogers began her career at Bain & Company. She 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 is very involved in her community. At Sacred Heart Preparatory Atherton, Mindy served in a variety of volunteer capacities, including for seven years as a member of the Board of Trustees. For four years, she chaired the Board, where she led a strategic planning process, worked with the administration to implement numerous key initiatives and launch a $95 million capital campaign, led a search for a new head of school, and worked to improve governance and financial reporting. 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. 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.

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Yoon S. Choi, Ph.D. (Ex Officio)

CEO, CollegeSpring
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Dr. Choi has over a decade of leadership, management, and fundraising experience, primarily with organizations serving underrepresented youth. In 2020, she 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, as well as a master’s degree from New York University and a bachelor’s degree from Scripps College.

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Staff

Aldo D'Agostino

Data and Evaluation Manager
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Aldo provides leadership and day-to-day oversight for all data, student data systems, performance management, and internal/external evaluation activities at CollegeSpring.

Prior to CollegeSpring, Aldo held data management and program evaluation roles at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House and Pencils of Promise in New York City, and at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. In these roles, Aldo contributed to and led strategic and operational initiatives for educational programs serving pre-K to adult populations. His experience and main interests include: program evaluation and improvement, human capital and capacity building, database management and data visualization.

He is a first-generation college graduate and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Chile and a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University. Aldo is inspired by CollegeSpring’s mission and convinced of the important role college admission exams play in college access and success, economic opportunity, and ultimately, social equity and democracy.

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Angelena Rouse-McCarthy

Partnerships Manager
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Angelena Rouse-McCarthy is a dedicated and passionate sales/business development professional with over 6 years of experience. Her caring and solution-oriented approach to sales has enabled her to excel in a wide variety of industries and organizations, including start-ups and nonprofits. In her youth, Angelena was a fierce advocate for improving inequities in education and served as the sole representative of her student body on her district’s school board and strategic planning committee. For Angelena, joining CollegeSpring as Partnerships Manager represents a “full circle moment” and an opportunity to bring the wealth of her diverse business acumen “home” to an organization whose mission and core values are important to her.

Angelena considers her faith and daily meditation practice to be the cornerstone of her life, it’s what keeps her grounded and allows her to make sure she’s never pouring from an empty cup. She is a spicy food enthusiast who loves to travel, write and sing music and create mindfulness content on her YouTube channel. Her life motto can be summed up with a quote from former President Barack Obama, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

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Ashley Boone

Partner Success Manager
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Ashley is mission-driven and has spent her career in the nonprofit sector, both in fund development and program operations. For the past four years, Ashley has worked with organizations committed to improving the academic trajectory of students. This experience has reinforced her passion and commitment to working for educational equity and removing barriers in education. Ashley is excited to be continuing this work with CollegeSpring. 

Prior to joining CollegeSpring, Ashley worked for the National Math and Science Initiative where she built relationships and coordinated programming with district and school leaders across the county. In addition, she served a key role in defining internal procedures and external communication across various regional teams and departments. 

Ashley studied sociology and nonprofit management at the University of Houston and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in data analytics from the University of North Texas

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Claire Hicks

Director of Development
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Claire’s passion for philanthropy and the creation of equitable resources for our communities has driven her decade of leadership in nonprofit administration and fund development. Prior to joining CollegeSpring, Claire served as Director of Development for Texas Ballet Theater (TBT), the professional ballet company of Dallas and Fort Worth. In that role, she led her team’s strategy and achievement in major gifts, special events, and institutional giving. Before TBT, Claire served as the Director of Development for the Texas Cultural Trust in Austin and led statewide fundraising for the arts and arts education programs in Texas, including Art Can and the Texas Medal of Arts Awards. Claire earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Texas A&M University and a Master of Public Administration from Texas State University.

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Darlene Griffin

Digital Curriculum Manager (ELA)
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Darlene has advocated for underrepresented populations for the past 11 years. She has worked to ensure the best equitable education for all students by building the capacity of educators. Bringing that passion and dedication to CollegeSpring, Darlene’s goal is to continue to support educational organizations to ensure equitable access to education. Working with public schools, charter schools, and independent educational organizations, Darlene has a vast and diverse background which she hopes to keep growing. 

As a recent graduate from the American College of Education’s doctoral program, Darlene continues to learn and acquire skills to improve her leadership and curricular skills. Darlene is humbled and excited to learn and grow with such an amazing team at CollegeSpring. 

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Dawn Drisdale

Instructional Design Manager
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As a life-long learner, Dawn has dedicated her career in education to creating engaging learning experiences by combining storytelling, disruptive instructional practices, and an innovative technology-integrated curriculum. Through her 12 years in education, she has taught middle school mathematics and science and served as a district instructional specialist who provided training to educators on STEM instruction, Career, College, Military Readiness (CCMR), and technology integration. She strongly believes that all learners should have an equitable opportunity to pursue their passions and achieve their post-secondary goals.

In addition to her Bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management from Wayland Baptist University, she holds a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership in Instructional Technology from Lamar University.

When she is not working, she enjoys spending quality time watching movies with her husband, daughter, and son.

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Denisse Castillo

Partner Success Coordinator
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I am a recent American University graduate with a bachelor’s in business & Entertainment and a
minor in French Translation. I have a strong background in communications with some
experience in analyzing data. Prior to joining CollegeSpring, I worked for American University’s
Center for Diversity & Inclusion, working to advance the school’s commitment to respecting
and valuing diversity by serving as a resource and liaison for students, staff, and faculty.
Previous experiences also include my work as a Communications Analytics/PR Associate for
Miracle Messages where I used customer data, online tracking websites, and marketing analytic
tools to help fill meet communication objectives. And my work as a Public Relations Support
Assistant for R. Couri Hay Creative PR where I helped strategically coordinate all aspects of
building and maintaining a strong, visible identity for their clients.
As a first-generation college student, I am very passionate about being able to pass down the
resources that helped me get to where I am to students whose shoes I use to be on. When I
can, I volunteer to help the Upward Bound Trio Precollegiate program at Bronx Community
College every Saturday where students come to attain the resources they need to be successful
in college.
Outside of the office, you can find me hitting the gym, reading a book, or cooking a new recipe I
found on TikTok. I love to travel and learn about new cultures, and I always push myself to try
new things.

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Emma Marzullo

HR Generalist
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After pursuing a career in accounting, Emma’s eye for the employee experience led her into HR where
she has been at home ever since. The broad scope of HR immediately provided the variety of challenges she had craved, and the ever-evolving landscape demanded continual learning and agility. It was here that she could also fully leverage her passion for communication.

Since pivoting, she has worked in people operations in various industries, from insurance to healthcare
real estate to tech. No matter the industry, her approach is striking the perfect balance of operational
efficiency and human touch, and with the limitless opportunities for process improvement that HR
affords, she finds fulfillment in the journey rather than the destination.

She earned her BA in accounting and finance from North Central College. As a first-generation college
graduate, she feels privileged to support the people bringing CollegeSpring’s mission to life. Outside of
work, she can be found in the kitchen, reading a book, walking a dog, or cleaning something, most likely with a cup of coffee nearby.

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Iesha Williams

Instructional Coach
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Iesha Williams is a fourth-generation educator who is a strong advocate for the success of all students. She has been in education for over a decade and her experience ranges from teaching to administration, and everything in between. She holds 3 college degrees including a Master of Education from Concordia University-Texas

Iesha has served as a high school English teacher at two Title 1 traditional I.S.D. schools and an adjunct English Instructor at a community college for 10 years. She has led several professional developments at both the campus and district level as well as written district-level curriculum. Iesha has extensive knowledge in, but is not limited to, AP Language, AP Literature, IB and MYP Courses, SAT and ACT preparation, English 1020, Contemporary Literature, Professional Communication, Adult Learning, and more. For the last two years, Iesha was an Instructional Coach and a member of the administration team at a charter school. She coached and developed a team of 6th-8th grade English and Humanities teachers, created student and teacher-facing curriculum, and served the highest-need writing students.

Iesha knows the importance of making all students feel seen, heard, and valued. Through creating engaging, real-world, relevant lessons, Iesha makes sure that students have a voice and feel comfortable speaking up for what they believe.

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Jeni Daley

Product Manager
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Education and equity have been at the heart of Jeni’s work for the past decade, spending 8
years in the classroom teaching journalism and AVID (a college prep program for first
generation and BIPOC students). Relational capacity fueled Jeni’s teaching experience, helping
students take ownership of their learning while producing complicated print and online student
publications from scratch.
In addition to a bachelor’s in Journalism, Jeni has a master’s degree in Educational
Administration and understands the complex needs of a school system. Prior to teaching, she
served a year in AmeriCorps with Boys & Girls Club of America, followed by 2 years in
marketing in the nonprofit sector, where she coordinated the design and opening of a $20
million new library building.
In her non-work life, Jeni’s learned to flip two houses and rummage a good estate sale. Her
Insta stories are full of birds, mid-century houses, and three cutie kids.

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Jessica L. Garigliano

Institutional Giving Manager
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Before joining CollegeSpring, Jessica worked as a grant consultant providing research, writing, and post-award management services to nonprofits, educational institutions, and municipalities across the nation. Preceding that role, she spent over a decade working in the public sector in various capacities
including Operations Contract Coordinator, Procurement and Budget Coordinator, and School Business
Assistant. She has over 16 years of experience in managing and analyzing budgets, contracts,
procurement, and grants.
Jessica is a first-generation college graduate and holds an MBA from Kaplan University and a BA in
Economics from SUNY Cortland. She is active in her community, serving on the board of trustees for the local museum as well as an advisory board member for the parks & recreation department. When not working, she spends her time with her husband, son, and daughter.

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Savannah Sauter

Director of Finance and Operations
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Savannah manages all aspects of finance including the monthly close, accounts receivable and payable, annual audits, budget and forecasting, and a variety of financial reporting needs.

Prior to joining CollegeSpring Savannah served as Finance and Operations Manager for a national nonprofit that focuses on improving the health and healthcare of local communities across the country. Before that, she was the Senior Financial Analyst for a large multisite hospital system and a RevenueAnalyst for a national financial institution. Savannah began her career working in hospitality and carries those customer services skills with her into every role.

She is a first-generation college graduate and holds an MBA and BS in Business Administration, both from the University of Southern Maine.

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Shawness Woods-Zende

Instructional Coach
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Shawness’s passion for teaching can be traced back to her childhood. Whether she was forcing her brother to be a student or idolizing her first-grade teacher, Mrs. Morton. She has been on a teaching path from the start. The reason? Shawness likes getting people excited about learning.

With 27 years of experience and commitment to the children and families of Detroit, it comes as no surprise that she was chosen in 2018 to represent Detroit as one of the Teach 313 fellows.

Outside of the office, Shawness is committed to social justice and volunteers often with organizations that are committed to education and community service. Shawness loves to travel, read, and watch foreign films. If you challenge her to a rap battle she will win. Shawness recently started a blog and is expanding her sewing skills by learning some hand tailoring techniques.

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Thea Aldridge

Partnerships Manager
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Deirdre, who affectionately goes by Thea, is a lifelong learner with a passion for the education industry.  Thea has over 12 years of experience in the field of education, in both the K12 and College/University sectors.  Having followed a non-traditional path to completing her first degree, she has dedicated her career to guide others in their education journey to meet their career goals. Thea’s unique style of intuitive consultative sales has won her various awards in her 20+ years sales career.

Thea loves to travel and is a foodie who often travels to try new foods and take cooking classes internationally. Her love for public speaking led Thea to host several internet-radio shows over the years, including landing a show on the oldest African American radio station in Houston, Texas where she interviewed minority business owners to bring awareness to entrepreneurship.

Thea holds a Bachelor of Science in Management and a Master of Education from University of Phoenix. She currently resides in Austin, Texas with her 95 years old grandmother who doesn’t mind ‘schooling’ her in dominoes and teaching her how to bake!  She has one beautiful daughter, son-in-love, and three grands that live nearby and they enjoy weekly Sunday Fundays.

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Bay Area Board

Diana Balgas

Executive Director of Transfer Programs, CSU East Bay

Joan Kiekhaefer

Senior Vice President, US Bank
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Joan Kiekhaefer is SVP at US Bank in the Technology Banking Group.  At US Bank, Joan manages the Bank’s relationships with large corporate technology companies.  Prior to joining US Bank, Joan held similar positions at Banc of America Securities and Fleet Bank.  Joan has worked with a number of education related non-profits including leading the Education Foundation of Orinda.  Joan has an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and an AB in Economics from Stanford University.  She resides with her family in Orinda, CA.

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Joel Jones, Regional Board Chair

Vice President, Sales Planning and Operations, Facebook
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Joel joined Facebook in 2012 and leads the global Sales Planning & Operations team, which scales Facebook’s business 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 also serves as Chair of CollegeSpring’s Bay Area board of directors. He 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.

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Matthew Kinsella

Managing Director, Maverick Capital Ventures
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Mr. Kinsella joined Maverick in 2005 and was responsible for the public software investment effort from 2008 to 2014 and in 2014 he began focusing full-time on Maverick’s private investment efforts. He received his B.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame (Summa Cum Laude, Hamilton Award recipient) where he was President of Keenan Hall and Treasurer of the Class of 2005. Prior to joining Maverick, Mr. Kinsella interned in the Alternative Investments Group at J.P. Morgan, the Notre Dame Endowment Office, and the Chicago Board of Trade. He serves as Chairman of the Maverick Capital Foundation.

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Paula Schmidlin

Global HR Executive

Sinohe Terrero

Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Quid
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Sinohe Terrero is CFO and COO at Quid, a startup that uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing to help the world’s largest organizations make decisions that matter.  Prior to joining Quid, Sinohe held executive level finance and operations roles at high-growth startup companies. Notably, he served as VP of Finance and Analytics at Etsy, an online marketplace, and SVP of Finance and Analytics at Indiegogo, a global crowdfunding platform.  Sinohe also worked for Citigroup as a VP in their Global Financial Services Division on a number of IPO filings. He’s a CPA, and received a BA in Accounting from Baruch College in NYC and an MBA from the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch. Sinohe also served as an adjunct professor at the Zicklin, where he taught Financial Statement Analysis.
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Tarah S. Evans

Executive Director, Franklin & Catherine Johnson Foundation
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Tarah has more than 15 years of experience with non-profits and in the private sector and her role is to manage the widespread philanthropic efforts of the company and the Johnson family.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master’s Degree in Communication Management from the Annenberg School at the University of Southern California. Tarah also obtained her certification (CPCC) in Executive Coaching in 2005 from the Coaches Training Institute.

Tarah began consulting to the Job Corps division of the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, DC. She also worked as an associate at a consulting firm that developed curricula for job training programs serving at-risk youth.

Tarah was also director of New Ways Workers, a San Francisco-based youth program for high school students. Working with the mayor’s office and the San Francisco school district, she designed and launched a variety of mentoring and school-to-career programs to help students finish high school and move on to college – as well as handling fundraising, grant-writing, and working directly with the youth.

At Asset Management, she handles all manner of giving, including grants to educational, arts and environmental organizations. Youth education programs are her passion – she currently serves on the board of the East Palo Alto Youth Court, one of the newest additions to the portfolio.

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Tony Tao

Program Manager, Medallia
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Tony is a Program Manager at Medallia, Software as a Service company, where he advises customers on how best to use technology to maximize customer satisfaction and experience. Prior to Medallia, he worked at various financial technology companies in New York and London. Outside of work, Tony was Junior Council Chair at Safe Horizon, the nation’s largest victims’ assistance organization, where Tony raised money and awareness among a new generation of donors.
Tony holds a Bachelors from NYU and an MBA from Cornell and grew up in Hayward, CA.  In Hayward, Tony studied with bright classmates who were unable to get the college assistance help they needed. This is his main reason to join CollegeSpring – to help others realize their educational potential.
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Walker Conolly

Manager, Business Integrity, Facebook
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Walker is a Senior Manager with Facebook’s Business Integrity team. BI’s mission is to ensure safe and trusted connections between people, businesses, and Facebook. In his prior role as Forensics Services Director with PwC, he solved complex regulatory matters and assessed and improved risk and compliance programs for financial services and technology clients. Walker has a B.S. in Computer Science from Lehigh University, and lives in San Francisco.

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New York Board

Alex Farman-Farmaian

Partner & Vice Chairman, Edgewood Management
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Alexander Farman-Farmaian is Vice Chairman, Partner and Portfolio Manager at Edgewood.  He joined in January 2006 and helped implement the current valuation approach of the Edgewood Investment Committee. He 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.

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Russ Krivor

Principal, Sovereign Properties
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Mr. Krivor developed an interest in real estate at a young age. He spent his teenage summers working at his uncle’s high-rise and commercial construction sites in Chicago. While studying Economics at Northwestern University, he observed an incredible demand for affordable single-family homes in south Florida.  Eager to take advantage of the market opportunity, Russ, took a break from college at 19 and founded his first homebuilding company in 2004. The firm initially set out to build 5-10 homes annually. By the end of 2006, they had built and sold over 200 homes.

Recognizing the trend away from home ownership in 2008, Russ wanted to transform the firm into a powerhouse for multifamily development with a strong focus on upscale suburbs with difficult zoning laws. He approached a family friend for equity, and invested a great deal of his own money. In 2010 Dolce Living Mansfield, Mr. Krivor’s first rental community, opened its doors. Since then, under his various brands, Russ has developed nearly 5,000 apartments across five markets in the United States. Today, Mr. Krivor’s firm Sovereign Residential has over $150 million in capital under management and constructs and owns multifamily developments throughout the American southeast.

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Teena-Ann Sankoorikal

Partner, Covington & Burling, LLP
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Teena-Ann V. Sankoorikal is a partner at Covington & Burling, LLP. She has broad experience in litigation, with particular experience in intellectual property-related disputes, including patent, copyright, trade secret and breach of contract, as well as antitrust matters. Ms. Sankoorikal has represented both plaintiffs and defendants including Alarm.com (patent litigation), IBM (copyright, trade secret and antitrust), Qualcomm (patent), Warner Brothers Records (copyright) and Frank Reginald Brown (dispute relating to ownership interest in Snapchat), among others. Ms. Sankoorikal co-authored the Intellectual Property Law Answer Book, published by the Practising Law Institute, which is currently in its fourth edition.

Ms. Sankoorikal was recognized for her work in intellectual property litigation in the Leaders League Innovation – Technology & Intellectual Property Report in 2014. In 2013, Ms. Sankoorikal was named a “Rising Star” by both New York Law Journal and the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA). In 2012, she received the “Best Lawyers Under 40” award from the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association for her outstanding professional achievements and dedication to the Asian Pacific American community.

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SoCal Board

Gene Sykes, Regional Board Chair

Co-Chairman of M&A and Global Technology, Media and Telecom Group, Goldman Sachs
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Gene Sykes is Co-Head of Global Mergers & Acquisitions and Co-Chairman of the Global Technology, Media and Telecom Group. Previously, he was Co-Chairman of Global Mergers & Acquisitions. Mr. Sykes is a member of the Management Committee and the Firmwide Client and Business Standards Committee. He joined the Mergers & Acquisitions Department in New York in 1984 and moved to Los Angeles in 1987. He became a Partner in 1992. Mr. Sykes is a trustee of the California Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, a board member of Common Sense Media, a member of the Advisory Council of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, a member of the Stanford University Board of Trustees, and a trustee of St. Matthew’s Parish School. He earned an MBA from Stanford University in 1984 and an AB from Harvard University in 1980.

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Jason Collins

Retired NBA Player, NBA Cares Ambassador
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Jason Collins is a retired American professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Collins attended Stanford University, where he was an All-American in the 2000-2001 season. Upon graduating with a B.A. from Stanford, Collins was selected in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft with the 18th overall pick. A 13-year veteran, Collins played center for six teams including New Jersey, Memphis, Minnesota, Atlanta, Boston, Washington and, most recently, the Brooklyn Nets (formerly the New Jersey Nets). While in the league, Collins’ teams earned 10 trips to the playoffs, including 2 NBA Finals appearances.

After the 2012-13 NBA season concluded, Collins publicly came out as gay in a cover story for Sports Illustrated, becoming the first male active player in any of the four major American professional sports to announce that he is gay. President Obama expressed his gratitude to Collins for his courageous announcement and said he “couldn’t be prouder” of Collins, recognizing this as a point of progress for the LGBT community, and one more step in America’s goal to treat everyone fairly and with respect. Collins has traveled the country with the mission of empowering people to live their lives as their true selves, and has become an active member of numerous charities, foundations and organizations. In 2013, GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, honored Collins with the Courage Award at the GLSEN Respect Awards. In 2014, Logo TV honored Collins with its inaugural Trailblazer Award. Also in 2014, the Matthew Shepard Foundation honored Collins with its Making a Difference Award at its annual Honors Gala. In April 2014, Collins was featured on the cover of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World.” In January of 2015, the National Civil Rights Museum honored Collins with a Sports Legacy Award.

Jason is an Ambassador for the NBA Cares— spreading goodwill on behalf of the NBA with its players, community and corporate partners. He also served on President Obama’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, which worked to motivate Americans to adopt a healthy lifestyle via physical activity and nutrition. Collins resides in Los Angeles, California.

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Scott McConnell

Principal, Ares Relationship Management Group
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Scott is a Principal and Relationship Manager for North America in the Ares Relationship Management Group. Prior to joining Ares in 2007, Mr. McConnell was a Manager in the Centralized Interest Rate Risk Group at IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. Previously, Mr. McConnell was a Senior Associate in the Audit practice at KPMG, LLP, where he focused on the banking and financial services industry. Mr. McConnell holds a B.S., cum laude, from Loyola Marymount University in Accounting. He also holds a B.A. from Loyola Marymount University in Information Systems and Quantitative Management. Mr. McConnell holds a CPA license (inactive) and is a CFA® charterholder.

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Shomik Dutta

Co-Founder and Partner, Higher Ground Labs
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Shomik has built a diverse career in politics, renewable energy, and finance. He is a Founding Partner at Higher Ground Labs, a seed-stage accelerator focused on finding and supporting better political technology for progressive campaigns. He is a veteran of several Democratic campaigns and served as the Mid-Atlantic Finance Director for the ’08 Obama Campaign. Shomik worked in the Obama White House as special assistant to the White House Counsel and then served as an Advisor to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. Shomik later worked on President Obama’s re-election campaign as a fundraiser. In 2013, Shomik co-founded a private equity firm focused on renewable energy and infrastructure. He oversaw the planning, financing, and development of two utility-scale solar plants in Asia and in Sub Saharan Africa. Shomik holds a B.A. from Williams College and a M.B.A from The Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania. Shomik recently served as the Chairman of the Board of RePublic Schools, a Charter Management Organization devoted to providing high-quality education to low-income students in the Deep South.

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Wendy Wachtell

President and CEO, Joseph Drown Foundation
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Wendy Wachtell is President and CEO of the Joseph Drown Foundation, a Los Angeles-based private foundation that distributes approximately $5,000,000 annually to nonprofits in the Los Angeles area. She currently serves on a variety of Boards, including the Joseph Drown Foundation, Los Angeles Urban Funders, The John Thomas Dye School, The Accelerated School, and the Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy at the University of Southern California.

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Young Professionals Board

Ali Mrani Alaoui

Associate Consultant, Bain & Company
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Ali serves as a Member of the Young Professionals Board and has been involved with CollegeSpring since 2020. He is currently an Associate Consultant at Bain & Company. Ali is originally from Rabat, Morocco and received a B.S from the University of Toronto in Applied Mathematics. Ali loves reading about technology, education and emerging markets.

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Becca Faust

Investor, IVP
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Becca serves as a Member of the Young Professionals Board, which she joined in 2020. She is currently an Investor at IVP, a technology-focused venture capital firm. Prior to joining IVP, Becca was an Investment Banking Analyst at Goldman Sachs in the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications group. Becca holds a B.A. from Yale, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa with distinction in History.

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Bobby Christianson, Co-Chair

Associate, Accel-KKR
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Bobby serves as Co-Chair of the Young Professionals Board and has been involved with CollegeSpring since 2017. He is currently an Associate at Accel-KKR, a technology focused private equity firm. Prior to joining Accel-KKR, Bobby was an Investment Banking Analyst at Goldman Sachs and he received a B.A. in Economics from UCLA. Bobby is passionate about mentorship and also participates in iMentor, a non-profit focused on mentorship and post-secondary education success.

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Jay Mehta

Associate, Advent International
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Jay serves as a Member of the Young Professionals Board and has been involved with CollegeSpring since 2020. He is currently an Associate at Advent International, a global private equity firm, where he focuses on technology related investments. He previously worked as an Investment Banking Analyst at Morgan Stanley & Co. in San Francisco. Jay graduated from University of California, Los Angeles, with a B.A. in Economics.

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Jessica Ma

Associate, TPG Capital
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Jessica serves as a Member of the Young Professionals Board and has been involved with CollegeSpring since 2020. She is currently an Associate at TPG Capital focused on Healthcare private equity. Prior to joining TPG, Jessica was an Investment Banking Analyst at Evercore. She received a B.S. in Business from NYU Stern and graduated Beta Gamma Sigma, Magna Cum Laude.

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Jonathan Carmona

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion HR Leader, Seattle Children's Pediatric Research Hospital
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Jonathan serves as a Member of the Young Professionals Board and has been involved with CollegeSpring since CollegeSpring’s inception. Jonathan’s history with CollegeSpring started with his participation in the pilot cohort under its original founders, and upon the receipt of his BA, from the University of California, Los Angeles, he moved on to become a formal employee with CollegeSpring, Southern California and CollegeSpring, New York’s programs team. Jonathan received his MA in Org Development from Columbia University, and is currently an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion HR leader with Seattle Children’s Pediatric Research Hospital.

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Justin Lutsch, Co-Chair

Associate, IPV Capital
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Justin serves as Co-Chair of the Young Professionals Board and has been involved with CollegeSpring since 2019. He is currently an Associate at IPV Capital, a technology focused investment firm. Justin is originally from Denver, Colorado and received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Colorado Boulder where he was a first-generation scholar.

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Kaitlin Fong

Investor Relations, E*TRADE
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Kaitlin serves as a Member of the Young Professionals Board and has been involved with CollegeSpring since 2020. She currently serves on the Investor Relations team at E*TRADE in New York. Prior to joining E*TRADE, she served as Investment Banking Analyst at RBC Capital Markets in San Francisco, covering the Technology sector. Kaitlin grew up in Orange County, CA and received a B.A. in Economics from UCLA.

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Mohamad Maarouf

Program Manager, Leading Educators; Senior Consultant, KAC Consulting
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Mohamad is excited to join the CollegeSpring team as a Member of the Young Professionals Board. He is currently a Program Manager at Leading Educators and Senior Consultant at KAC Consulting, two roles that provide him the opportunity to develop educational leaders across the nation. Prior to taking on these roles, Mohamad acted as a high school principal in Houston, Texas and received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and Master’s degree from the University of St. Thomas.

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Nicole Vu

Strategy and Analytics Associate, Google
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Nicole serves as a member of the Young Professionals Board and has been involved with CollegeSpring since 2020. She is currently a Strategy and Analytics Associate at Google, driving hiring programs and initiatives to make Google more representative of its users. She also serves as a volunteer tutor with Reading Partners, a literacy nonprofit. Nicole graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Business Economics and a minor in Film, Television, and Digital Media.

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Rai Froh

Manager of Public Funding, Larkin Street Youth Services
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Rai is a Member of the Young Professionals Board, having joined recently. He is currently the Manager of Public Funding for Larkin Street Youth Services in San Francisco. Rai is originally from Temecula, California and received his B.A. in Political Science from UC Berkeley where he further developed his passion for helping others through mentorship and direct service.

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Ryan Lee

Associate, GI Partners
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Ryan serves as a Member of the Young Professionals Board and has been involved with CollegeSpring since 2020. He is currently an Associate at GI Partners, a technology and healthcare focused private equity firm. Prior to joining GI, Ryan was an Investment Banking Analyst at Citigroup, and he received a B.S. in Finance and Business Economics from New York University and graduated Beta Gamma Sigma, Summa Cum Laude.

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Taylor Parkinson

Associate, BPEA
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Taylor serves as a Member of the Young Professionals Board and has been involved with CollegeSpring since 2020. He is currently an Associate at BPEA, a private equity firm focused on small buyout and growth investments located in Boston, MA. Prior to BPEA, Taylor was an Associate at PwC in the Deals Valuation practice and received a B.S.B.A., magna cum laude, from Boston University.

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Tim Wang

Investment Banking Associate, Goldman Sachs
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Tim serves as a Member of the Young Professionals Board and has been involved with CollegeSpring since 2017. He is currently an investment banking Associate at Goldman Sachs & Co. and focuses on Healthcare M&A and financings. Prior to joining Goldman, Tim received a B.S.B.A. in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis and graduated Beta Gamma Sigma, Magna Cum Laude.

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