We Are College Track
Commitment. Passion. Joy.
Authenticity. Excellence.
College Track is fiercely committed to ensuring that every one of our students earns a four-year college degree and a life of opportunity, choice, and power.
Realizing this goal requires the collective efforts of team members who are passionate about this work, derive joy from what we do, and engage in authentic relationships with each other and the College Track community of students, families, and partners.
We are educators and mentors. We are marketers and fundraisers. We are financial gurus and data analysts. We are professional advisors and Salesforce navigators.
We are each others’ champions. We are College Track.
Our Team
Filter Staff
Elissa Salas
Chief Executive Officer
Julia Chih
Chief Finance & Operating Officer
Leela de Souza Bransten
Chief Development & Marketing Officer
Saskia Pallais
Regional Executive Officer
Mike Woodward
Chief Program Officer
Heather Berkley
Vice President of Strategic Initiatives
Karen Draper
Vice President of Finance & Operations
Stella Glodek
Vice President of People
Atziry Gutierrez
Interim Vice President of Marketing, Communications, & Alumni Strategy
Shria Tomlinson
Vice President of Program Operations
Vishal Shah
Vice President of Org Performance
Adriana Solis-Lopez
Vice President of Development
Lindsey Adams
Database Administrator
Jonas Aquino
Senior IT Manager
Alyssa Benveniste
HR Coordinator, National
Bernadette Butler
National Director of Individual Philanthropy
Elizabeth Calmeyer
Talent Acquisition Manager
Tina Colby
National Director of Academic Affairs
Daryl Cook
Financial Planning & Analysis Manager
Elizabeth Dukovich
Director of Grants Management
Abdul Duso
National Director of Student Life
Nicole Embury
National Director of Institutional Philanthropy
Jessica Forsyth
Senior Executive Assistant
Gabriela Garay-Ash
Accounting Manager
Christine Gonzalez
National Program Operations & Resource Coordinator
Janiece Hill
Management Fellow
Oliver Huang
IT Helpdesk Specialist
Danielle Jarvis
Development Operations Manager
Nadja Jepsen
Senior Financial Programs & Scholarship Director
Katie Kantor
Senior Manager of Program Operations
Brian Kramer
Senior Grant Writer
Sara Kunitake
People Manager
Henri LaSane
National Program Operations Manager
Jillian Lyles
Grant Writer
Zoe Melczer
Director of Philanthropic Initiatives
Aja Moore-Ramos
Director of Communications
Danielle Morton
Interim Financial Programs and Scholarships Director
Thomas Munoz
National Director of Program Operations
Robel Negussie
Controller
Kurstin Nelms
National Manager of College Advising
Christiana Newsome
Director of Talent Acquisition
Baker Renneckar
Performance Manager
Isabel Reyna
Data Analyst
Catie Steinman
Human Resources Generalist
Cornelius Tan
Talent Acquisition Coordinator
Ryan Terada
Staff Accountant
Colin Timmins
Director of Employee Experience
Jennifer Ting
Prospect Research Manager
Darwin Velasquez
Senior National Dreamer Coordinator
Jonny Volan
Senior Performance Manager
Raynisa Wilson
Accounts Payable Specialist
Shasta Zenelle
Director of Development Operations
Our Board of Directors
College Track is governed by a Board of Directors who bring together a wealth of experience in philanthropy, operational management, and development for non-profit organizations.
Laurene Powell Jobs
Chair and Co-Founder
David B. Singer
Vice Chair
Charles D. King
Vice Chair
Nancy Lue
Secretary
Elissa Salas
Ex-Officio
Michael Beckwith
Andy Dreyfus
Safia Fasah
Lynn Feintech
Cynthia Keely
Darell Krasnoff
Debbra Lindo
Marc Mazur
Jonathan Mildenhall
Michael Sorrell
will.i.am
Timothy C. Wu
Roger Zamora
Our Founding Story
In 1997, while advising high school seniors from East Palo Alto about the college admission process, Laurene Powell Jobs and Carlos Watson realized that students who wanted to be the first in their families to attend college received little or no guidance about how to get there.
Recognizing that starting to work with high school students in their senior year was too late, the co-founders spent a year investigating local support programs and nonprofits that worked with teens. They found many programs for elementary and middle school students but no comprehensive programs supporting high school students. Organizations that served teens provided limited service, focusing on one area, such as tutoring or youth leadership, but never taking a comprehensive approach.
Laurene and Carlos created a program to address the community needs they had observed. That program was College Track.
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