Lauren comes to College Possible Washington with more than 10 years of leadership in the education and nonprofit sectors. Her experience as a first-generation college graduate and Americorps member guide her focus on college access and success. Lauren recently served as the interim executive director of City Year Seattle/King County where she continued to build strong partnerships in Seattle Public Schools and promote a return to in-person service. Servant and adaptive leadership coupled with a community-centered approach, drives the work culture Lauren builds.  

Her experiences include strategic planning, donor cultivation, staff learning and development, race and equity programming, and building transformational partnerships. Lauren attended Gonzaga University for her undergraduate studies and holds an M.Ed. in school counseling from Louisiana State University. In her free time Lauren enjoys traveling with her partner, staying active through volleyball, rowing or yoga and spending time with her two cats and pug at home in West Seattle.

Asha has spent over 20 years in secondary education, foster care and crisis work. Through collaborative partnerships, she identified barriers for historically marginalized students and created pathways for college completion. At College Possible Washington, Asha works with community partners to support the mission and vision of the organization. She launched her education at Bellevue College, has a BS in Counseling Psychology and a MS in Industrial Organizational Psychology. Asha enjoys summer days, cooking and assisting other nonprofits through board service.

Sam Bigley, a College Access Program Manager, graduated from Michigan State University in 2016 with two bachelor's degrees, in Anthropology and Arabic, with specializations in Women & Gender Studies, Peace & Justice Studies, and Muslim Studies. He is from Kalamazoo, MI, and served one year as an AmeriCorps State Member with the Power of We Consortium in Central Michigan's Tri-County Area, and later served for 27 months as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Morocco, doing Youth Development work. Most recently, Sam was the Peace Corps Strategic Recruiter at Michigan State University before coming to College Possible Washington.

Sarah joins the leadership team after having served as an AmeriCorps Vista member with College Possible. A Washington native, she comes from a family of teachers. She has unique experiences within the education system and a commitment to achieving equitable education. Sarah received a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of Washington Seattle with a minor in gender, women, and sexuality studies.

As the college success program manager, Sarah works with our college coaches and college partners. Her role ensures that the college coaches have the resources they need to so that students can receive support they deserve from our program. In her free time, Sarah enjoys reading, playing video games, and playing with her dog, Mia.

Maria Peterson grew up in the Tacoma area but went to college at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, where they studied Psychology with minors in Education, Statistics and Race & Ethnic Studies. Afterwards, they moved to Chicago, where they served as a Senior Coach with College Possible Chicago, followed by a year as an Access Advisor at Bottom Line. They love reading, being outdoors as much as possible, doing things like hiking and wake surfing, and spending time with their family. As a family, they frequently play games, and things get very competitive. Recently, they decided to move back to Washington to be closer to home and be closer to Washington nature. Now they’re excited to be back at College Possible as a College Access Program Manager and continuing to work towards educational equity with a data driven mindset.

Austin Dahl worked in the software industry for about 25 years as a software engineer and manager before he retired in 2018. His longest professional tenure was at Tableau Software in Seattle, where he was a Director of Engineering. Austin was an early employee at Tableau and served as a founding member of the Tableau Software Foundation's Employee Workgroup, the company's philanthropic entity. Austin has a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics from Carleton College and a Master's degree in Computer Science from the University of Washington and 9 patents in his name. Away from work, Austin plays volleyball and tennis and enjoys photography. Austin lives in Seattle with his wife, Pam Kraus, their two sons, Soren and Jorre, and a Golden Retriever named Luna.

Board Member since: January 2018

As a former first-generation college student, Manmeet understands how hard it can be to navigate the college admissions process alone. She was fortunate enough to receive support through the Gates Millennium Scholars program, which connected her with the tools, resources and people she needed to be successful. Manmeet graduated from the University of Washington with degrees in international studies, education, and diversity. Following college, she taught sixth grade reading in Houston, Texas as a Teach for America corps member. She returned to Seattle in 2013 to serve as a policy and advocacy fellow for the Democrats for Education Reform and to attend law school at the University of Washington. She currently works as a corporate lawyer. Board member since: July 2018

Serves as the Director of College Counseling and Student Services at University Prep. Kelly has worked to improve college access throughout his career and founded and directed Camp College, an early intervention/access program for Native Americans. He was the recipient of NACAC’s rising star award and the John B. Muir Editor’s Award and also received the Counselors That Change Lives (CTCL) Award. Board member since: October 2020

Damariz Ibáñez joined the Undergraduate Diversity Services team at the Foster School of Business as the Young Executives Of Color (YEOC) Program Manager in 2017 and is now going into her sixth year with the program. She is a proud first-generation student from a family of immigrant farmworkers from the Yakima Valley. Her involvement as an Achiever Scholar in the College Success Foundation opened the door to the University of Washington for her degrees in medical anthropology and global health and Spanish, along with a minor in diversity. These degrees allowed her to further understand the systemic barriers that students face at every stage of the college application process and throughout their life as scholars and professionals.

These studies and lived experiences inspired her work in supporting first-generation, BIPOC students in gaining access to higher education. Her passion for supporting students through the YEOC program has only continued to grow as students' barriers have evolved and expanded through societal changes such as the COVID-19 pandemic, shifts in political leadership, and the emergence of new challenges in academics. With these changes, it is always students from underrepresented and underserved communities who are overlooked and undervalued, leaving them to develop an unmatched level of resilience that isn't expected of their counterparts.

Damariz is grateful for the opportunity to help guide students in harnessing this strength and energy into collaborative growth that fosters community-oriented practices and solutions. This diversity work has taught her to stay hopeful every day, because through small changes, like access to education, comes life-changing possibilities that impact students and their families. She believes that there is nothing better than shaping the future of our communities by looking after BIPOC students and encouraging them to never forget their roots, while also continuing to lift the next generation as they rise.

Ronnie Yates has worked in the software industry for over 22 years as a software engineer, engineering manager, and engineering director. Currently, he is a Group Engineering Manager at Microsoft. Ronnie holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Loyola University of New Orleans and holds five patents in his name. Ronnie has also co-authored two books. One in the realm of technology and the other in the realm of professional leadership. Away from work, Ronnie is a total fitness junkie. He enjoys cycling, cross-training, and basketball. Ronnie also runs, but he does not enjoy it. When not involved in fitness, Ronnie loves traveling in his RV with his wife, Moya Hines-Yates, and their three children, Reagan, Ronnie III, and Ramona.