Our Team – Minnesota

As executive director, Joanna is responsible for leading College Possible Minnesota in its mission to make college admission and success possible for students from low-income backgrounds. Joanna has a deep familiarity with College Possible Minnesota through her work as our vice president of site leadership in which she led a team of seven College Possible executive directors across the country. In that role, she advised and coached College Possible executive directors on regional growth strategies including resource development, and she also facilitated a community of practice for executive directors sharing cross-site learning and innovations.

Joanna’s background spans the nonprofit, philanthropic, social enterprise and for-profit sectors, develops innovative programming that facilitates community change. A strong voice for the organization, Joanna leverages technology and quality assessment to discern appropriate investments and maximize social impact. Through development and continuous learning, she empowers staff to deliver on critical outcomes. Joanna’s toolbox includes fundraising, board engagement, partnering on community initiatives, advocacy and program evaluation. She is recognized as a thought leader in diversity and inclusion that creates and implements effective solutions to reduce disparities within diverse communities.

In addition to her work at College Possible, Joanna currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits board of directors, is active in LatinoLEAD (a local group of Latinx leaders) and part of a cohort of Adaptive Leaders for Race Equity. Joanna brings her passion and her prior experience as a Bush Leadership Fellow, vice president of business solutions with the Metropolitan Economic Development Association, and experience in both corporate and private philanthropy to benefit Minnesota students served by College Possible. Prior to coming to the Twin Cities, Joanna was also a research scientist at the University of WI-Milwaukee and the University of Texas San Antonio. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Texas, Austin.

Julio Vargas-Essex is the Vice President of Student Success at North Hennepin Community College, a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.

In his position, Mr. Vargas-Essex provides executive leadership to campus student services including Admissions & Outreach, Counseling, Advising & Career Planning, Disability Access Services, Financial Aid, Records & Registration, Student Life & Recreational Sports, Testing Center, Student Conduct, Outreach, Career Programs and Veterans Affairs. These departments support and facilitate services related to recruitment, admission, orientation, retention, transfer, graduation, student activities, international students, PSEO students, student employment, assessment of student success, etc. With a tremendous desire to see students succeed, Mr. Vargas-Essex places a significant importance on making higher education accessible and achievable for everyone. His experience with culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse communities has reinforced the importance of helping others find their vocation in life. With a holistic approach, Mr. Vargas-Essex believes that individuals can realize their true “calling” in life through education and by focusing on values that inspire others to be “Idealistic Leaders.”

Prior to North Hennepin Community College, Mr. Vargas-Essex served as the Director of Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions at Metropolitan State University from 2012 – 2019; Director of Enrollment Management at Perpich Center for Arts Education, in Golden Valley, MN since March 2011; and, worked at Augsburg College as an Associate Director and Coordinator of Multicultural Recruitment from 2008. In his formative years, he was a Student Services Coordinator and Adjunct instructor at Rasmussen College, Eagan, Minn., and a Crisis Intervention Specialist at the Eau Claire Academy.

He holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Stout and M.A. in Psychology from Metropolitan State University–St. Paul, MN.

Stephen is Vice President, Mergers & Acquisitions at Thrivent Financial where he is responsible for structuring, negotiating and executing on strategic transactions including mergers and acquisitions, venture investments, divestitures, financings and joint ventures. Prior to his current role he practiced corporate law for seven years, including at the New York office of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and at Dorsey & Whitney.

He received his B.A. from the University of Michigan (’05) and his J.D. from Harvard Law School (’08).

Elle Grothaus holds dual roles as Global Talent Leader for corporate functions and Global Human Resources Business Partner for Commercial Excellence at Cargill, Inc.  She has more than 20 years of HR leadership experience across business partner, talent management, organization development, and global inclusion and diversity.  She works with and coaches leaders in solving critical talent challenges required to drive business performance.

Prior to joining Cargill, Elle thoroughly loved her seven years as a college admissions counselor and is excited to serve and support College Possible.  Elle received a bachelor’s degree from Concordia College - Moorhead and a master's degree from the University of Notre Dame.  She and her husband, Daren, have a daughter, Loren, and son, Leo.

Bruce holds an M.A. in Human Resources & Industrial Relations from The University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, and a B.A. in Sociology from The University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Since finishing his graduate studies at Carlson, Bruce has worked for various Fortune 500 companies in HR leadership roles of increasing responsibility. Currently, Bruce is a Vice President, HR at Avantor (a Fortune 500 biopharmaceutical company) where he creates and drives HR strategy across the United States, Europe & Asia.

As a second-generation college student from Milwaukee, WI, the importance of an education was instilled in Bruce early by his parents and grandparents. In addition, he was fortunate to be named a Chancellor’s Scholar (a highly selective merit-based program for underrepresented minority groups and culturally/educationally disadvantaged undergraduates) as an undergrad student at UW Madison, where he received the persistent support and network necessary to succeed in college. It’s that support system that helped Bruce graduate with a rigorous academic course load while working a residence life job on campus.

Bruce resides in Minneapolis with his wife, Tessa, and their sons, Jack and Maxwell. Tessa served as both a Senior Workshop Coordinator and a Senior Coach for College Possible (then Admission Possible) from 2005-2007 at North High in Minneapolis, and it was through Tessa’s stories and lasting student and peer relationships that Bruce first heard about the important work this organization is doing in high schools, colleges and universities, and beyond. College Possible’s mission to supporting not only college admission but also college success among low-income young people aligns with Bruce’s personal and professional passions. Its through that mission that Bruce hopes to have the opportunity to serve the organization as a board member to support the college and post-college success of future generations.

Natalia Rico Hernández, Ed.D., joined Breck as Head of School in July 2017. She has 28 years of teaching and leadership experience in public, international, and independent schools. Prior to her time at Breck, she served as Assistant Head of School at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dr. Hernández earned an M.Ed. in Educational Administration from the University of Texas and an Ed.D. in Leadership, Policy and Organizations from Vanderbilt University. She and her husband, Bobby, have two daughters: Gaby 19 and Andi 16.

With more than 25 years in the financial services industry, Jirele has broad experience in financial services strategy, marketing, product, and operations.

Experience

• More than 10 years with Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life), focused on delivering innovative retirement solutions to financial professionals and their clients.
• Oversees Growth and Marketing team - responsible for strategy, new markets, global business development, product innovation, marketing, digital and experience management, Allianz Ventures, strategic communications and sponsorships, and enterprise Agile.
• Member of multiple Allianz global initiatives, including Life Product, Global Strategy, Marketing, Brand and Global Vision.
• Prior experience as executive vice president at Wells Fargo.

Education, certifications, and memberships

• B.A. in business and journalism from the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)
• MBA from Hamline University (Minnesota)
• FINRA 7 and 24 securities registrations
• Board member of LIMRA Secured Retirement Institute (SRI)
• Advisor for the Washburn Center for Children's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee
• Board member of College Possible Minnesota

Douachee Lee is a Marketing Generalist at IntriCon Corporation. In her position, Douachee designs marketing materials, manages web content, and assists in other tasks to support the company’s marketing needs.  Prior to her position at IntriCon, she has experience working with the AmeriCorps program, first, as an AmeriCorp member at College Possible from 2009-2010, and then as a Program Coordinator at Minnesota Reading and Math Corps where she supported and managed AmeriCorps members, from 2011-2014. Not only is Douachee is a former College Possible AmeriCorps member, she is also a College Possible student alumnus, where she graduated from Patrick Henry High School. Since her high school graduation in 2004, Douachee has been an advocate for equal opportunity in education and a strong supporter of College Possible.

She graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2009 with a B.S.B in Marketing, from the Carlson School of Management, and a B.A. in Strategic Communications, from the College of Liberal Arts’ School of Journalism.

Dee is a Senior Manager at Ernst & Young where she’s spent the past decade serving a wide variety of multinational financial services clients with a focus on Banking & Capital Markets organizations. Beginning her career in the Minneapolis, she’s gone on to serve some of the firm’s largest banking clients in the US, UK, and India.

Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Dee is passionate about closing the achievement gap and creating opportunities for others through education. She enjoys reading, travelling, and conversations with friends.

She received her B.Sc. from Winona State University, Minnesota (07) and her Graduate degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Dee currently serves as Co-Chair for the D&I network at EY Minneapolis. After spending the last 2.5 years working in Europe, Dee returned to EY Minneapolis in 2018 and is excited about the opportunity to serve and support College Possible.

Rhonda O’Neill spent most of her career working as an economic consultant in both Chicago and London in the field of International Transfer Pricing. She worked for the consulting firms of KPMG and Deloitte and her clients included various multinationals in the auto, pharmaceutical, chemical and travel industries. Prior to that she was a Senior Investigator in the Office of Investigations and Audits for the Chicago Board of Trade.

Rhonda is currently a community volunteer. Most recently, she participated in the development of a high school program which brings together students and professionals for the purpose of providing career exposure through presentations, site visits and internships.

She earned her BA in Finance from the University of St. Thomas and an MBA from Loyola University Chicago.

Elizabeth (Beth) Simermeyer is executive vice president and president of Healthcare, Life Sciences and Hand Care for Ecolab Inc., the global leader in water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services that protect people and vital resources.

Simermeyer leads the company’s Healthcare business, which provides a broad portfolio of innovative infection prevention programs to customers in more than 90 countries, as well as Ecolab’s Life Sciences business, which provides end-to-end contamination control programs to meet the exacting needs of personal care and pharmaceutical research and manufacturing facilities.

Prior to joining Ecolab in 2014, Simermeyer held several management positions during her 19 years with S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., including senior vice president – Home Cleaning, North America; president and general manager of S.C. Johnson and Son, Limited, Canada; and vice president – Marketing, Developing Platform. She also held marketing and product development roles in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Previously, Simermeyer served in several marketing roles at the Procter & Gamble Company.

Simermeyer serves on the board of directors of Securian Financial, the Greater Twin Cities United Way and PACER, an organization focused on advocacy and programming for special needs individuals.

Simermeyer holds a bachelor’s degree with honors in Political Science from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Michigan. She has also received certification through the Women’s Director Development Program at the Kellogg School of Management.

Chris Staley is a co-founder of Horizontal Integration, a company focused on helping Fortune 500 clients via two business lines - a staffing agency, proving talent to meet their contingent labor needs as well as a digital agency focused on helping companies along their digital transformation journeys.

For the last 15 years, Chris Staley and his two business partners have built Horizontal Integration into a global business with multiple offices in the U.S., India and the United Arab Emirates with annual revenue over $100 million with no investors and zero debt. In his current role Chris oversees the Digital Agency, globally working with his team to build friction-free digital experiences for their client’s end customers such as Sub-Zero, Formica, Cushman & Wakefield, UnitedHealth Group, New York Life, Raymond James, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Mayo Clinic Health Systems and many others.

Prior to Horizontal Integration Chris spent time working within multiple large digital agencies at the McCann Erickson agency.

Chris has served on other Non-Profit Boards and has been a part of the long range strategic planning process. He also plays an active role on his own family’s foundation and is involved in various initiatives related to its philanthropic activities both in and outside of the U.S.

Zer Vang is the Director of Student Recruitment for the Morrison Family College of Health at the University of St. Thomas. Prior to this role, she was the Director of MSW Admissions and Alumni Relations at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities' School of Social Work. She has more than eight years of experience recruiting undergraduate and graduate students and over a decade working and supporting students in higher education. In her previous roles she has served as an Academic Advisor in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota; Student and Family Services Director at LearningWorks at Blake: A Breakthrough Program; and High School Program Coordinator at College Possible. Zer served on the College of Education and Human Development's Alumni Society Board of Directors (President in 2014) and currently serves on the College Possible Minnesota Board and Alumni Leadership Council.

Zer is a dedicated and passionate advocate and educator for students, particularly those who are underrepresented. Coming from a low-income background and being a first-generation student, she has committed her personal and professional work to supporting students in accessing and navigating higher education and creating and maintaining inclusive and equitable spaces. She has a Bachelor’s in Family Social Science, a Master of Social Work (focused on community organizing and advocacy), a post-baccalaureate certificate in Multicultural College Teaching and Learning, and is currently pursuing her PhD in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development focusing on Higher Education. She lives in Oakdale with her partner, son (4 years old), and daughter (1 year old).

Vincent is a former College Possible student that graduated from Augsburg College in 2015. Following graduation Vincent served 2 terms of service with College Possible as a High School Coach at Roosevelt and Edison High Schools. Now he is working at Simpson Housing Services where he supports families experiencing homelessness find stable housing. Vincent is also pursuing a Master's of Business Administration at Augsburg University.