Our Team

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 an AmeriCorps member guide her focus on college access and success. Lauren recently served as the interim executive director at 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 a M.Ed. in school counseling from Louisiana State University. In her free time Lauren enjoys coaching volleyball at Rainier Beach High School, traveling with her partner, and spending time with their two cats 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.

Lisa has worked in college access and success for over 25 years in high schools, the Washington state community college system, and universities across four states. She started her career as one of the first diversity admissions counselors in the state of Washington, recruiting students of color at some of the same schools served by College Possible. She also worked as a guidance specialist in one of our partner schools.

Lisa holds a Master of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor of Arts from Washington State University.

Contact Lisa at LGarciaHanson@CollegePossible.org.

A University of Washington graduate, Norm worked in the finance and investment community for 20 years, most recently serving as the Chief Operating Officer of BlackRock’s alternative investments group. Today, Norm is an active impact investor, advises several local businesses, oversees a family office, and volunteers in the Seattle community, primarily as an engaged partner of Social Venture Partners, and Chair of the College Possible Washington board.

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

With a Bachelor's degree (Computer Science) and two Master's degrees (Physics and Computer Science), and a career in technology spanning nearly 20 years, Vijay has experienced first-hand the benefits of attending college and the leg-up that it provides in the industry. He has held various engineering leadership roles at Microsoft, Tableau, WeWork, and Flexport and has spent several years hiring top college talent as well as coaching and growing junior employees. Outside of his main profession, Vijay runs a real-estate investing company together with his wife, Leka. He lives in Redmond with his wife and two boys, Rohin and Kian. His passions include fitness, travel, food and photography.

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

Lisa spent the first 15 years of her professional career in juvenile justice and the next 25 years in education policy and politics. Her first job out of college was working as a VISTA volunteer in a maximum-security correctional facility, and she finished up as the WA state Director of Democrats for Education Reform. In between, Lisa staffed cross country wagon trains and wilderness camps for adjudicated youth, worked as a juvenile court public defender, trained AmeriCorps volunteers, co-founded education advocacy organizations, sponsored statewide education initiatives, and worked on numerous city and state education campaigns. Happily retired, Lisa volunteers on Georgia’s Voter Protection Hotline, and she spends as much time as possible outside with friends and family hiking, kayaking, and cross-country skiing.

Rick worked in the software and hardware industry for over two decades. He has held various technical and leadership roles at Microsoft, Tableau and Salesforce, and holds a degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from the University of Oregon. Rick now owns and operates a small business making fine musical instruments, and spends his free time traveling the Pacific Northwest.

Darrell comes to College Possible Washington with more than 30 years of experience in finance and business, having held several leadership positions as an executive, business owner and entrepreneur. He is currently the Chief Finance Officer at YMCA of Greater Seattle. He was previously the Chief Finance and Administrative Officer at College Success Foundation and the Chief Operating Officer at United Way of King County. Darrell is a CPA, and holds a BA in accounting from Tennessee University and a MBA in Finance from Harvard Graduate School of Business. He currently serves as the Board Member for College Success Foundation and he is a member of College Possible Washington's Finance & Audit Committee.

Board Member since: September 2015

Tim is the Dean of STEM at Rainier Prep. Tim brings a decade of experience working in Title 1 schools and is currently a school administrator in the South Seattle community. He was previously the Director of Student Support at a public charter school in Houston, Texas and also worked in schools through the University of Washington’s Dream Project, which fueled his passion for college access work. Board member since: October 2020

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.

With Bachelor's degrees in Mathematics and Chemical Engineering from the University of Washington and an MBA from Louisiana State University, Dave has worked in manufacturing, product development, sales, and marketing for several large companies, a start-up, and a small family-owned business. Today, Dave is a Vice President at Amazon Advertising and also leads several of their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. Away from work, Dave enjoys playing pickleball, hiking, biking, golfing, skiing, and traveling with his wife, Karen.