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.

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

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

Gloria is a first-generation college graduate. She was raised in a single parent home in the state of Wisconsin. As a single parent herself Gloria worked full-time during the day, took classes in the evening and raised her son who eventually went on to obtain his Masters as a Planetary Geologist. Two years ago she moved to Washington state and currently works at BECU as the Community Giving Manager overseeing the philanthropic work. Gloria is excited to serve as a member of College Possible Washington's Board of Directors. She looks forward to supporting and encouraging students to attend and complete college in pursuit of their goals and dreams. Board member since: July 2018 

Kendall is a seasoned nonprofit leader, strategy consultant and executive coach based in Seattle Washington. She brings the experience of working in the non-profit sector from the perspective of Senior Nonprofit Leader, Funder, National-Level Consultant, Board Member, and Independent Evaluator. She served as Chief Learning Officer for the College Futures Foundation, California’s leading private funder of higher education reform. Before that, she worked for 8 years on the U.S. Education team at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 7 years as the Vice-President of Strategy for a boutique management consulting firm for philanthropy. She brings to College Possible deep knowledge about the evidence around student success practices and effective nonprofit management.  She holds a PhD from the Annenberg School for Communications at the University of Southern California and B.A. in Political Science from Duke University.

In her free time, she enjoys hiking in the Pacific northwest and practicing capoeira, a traditional Afro-Brazilian art form that combines martial arts, dance, music and acrobatics.

Board Member since: September 2015

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

Linda is a leadership and transition coach. Prior to coaching, she spent most of her career in the nonprofit and public sectors where she focused on addressing inequities in systems and organizations that serve students and families. Linda values the potential for education to help people change the trajectory of their lives. She is grateful for the opportunity to serve on the College Possible Washington board and participate in creating better paths for students to succeed.

Board member since: November 2011

Betsy has been a Volunteer Coach at Franklin High School with College Possible Washington since 2010 - joining the Board of Directors in early 2014. As a community volunteer, she currently serves as a member of the Washington Women’s Foundation, and was on the Board of The Bush School for 9 years. Betsy received a BA in Art History from the University of Washington, and previously worked for 9 years as development staff at Stanford University. Board member since: January 2014

Judy is a seasoned education reformer who has worked at all levels in the education field, most recently as the Director of Organizational Expansion for Team Read. Prior to that, as a K-12 educator, Judy has been a teacher, principal, associate superintendent, chief technology officer, superintendent of schools, and CEO of an educational non-profit. She is known for insisting that educational systems be aligned with intended impact on students, and has a passion for innovation to support student success. Judy has conducted seminars across the U.S. on instructional "best practices," school improvement planning, and leadership development, and has been an Adjunct Professor and Faculty for principal and superintendent leadership programs at Seattle University. Judy received her B.A. from Whitworth University, M.Ed. from the University of Washington, and Ed.D. from Nova Southeastern University.

Board member since: February 2015

Chuck Nordhoff is a Seattle-area native.  He has a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in business administration.  Chuck’s professional experience includes time with a multi-national agribusiness company as well as service in the federal government.  Chuck and his wife, Maribeth O’Connor, have six children who are spread across the country.

Chuck and his family have a long history of involvement in the non-profit sector as funders, board members, and volunteers.  He is a graduate of Seattle’s Leadership Tomorrow program.  In addition to serving on the College Possible Washington advisory board, Chuck is a trustee of Wellspring Family Services, and serves on the investment committees of Holy Names Academy, the Washington Trails Association, Bertschi School, and the Museum of History & Industry.  He is also involved with Seattle Shakespeare Company and United Way of King County.

Chuck believes fervently in the power of education to create opportunity and economic self-sufficiency.  He is pleased to be part of College Possible Washington’s program to make higher education available to all.

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

Nate is a Program Officer at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. At the foundation, Nate supports the Post-secondary Success strategy around “Pathways” to encourage more low-income and first-generation college students to pursue college degrees. Before joining the Foundation, Nate served 15 years in the field of higher education and lead a number of student initiatives in Chicago and Dallas. Board member since: October 2020

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