Throughout her career, Niamani has developed a reputation for her skill in connecting people and ideas. She joined AGAG in 2001 and has guided its evolution from an idea to a vibrant network, working in partnership with the Steering Committee, members, and other colleagues working at the intersection of philanthropy and Africa. Before joining AGAG … Continue reading Niamani Mutima

Noël Harmon is President and Executive Director of Asian Pacific Islander American Scholars, formerly, the Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund. She joined the organization in June 2018. Harmon comes to APIA Scholars from Say Yes to Education, where she was Senior Vice President for Strategic Partnerships. Harmon has also held positions at the Brookings … Continue reading Noel Harmon

Sameer has been a leader in college access and success for over a decade. Most recently, Sameer was a Senior Program Officer at the Joyce Foundation, where he led the philanthropy’s efforts on higher education. His portfolio focused on addressing racial and economic disparities in college access, including improving the longstanding racial disparities in access … Continue reading Sameer Gadkaree

Sarita E. Brown is Co-founder & President of Excelencia in Education, a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to accelerating Latino success in higher education by linking research, policy, and practice to serve Latino students. A recognized leader and advocate for equity in higher education, she began her career at the University of Texas at Austin, where … Continue reading Sarita Brown

Shareea is the director of the Texas College Access Network (TxCAN). TxCAN convenes Local College Access Networks to facilitate the rapid adoption of promising practices. It also serves as a data hub for college access programs by providing interactive FAFSA dashboards and other benchmarking tools. Prior to joining the Educate Texas team in 2018, Shareea … Continue reading Shareea Woods

Dr. Stephanie McGencey is a staunch advocate for children, youth, families, and communities. She is the Executive Director of the American Youth Policy Forum, a national, nonprofit organization that works to educate, engage, and inform policymakers and practitioners about education, youth, and workforce policies to improve the lives and outcomes of traditionally underserved youth. She … Continue reading Stephanie McGencey

Dr. Heather Deneen Wathington’s background is a unique blend of education, research, and philanthropy that has focused on students in underserved communities. She has served as the past president at Girard College, a historic boarding school in Philadelphia, and the chief executive officer at See Forever Foundation and the Maya Angelou Schools in Washington, DC. … Continue reading Heather Wathington

As uAspire’s chief executive officer, Jaclyn’s core responsibilities are strategic leadership and governance, organizational and people management, external relations, and fundraising. Jaclyn has been a key member of uAspire’s executive leadership team since 2017. Previously, as chief regional officer, Jaclyn strengthened uAspire’s influence and coordinated our impact in Massachusetts, New York City, and the San … Continue reading Jaclyn Piñero

Former Virginia Secretary of Education Dr. Javaid Siddiqi is the President and CEO of The Hunt Institute. During his tenure The Institute has more than tripled its staff and has expanded its scope of work beyond K-12 to include the entire education continuum from early childhood to postsecondary and the workforce. Javaid works with the … Continue reading Javaid Siddiqi