AdvanceEDU community,
We know that you’re all busy getting ready for the school year, and we’re so grateful for everything you’re doing to prepare Denver students for success during this unprecedented time. Here at AdvanceEDU, we’re having a blast onboarding our first cohort of students and building new program offerings and partnerships (more on those soon!). We wanted to take a moment to share some news with you…
- Upcoming Deadline for Cohort 2!
Are you working with a student who would be a good fit to join us in the fall? Please refer them to us for an initial advising conversation by next Thursday, August 20th by emailing our Head of Outreach, Vanessa Roman, at or to sign up for an advising call via our website at myadvanceedu.org. And remember, we onboard students roughly every two months, so if you encounter students that may be a good fit, please send them to us year round! Here are the referral deadlines for the 2020-21 school year:
- Thursday, August 20th
- Friday, October 9th
- Friday, December 11th
- Friday, February 26th
- Friday, April 23rd
- Thank you, Lisa Chatterjee!
While we searched far and wide to find our new Head of Outreach, Vanessa Roman, we relied on our dear friend Lisa Chatterjee to help us with outreach to our first and second cohorts. It turns out that Lisa is not only wonderful with students and a fierce champion for equity (which we already knew!), but she’s also a social media maven! We’re so grateful to Lisa for her MANY contributions to launching AdvanceEDU. She will be part of our team’s DNA for years to come. You may see Lisa around helping us out from time to time, but for now Vanessa will be taking over all recruitment responsibilities and will serve as the primary lead for our K-12 partnerships. Lisa, we truly can’t thank you enough!
- Welcome, Alejandra Dominguez!
Speaking of searching far and wide to add amazing talent to our team… We’re thrilled to announce that Alejandra Dominguez has just begun her new role as Success Coach on the AdvanceEDU team! Alejandra was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela and grew up in South Florida. Her commitment to equity in education is rooted in her own experiences as a first-generation immigrant to the United States and in what she has learned through her work with high school and college students. Alejandra has had the opportunity to support student success in several roles, including as an AmeriCorps Student Engagement Advocate, College Advisor, and Graduate Assistant. Through her role at AdvanceEDU, Alejandra hopes to work alongside students as they circumvent the aspects of higher education that do not support their success to instead pursue a path that allows them to reach their goals feeling whole, empowered, and ready to enact positive change in their own lives, communities, and the world. Alejandra holds a BA in Earth and Environmental Science from Columbia University and an MS in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Colorado State University. Welcome, Alejandra. We’re so honored that you are joining our effort to close higher ed equity gaps in Colorado!
- AdvanceEDU is in the news!
Finally, take a look at recent press coverage of AdvanceEDU and our Board Chair Kent Thiry. The most recent is Kent’s op-ed in the Colorado Sun on higher education equity and innovation during COVID-19; it features the powerful story of Adry Martinez, a hybrid college student in Texas who has been advising us during startup. Kent has also discussed his work with AdvanceEDU recently in the Denver Business Journal and on Colorado Public Radio. Many thanks to Kent for all that he does to support our team and generate awareness for AdvanceEDU!
In partnership,
The AdvanceEDU Team
Holly Amrstrong, Head of Student Success
Lisa Chatterjee, Recruitment Specialist
Alejandra Dominguez, Success Coach
Anthony DeLaRosa, Head of Partnerships and Strategy
Vanessa Roman, Head of Outreach
Lauren Trent, Chief Executive Officer
