Cristina Celis, CEO of One Two, is an experienced leader and coach specializing in strategy and operations for mission-driven start-ups across healthcare and education. Previously, she was Sr. Director of Patient Acquisition & Engagement at Galileo, a national leader in tech-enabled primary care and community and home-based value based care (VBC). At Galileo, she built and led the team responsible for new member outreach and activation, securing new patients for Galileo’s VBC practice. She oversaw the direct patient outreach team, led the marketing collaboration efforts and local insurance broker partnerships across VBC contracts with Medicare and Medicaid populations in both urban and rural markets.

Prior to that, Cristina was VP of Strategy & Growth at Upstream USA, a national non-profit delivering contraceptive access training and technical assistance to safety net health centers, through innovative state public-private partnerships. Cristina built and led the Strategy & Growth function through a period of significant growth from one to five statewide projects, 5x staff growth and tracking towards 10x growth in impact through state projects.

Earlier in her career, Cristina was Manager of Strategy & Scalability at Rocketship Public Schools, a national network of charter elementary schools. She began her career as Consultant of Strategy & Analytics at Epsilon, focused on data and analytics-driven marketing strategy and testing implementation for large CPG and Pharma companies.

Cristina holds a BA in Economics from Brown University, and an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. She is a certified Integral Coach through New Ventures West. A native Spanish speaker, she grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and two children.

Eli is a Partner at Acacia Partners and an expert in facilities and philanthropy. Most recently he has completed strategic projects for companies and non-profits in educational technology, healthcare, charter schools and philanthropy. Prior to this role, Eli served for 5 years as the CEO of SMASH (a program focused on expanding the number of students of color pursuing STEM). At SMASH, Eli oversaw the rapid expansion of the program, tripling the number of students served, launching an internship program and expanding SMASH to 5 new states. Eli also led the west coast region for Platform Learning, a tutoring company focused on low ­income students and made investments in educational reform initiatives as a Director at The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. Additionally, he served as the President and CEO of Pacific Charter School Development, where he developed over 50 public charter school facilities, raised more than $30M in new philanthropic funding, and scaled the organization as it expanded into three new regions.

In addition to his board service at PCSD, Eli has served on the board of Capital Impact Partners, Discovery Education and The Berkeley Public Schools Fund. He also serves on the structured finance committee for Charter School Growth Fund. Eli has a B.S. in business administration and finance from Howard University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Hae-Sin Kim Thomas is a Founding Partner at Acacia Partners and an experienced programs and strategy leader in education. She was previously the President of Propel Pathway at Ed Farm, a nonprofit organization based in Birmingham, Alabama, focused on increasing the number of Black leaders in high wage tech careers. At Ed Farm, she was responsible for all K-12 and workforce programming, and she was charged with developing a career and college readiness program for high school graduates unprepared for either. Prior to Ed Farm, she was the 10-year CEO of Education for Change Public Schools, a charter management organization in Oakland, California focused on converting existing district public schools in high-poverty communities to charter schools, serving over 3,000 students across 7 schools.

In Oakland, California, she led the launch of two nonprofit community advocacy organizations, an education fund, and a political action committee. Hae-Sin worked for the Oakland Unified School District as a teacher, principal, school developer, and executive officer for over 15 years. She led a team charged with designing and leading two foundational tenets of OUSD's nationally recognized reform effort, creating quality school options for families in every neighborhood and ensuring high-performing, more personalized communities of learning for children. She led the design and opening of 22 new schools, replacing 18 chronically failing schools.

She holds a BA in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master's in curriculum and instruction from the University of San Francisco, and a Master's in administration, planning, and social policy from Harvard University. She is a Fellow of the second class of the Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship, a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, a member of EdLoC, and a mentor/advisee for leaders of color as part of the Tipping Point Community.

As the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BlueSky Collaborative Partners, LLC, Julie is a visionary leader, with over three decades of Fundraising, Business Development Capital Campaign and Relationship Management experience. Previously, Julie served as Chief Development Officer for an EdTech nonprofit, Managing Director of Individual Philanthropy for the World's largest privately funded nonprofit, VIce President of a major Financial Services Foundation and an Higher Education Development leader with roles at Morehouse College and The Ohio State University.

A proud alumnus of Spelman College in Atlanta, GA, and one of 100 HBCU alumni in her immediate family, Julie is a major advocate for HBCUS, and deeply believes in their ability to strengthen the future talent pipeline and close the wealth equity gap.

Lige is a Founding Partner at Acacia Partners and an experienced strategy and operations leader in education. She is also currently serving as an External Advisor at McKinsey & Company. Previously, she was the acting Chief Operating Officer and SVP of Growth at Education Farm | Propel Center, where she oversaw finance & accounting, HR, IT, product, and marketing. Before that, she was Vice President of Strategy at Rocketship Public Schools, a national network of charter elementary schools. At Rocketship, she led growth and org strategy, data analytics, and student information systems, helping launch new schools and regions and double the size of the network to serve 10,000 students across the country.

Prior to that, she was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, focusing on education and consumer packaged goods/retail. At McKinsey, her education work ranged from building a teacher preparation investment strategy for a large foundation to crafting the strategic plan of a top early learning charter network. Other education experiences include launching Visions Academy, a standalone charter high school in Newark, NJ, and Yu Ming Charter School, a K-8 mandarin-immersion school in Oakland, CA.

Lige holds a BA and an MA from Stanford University, an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.Ed from the Broad Center (now Yale School of Management). She speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese and conversational French. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and two young children.

Nathan Breitling is an academic innovator with extensive experience leading innovative US institutions of higher education. Across his career, he has led colleges and universities across 27 states, and with nearly all major US accreditors. He regularly consults to institutions of higher education on innovative practices, regulatory and accreditation, and financial sustainability.

As Interim President and Chief Academic Officer of Patten University, he oversaw its sale and integration into the National University System. Prior to that role he served as the Provost of the Art Institutes system where he oversaw 36 campuses serving over 35,000 students in art, design, media, and culinary degree programs. In this role, he launched several new degree programs and facilities, creating deep integrations between facilities design, curriculum, and program outcomes.

Additionally, he co-founded the Tanzanian Educational Support Association, an NGO expanding secondary school access in rural Tanzania.

Nathan’s current focus is building and developing international programs and partnerships across higher education institutions and developing markets. He holds a bachelor’s from University of Southern California, and master’s and doctorate from Stanford University. He lives in Oakland, California.

C3 Impact Founder, Nikki Turner, is committed to the work of professional empowerment for leaders across sectors.

As a coach, Nikki leverages her own leadership experience in demanding private and public sector careers and her Co-Active Training Institute course work during her time at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Additionally, Nikki brings her lived experiences as a Black woman of color and mom, navigating family and career dynamics. She understands what it looks like to operate in fast-paced, dynamic environments and intense corporate cultures, all while trying to refine your leadership style, stay true to yourself and find professional and personal fulfillment.

In addition to her leadership coaching practice, Nikki serves as a consultant and strategic advisor to nonprofit clients across the country. She is a results-driven leader that brings a human-centered approach to strategic planning, change management, and partnership development for mission-driven organizations. Her career is guided by a deep commitment to creating a more equitable and just society where all individuals feel seen, affirmed, and have the opportunity to reach their highest potential.

Prior to founding C3 Impact, Nikki was the Director of Advocacy and Community Engagement at KIPP SoCal Public Schools and held additional roles as the Director of New Site Development at the KIPP Foundation and was the project lead overseeing the KIPP San Diego and KIPP LA charter school merger. Nikki started her career in the Equities Division at Goldman Sachs, where she managed relationships with hedge fund clients. Nikki holds a BA in Psychology from Spelman College, an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and M.Ed from the Broad Center (now Yale School of Management). Above all, her most rewarding job is being a mom to her young daughter and son and spending time with them in the Los Angeles sunshine.

Noah Bradley is an equity-driven educator and strategic leader with over 25 years of experience in K-12 education. He is currently the founder of ThirdWay Consulting, where he provides services to K-12 district and charter school systems and nonprofits in instructional program design and implementation, leadership coaching, change management, and strategic planning and execution. He has a broad skill set in educational leadership, including instructional improvement strategy, curriculum adoption and implementation, assessment and data-driven instruction, and leadership development.

Prior to ThirdWay, Noah served as a Chief Academic Officer at Education for Change Public Schools, the largest charter management organization in Oakland, CA, where he led the transition from a network of autonomous schools to a Common Core-aligned academic program and achieved top decile growth in ELA and Math. He also worked as Director of English Language Arts and English Language Development, where he designed and facilitated professional development, curriculum adoption, and instructional leadership development. Prior to that he served as school leader at Think College Now Elementary in Oakland, California, which serves a predominantly multilingual and economically disadvantaged population. There his efforts led to consistent high performance and the school receiving the California Distinguished School Award. Noah holds a B.A. in English Literature from Vanderbilt University.

Rafiu is a strategy consultant who brings a wealth of executive-level experiences as an operator, entrepreneur, and advisor combined with a passion for improving access to educational opportunities for underserved populations. His recent engagements have included developing a strategy to significantly increase the participation of underrepresented groups in computer science, go to market strategy for a health-tech company focused on the US K-12 market and due diligence for an acquisition in the US K-12 special education market. Prior to this, Rafiu served as CEO of an end-to-end diabetes management platform (iOS and Android apps, hardware medical devices, and a remote population management portal). He also led portfolio management, as Chief of Staff, to the Executive Vice President for Investments at Saudi Telecom Company, where he drove strategy, and owned key initiatives across the Company’s ~ $ 7 billion international portfolio.

Before this, Rafiu was a member of Booz and Company/ Booz Allen Hamilton senior team in the MENA region where he developed new business launch capability, assembled and led a team of experts, and drove strategy consulting projects for the firm’s clients across telecom, tech, and healthcare sectors.

Additionally, Rafiu has led strategy projects for a number of non-profit organizations including the NAACP, Habitat for Humanity, United Negro College Fund, and the Abyssinian Development Corporation.

Rafiu holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University, an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business, and studied strategy and finance at London Business School.

Sarah Chostner, Founder and Principal of Aprium Advisors, builds HR & Talent capacity in mission-driven organizations through consulting and coaching. Her services range from strategic project support (e.g., compensation design, employee engagement, employee handbooks, HR audits, onboarding tools, collective bargaining guidance), to on-call support and coaching (e.g., timely HR expertise), to multi-year strategy development. As someone with team management, consulting, complex project leadership, and C-suite executive experience, she brings a unique blend* of high-level strategic thinking and in-the-weeds, tactical knowledge and know-how.

Before starting Aprium Advisors, Sarah was the Chief People Officer at Envision Education, leading Talent & HR, Development & Communications, and Growth & Enrollment. Prior to that, she held multiple leadership roles at Summit Public Schools, and she started her career as a nonprofit strategy consultant at The Bridgespan Group. Sarah holds a BA in Astrophysics from Harvard University and an MBA and MA in Education from Stanford University.

* like the combination of an apricot and a plum ... an aprium!

Melanie is a financial consultant who brings a wealth of experiences across both for-profit and non-profit companies. Her services range from strategic project support (i.e. capital fundraising / financings) to multi-year financial modeling to fractional CFO support.

Her experience covers a wide range of industries, in HR technology, food & restaurants and education, supporting various business models (i.e. SaaS, marketplaces, non-profits etc). She’s been a VP of Finance at two venture-backed companies, Torch Leadership Labs and Chewse, where she oversaw finance & accounting, HR, and legal. She led the financial strategy across these companies, securing funding, leading corporate development initiatives, and driving teams to profitability. Prior to these roles, she led the financial strategy at Rocketship Public Schools, a national network of charter elementary schools, as their Director of FP&A. During her tenure the network expanded into three new regions and grew to $100M+ in revenues.

In addition to her experience, Melanie has lived and worked around the world, including Germany, New Zealand, and in South Africa where she worked for Innovations for Poverty Action, overseeing a financial literacy program in the Gold Mining industry. Melanie holds a B.A. in Economics & Sociology from Wheaton College and a M.A. in Economics from the University of San Francisco. She speaks German and lives in Lake Tahoe with her family.